Effective Sept. 1, drivers in Texas will no longer be able to text legally.
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Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill into law yesterday, HB 62, approving the state’s first ban on handheld communications by motorists.
This is after more than a decade of Texas lawmakers trying to push the bill forward, notably State Rep. Tom Craddick (R-Midland) and State Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo).
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Previous attempts to pass a texting ban either failed to get out of the legislature or were victim to the governor’s veto pen.
The new law will hopefully make fatal texting-related crashes like the one outside San Antonio in April, in which 13 people were killed, less likely to occur.