No More Texting in Wisconsin

There's no escape for "texters", apparently, as yet another state joined the pack which banned texting while driving. Wisconsin became the 25th state to outlaw such practices, after Governor Jim Doyle signed the bill on Wednesday. The bill will come into effect on December 1, 2010.

"Wisconsin gets us halfway to AAA's campaign goal of passing text messaging bans for all drivers in all 50 states," AAA CEO Robert L. Darbelnet said in a statement. "Last year, 12 states enacted text messaging bans for all drivers and we anticipate that several more states will act against this dangerous source of driver distraction this year."

Wisconsin is the sixth state to ban texting this year, after Wyoming, Iowa, Nebraska, Kentucky and Michigan. Unfortunately for those opposing such laws, similar bills are under review in 15 other states, meaning the number of bans is expected to increase significantly in 2010.

"Texting while driving is associated with significant physical and cognitive distractions and the proliferation of the practice is endangering all users of our nation's roadways. Surveys show the overwhelming majority of Americans agree that this behavior is dangerous and they support text messaging bans. AAA urges legislators in states without texting bans to pass laws this year," Darbelnet added.

Texting while driving is expected to come under the spotlight some more in the following months, after last week's No Phone Zone Day rallies. Set in motion by Oprah Winfrey, the events took place in Detroit, Los Angeles, Boston, Atlanta and DC.