By Dana Hess, Community News Service
PIERRE — A ban on most uses of electronic devices while driving was approved by the S.D. House of Representatives on Wednesday afternoon. Already approved by the Senate, HB1169 now goes to Gov. Kristi Noem for her signature.
Currently it’s illegal to text while driving, but it’s a secondary offense. An officer has to pull the car over for another infraction before he can ticket the driver for texting. HB1169 makes texting while driving a primary offense and also bans other phone activities like reading, watching videos, looking at social media or taking pictures.
If HB1169 becomes law, drivers will still be able to make calls on their phones and use a GPS.
“This is a new way of being in our culture,” said Sen. Deb Soholt, R-Sioux Falls, about the popularity of texting while driving. “This is about trying to change the culture. This is about doing the right thing.”
Sen. Jordan Youngberg, R-Chester, said that while on a ride-along with the Highway Patrol, they pulled up next to a driver on the Interstate who went for a mile texting and not noticing that there was a highway patrol car in the next lane.
Youngberg urged passage of the bill: “When you’re out driving 80 miles per hour on the Interstate, stuff happens quick.”
Sen. Jessica Castleberry, R-Rapid City, rose in opposition to the bill. As a teenager with a red convertible, Castleberry said she became accustomed to law enforcement pulling her over, even though she had done nothing wrong.
“I became quickly disillusioned,” Castleberry said, noting that officers were pulling her over “just to see what I was up to.”
Castleberry also took issue with how enforcement of the primary offense would take place. She said she was inclined to vote against any bill “designed to protect me from myself.”
Soholt called on lawmakers to update the law. “It’s time now to have our laws reflect a consistency of safety,” Soholt said.
The House approved the bill on a vote of 24-11.
