Last updated on 2016.07.05
The first week of the texting-while-driving ban in Sioux Falls has brought no tickets, as well as continued self-justificatory idiocy behind the wheel. But police are pulling over drivers whom they see thumbing those keys. Even without a ticket, a brief chat with local law enforcement may do wonders to get more eyeballs off the screens and back on the road.
Madison's Ron Barthel shares my hope. One of my favorite local gadflies (who also happens to be the father of Sioux Falls police chief Doug Barthel), Ron asked the Madison City Commission last night to enact a texting-while-driving ban. Texting-while-driving makes you 23 times more likely to have an accident, so Ron's proposal makes perfect sense.
But lest Madison be caught leading, the city fathers tabled the proposal last night, saying that, like Pierre, they want to see what the South Dakota Legislature might do next session. That's Madison's squishy way of saying, "Not gonna do it!" As the Yankton Press & Dakotan notes, the Legislature has turned down texting-while-driving bans four years in a row (largely because the legislators themselves are on their phones all the time while making the long drives to Pierre and back during session). South Dakota thus remains one of only eleven states with no such ban.
I've heard no rumblings of a texting ban here in Spearfish. As a frequent pedestrian and velocipedist, I can attest to the need for a ban. Until our leaders wake up, when I'm on the streets, I'll keep putting my hand to my ear and shouting "Phone!" at those of you who aren't paying attention.