In Kansas, no texting while driving? WTF!

Yesterday, Kansas lawmakers pre-filed legislation to ban texting while driving for all drivers, regardless of age, and making jail time a potential penalty for violators, according to The Kansas City Star.

At this early stage, the Kansas State Highway Patrol is throwing its support behind the proposed bill. According to Technical Trooper Edna Buttler, driver inattention is the No. 1 contributing factor to automobile crashes: It’s a factor in 26.3 percent of accidents, which equates to more than 20,000 total.

“Anything that keeps hands off cell phones and on the wheel is a good thing,” she said. “

Cell phones have been ruled a specific contributing factor in 394 crashes — or, 0.5 percent of the time — according to 2008 statistics compiled by the Kansas Department of Transportation. That’s a few crashes above high wind.

“It’s a little more common now that there are gadgets and gizmos that are taking drivers’ attention away from what they’re supposed to be doing — specifically, paying attention to the road,” Buttler said.

About 77 percent of people nationwide admit to texting while driving, according to this Web site. Perhaps surprisingly, almost a quarter of text messengers are between the ages of 24 and 35, and the average age of a regular texter is 38.

Texting isn’t just for the youngsters, though most legislation thus far has targeted that demographic. On January 1, legislation goes in effect in Kansas to ban all hand-held electronic device use for drivers under 16 1/2-years-old.

Despite it’s insane danger, talking while driving is totally cool. The bill also doesn’t mention anything about surfing the internet, or using position locating software like Google maps. Police, however, would have the power to pull over drivers for texting without suspicion of another crime.