The spread of bans on driving while texting

The California legislator who championed the state's ban on using hand-held cellphones while driving has a new target: text messaging at the wheel. In addition to California, legislatures in at least 13 other states are considering some kind of ban on drivers tapping out text messages. Four states have already made it illegal for motorists to send text messages. Another set of four states bans cellphones altogether for drivers under the age of 18. While several studies link the use of hand-held phones to traffic accidents and fatalities, texting is too new to have received the same kind of scrutiny. But accidents around the country blamed on texting have drawn the public's attention.