Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Cars

Senior Dem Senator to Offer Competing Plan to Limit Distracted Driving

Few if any policy-makers are prepared to defend the dangerous practice of using cell phones and texting behind the wheel. But even as reining in distracted driving gets a higher profile, there is some difference of opinion over whether to use carrots or sticks.

threatlevel_rockefeller_200x_3.jpgSenate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) (Photo: Wired)

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) prefers carrots, telling the Los Angeles Times this week that he plans to introduce legislation offering federal aid to states that pass laws banning drivers from using phones and texting devices.

Yet four senators, led by Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Charles Schumer (D-NY), already have endorsed the sticks approach, proposing a bill in July that would withhold 25 percents of states' federal highway money if anti-distracted driving laws are not passed within two years.

The Times reports, without attribution, that Rockefeller's "incentive approach probably would have a better chance at passage than punitive legislation" such as Menendez and Schumer's bill. In fact, ten House members already have proposed legislation that would align with the July Senate proposal.

Its chances of passage aside, however, Rockefeller's incentivized plan -- co-sponsored by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) -- would be more likely to win backing from the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), which represents state DOTs' highway safety officials.

The GHSA made headlines over the summer when it embraced a ban on texting while driving, but it later released a more detailed policy proposal that stated: "[T]he federal government does not need to sanction states that do not pass cell phone or texting while driving bans."

Instead, the GHSA suggested that Washington pay for state-level research on how best to enforce texting bans and provide "financial incentives for states" that set up tiered drivers' licenses for teenagers to prevent them from using texting devices.

Rockefeller's committee is slated to host senior Obama administration officials in two weeks for a hearing on distracted driving. One co-sponsor of the Menendez-Schumer approach, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), sits on the Commerce panel.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

America’s Kids Deserve Better Than a Waymo Subscription

What do America's young people lose when they have to buy independence from a corporation that rents out driverless cars?

July 15, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines Aren’t Falling Fast Enough

Pedestrian deaths dropped by 4 percent last year, but remain well above pre-pandemic figures.

July 15, 2025

Monday’s Headlines Are Dragging Their Feet

The Trump administration claims the Biden administration left them with a backlog — but they've actually been far slower at getting transportation money to states than their predecessors, a new analysis finds.

July 14, 2025

These U.S. Communities’ So-Called ‘Complete Streets’ Policies Don’t Even Deserve the Name

Any city can call itself a "Complete Streets" champion. But not all of them are walking the walk — and if they don't, a top organization says they'll no longer give them a platform on its esteemed "best of" ranking.

July 14, 2025

Communities Rally To Reclaim Streets From ICE Terror

"This is an attack on Los Angeles. This is an attack on California. On all of us."

July 11, 2025

Friday Video: The London Neighborhood Where Bikes Outnumber Cars

...and how they got to that impressive milestone.

July 11, 2025
See all posts