SC Senate Panel Bans Some Texting and Driving

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) – A state Senate panel has approved a bill that would ban drivers from calling, texting or reading electronic messages in South Carolina’s work or school zones. The measure passed Tuesday by the Senate Judiciary Committee also would make it illegal for drivers under age 18 to use a cell phone without a hands-free device. The bill now goes to the full Senate. The House has already passed texting ban legislation. Opponents question how texting is worse than other forms of distracted driving and argue enforcement will be difficult. Similar measures limiting texting and cell phone use while driving have died in the Legislature.