Senate targets texting in new 'distracted driving' program

The Senate begins work this week on a spending bill that would set up a new $10 million grant program aimed at helping states combat "distracted driving," which focuses on texting behind the wheel.

"While there is no definitive data as to how many distracted driving deaths and injuries are caused by cell phone use and texting, 20 percent of the drivers involved in fatal accidents in 2009 were either using or in the presence of a cell phone at the time of the crash, and there is reason to be concerned about whether the recent rise in distracted driving fatalities is linked to the increasing use of electronic devices," according to report language for S. 1596, the 2012 spending bill for the Department of Transportation and other agencies.

That bill will be one of three that the Senate hopes to combine and approve as a "minibus" spending bill as early as this week.

According to the report language, the bill would pull $10 million, or roughly 20 percent, out of a federal program that offers "safety belt performance grants" to states, and use that money to create a new "distracted driver incentive" grant program. The report says the money would be given to states that "enact and enforce laws to prevent distracted driving with a focus on texting bans."

The bill would also require $5 million of the funds to be set aside "for the development, production, and use of broadcast and print media advertising to support enforcement of State laws to prevent distracted driving."

Senate appropriators said nearly 5,500 people were killed and another 448,000 injured because of distracted driving in 2009.