As of June 1, texting while driving will be illegal in Missouri City. At its Feb. 15 meeting, City Council voted unanimously to approve the ordinance and Mayor Allen Owen said that the new measure “will prevent accidents and save lives in Missouri City.”
The Missouri City Police Department has recorded at least six accidents involving drivers either talking on cell phones or reading a text message in the period between May 2009 and Dec. 31, 2009. The city’s ban does not include talking on a cell phone, but does prohibit drivers from using a wireless communication device to view, send or compose an electronic message while driving – including while stopped at a red light or a stop sign.
“In the one accident that involved reading a text, the driver was at fault,” Police Chief Joel Fitzgerald said. “It’s important to get the word out to educate residents on the dangers of distracted driving. Enhancement of public safety is our focus, and preventing accidents is a critical component of our daily duties. We will use all traffic contacts and community meetings to advise drivers of the tenets of the ban before June 1 enforcement goes into effect.”
Exceptions are allowed in the event of an emergency, or when a motorist is pulled over safely to the side of the road. Motorists can be fined up to $500 for a violation.
Signs informing drivers of the new ordinance will be placed at major entryways into the city, and possibly at some major intersections. Police will meet the homeowners’ associations in an effort to inform residents of the ban before enforcement begins.
Fitzgerald acknowledged at a January meeting that the ordinance would present “significant enforcement issues,” and police in some cases will likely have to issue warrants to search a driver’s phone, especially in the case of a car accident in which police believe the driver was violating the ordinance.
“It is sort of akin to an officer observing you going through a stop sign,” said Fitzgerald. “We have to rely on what the officer actually saw to justify writing the violation.”
