Kansas City, Mo. – Legislation that would expand Missouri's texting-while-driving ban to all motorists received a hearing before a State House committee.
The current ban on sending, receiving or reading text messages while driving only applies to those age 21 and younger.
Brent Butler with the Missouri Insurance Coalition testified in favor of expanding the ban to all ages.
"You always hear about so-and-so was texting while driving and that caused the accident,' and, you know, it's pretty prevalent, and as the sponsor said, it's becoming, say, an epidemic," said Butler.
No one testified against the bill, but committee member and Republican Representative Scott Dieckhaus questioned whether passing the bill could lead to over-regulation:
"If we pass this, where are we going to stop? Are we going to outlaw putting on your make-up while driving or changing your CD while driving, or flipping to the next track on your I-pod? I think all those things lead to car accidents," said Dieckhaus.
The House Public Safety Committee will vote on the bill at a later date.