(Continued from page 21)

• Some opponents of texting-while-driving bans say they actually encourage people to engage in even more dangerous behavior, since drivers will try to hide the devices from police. Instead of having the phone perched on the steering wheel, they well have their attention focused on their laps.
• Baylor Shult, a sophomore at Clark, said a ban would keep her from texting behind the wheel, "but it wouldn't change other people's behavior because they'll text anyway."
• Marshall County Sheriff Dale Elsen has doubts of his own about a texting ban. He noted that he conducted a recent check on seat belt usage among students under 18 years of age (violation for those under 18 is a primary offense and subject to $25 fine) and he found that of 35 vehicles checked just two youth were wearing seat belts.
• Michele Erpenbach, Sioux Falls councilwoman, said just because enforcement won't be easy doesn't mean it's not worth it to pass the ordinance, as quoted in an Argus Leader story:
• "It did used to be legal to drink and drive. You could just kick 'em back and drive a car. No problem. It is really difficult to tell if someone has been drinking and driving. It's really hard to enforce it. People can hide that behavior, and we know that the anti-drinking and driving law does take some drunk drivers off the road, but there are still people that do it. But yet we still say it's OK to ban drinking and driving, and it is OK to ban texting and driving."
•
• Goal: Safer roads
• The purpose of the Sioux Falls ordinance is the same as it would be for a statewide ban: Making roads safer. Does a texting ban do that?
• Maybe.
• One problem, pointed out by Highway Patrol Trooper Chris Tedder and Sheriff Barry Hillestad in Day County, is that texting is just one form of distracted driving. "We've had accidents resulting from people tuning their radio, lighting a cigarette, swatting a bee or picking something up that they dropped on the floor," Hillestad said.
• The other functions of a cell phone, including just talking on them, can be just as distracting for drivers. It may be that a more comprehensive ban on the use of handheld devices while driving would be more effective at creating safer roads than a simple texting ban--though it would likely be more politically difficult to pass.
• A statewide ban could improve safety even considering the potential enforcement problems. According to Rich Lauer, coordinator for Citizens for Cell Phone

(Continued on page 23)