PHOENIX - A Tucson State Senator is on his 12th try to pass a law to ban texting and driving statewide.
Tucson and Pima County have laws that forbid using handheld electronics while driving but there's nothing that covers the state as a whole.
Now State Senator Steve Farley thinks this is the year the law will go through.
Last spring this wreck in Texas killed thirteen people on a church bus. The driver who hit them, conceded he was texting.
In 2013 dash cam video caught a truck driver checking Facebook, when he hit and killed DPS Officer Tim Huffman.
State Senator Steve Farley says incidents like those are turning public opinion so the texting and driving ban he's pushed for twelve years now looks like it will pass.
"All the cel phone companies are now supporting this bill. Basically everyone, every interest is supporting this bill. I was happy to see even the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry was signed in in support of this bill."
Farley is optimistic the bill will survive where it's died in the past--in votes in the full State House and State Senate.
Adapting to a statewide anti-texting law will require changing some habits. One of the biggest habits may be the habit you may have, where you think it's okay to text and drive--at least when no one's looking but dangerous when other people do it.
Dedicated texters are everywhere you look around U of A but the ones we asked say they'd like a state law to make drivers drop those phones.
Alexis Edwards says, “I hate when people text when I'm in the car. I find it very rude. I value my life. It's very dangerous not keeping your eyes on the road for long periods of time. Would you just shut your eyes when you're driving? Probably not."
Farley says when places like Tucson or Pima County have their own bans on texting and driving those laws apply as long as they're stronger than state law.
