Lawmakers in Albany are calling for a statewide ban on text messaging while driving. Assemblymen Felix Ortiz and Mark Schroeder, and Sen. Carl Marcellino, are holding a news conference at noon today. They’ll be joined by a Buffalo-area mother, Kelly Cline, who lost her 20-year-old son in a texting crash. Five teenagers died in June 2007 when their sport utility vehicle veered into the path of a tractor-trailer while their driver was texting. And police in Eden in western New York say 22-year-old Brandie Conklin died April 12 when she crashed into a truck while text messaging with her friend, who was driving another car.
Eleven other states and many municipalities have banned texting while driving. The National Safety Council recommends that states ban drivers from using both hand-held and hands-free cell phones.
{NewYorkNow/Matzav.com Newscenter}
