The Alabama Legislature is considering a bill by state Rep. Jim McClendon, R-Springville, during the current session that would outlaw cellular phone use and cellular phone text messaging while operating a vehicle.

Local law enforcement officials agree that cellular phones have led to more incidents of distracted driving.

Sylacauga Police Chief Louis Zook said he would support a ban.

“I think it’s a good idea. It’s come up in the legislature a few times before. Not just with accidents, but with driving in general, talking on cell phones and receiving and sending texts distracts the driver from paying attention to the road where they should be focused,” Zook said.

Pell City Police Chief Greg Turley said drivers distracted by cellular phones often look similar to another type of dangerous driver.

“Usually this is something in which officers see people mimicking what you might expect to see in a DUI (driving under the influence) driver,” Turley said. Some signs might be swerving in an out of lanes, not maintaining a constant speed and slow reaction times.

Chad Joiner, public information officer for the Jacksonville post of the Alabama State Troopers, said he has seen plenty of accidents due to distracted driving including cellular phone use, eating while driving and adjusting the vehicle’s radio or compact disc player.

Statistics show drivers under the age of 20 have the largest percentage of distracted drivers, he added.

“That’s one thing we certainly want to encourage people not to do because kids are texting or looking at their radio, and some forget what they’re doing,” he said.

Distracted driving can easily lead to several traffic violations such as improper lane use, reckless driving, speeding or failure to heed sign or signal, Joiner said

“Unless (the cellular phone ban) becomes a primary law we have to wait for another violation to happen in order to pull somebody over,” Joiner said. “We’re trying to make it safer out there for all drivers.”

Turley said “It would be difficult to enforce, and I think people would be less likely to admit it caused an accident but anything we can do to minimize risk and enhance safety, I think would be good.”

As cellular phone use continues to rise, Zook believes it would be a good idea to go ahead and address the problem now.

“More and more people are using cell phones as their primary mode of communication,” Zook said. “In this world of 24/7 access, this can be dangerous and needs to be addressed, if not by people using their common sense then with legislation.”