Driving and Talking - Not in Texas School Zones

For some reason I have been struck recently by just how many people have cell phones attached to their ears. Unfortunately, too many of them are behind the wheel of a moving vehicle.

The good folks at Workers Comp Insider have an excellent post, Cell Phones: Unsafe at Any Speed?, although it would have been nice to get it to the Texas legislature a little sooner.

Although there were several cell phone bills introduced in this year's session, the only one that seems it will make it through the laborious process is HB 55. It has passed both houses and if signed by the Governor, will prohibit speaking on a cell phone in a school zone (assuming that the city places an appropriate sign to let you know it is against the law). It also prohibits school bus drivers from using a phone at any time. (I think that was hopefully a no brainer.)

It's at least a start ....

Update (6/22/09): The bill was signed by Governor Perry last Friday and becomes effective September 1, 2009. The text of the bill is here [pdf] .