NMA Alabama Alert: Two Pending Bills Affect Motorists
Two bills that affect Alabama motorists have been filed in the state legislature for consideration during the 2012 regular session, and we thought you would like to know about them. (See the LandLine story.)
Sen. Gerald Dial, R-Lineville, has prefiled a bill that would allow town police to issue speeding tickets on interstate highways. The bill, SB8, also would allow speed enforcement for all police departments on roads outside city limits but within their jurisdictions.
The other bill would prohibit all drivers from text messaging while behind the wheel. (Currently, only the state’s youngest drivers are forbidden from texting.) HB2 would authorize police to pull drivers over solely for texting. Fines would start at $25.
At the National Motorists Association, we feel SB8 would simply be a license for small towns to set up quick-buck speed traps. (See this story for an example.) We also feel that since texting is an activity already covered by distracted driving laws, the imposition of a statute specifically prohibiting it is wasteful grandstanding.
You may disagree. In any event, we urge you to contact your legislators and let them know how you feel about this legislation. After all, these laws are supposedly for your benefit as motorists.
