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Texting While Driving Bill Introduced In FL House

TALLAHASSEE (CBS4) - Several U.S. states have already banned it, and soon texting while driving in the state of Florida may also be a thing of the past.

Rep. Ray Pilon, R-Sarasota, filed the measure in the House Friday. The same bill was filed earlier this week in the Senate by Sen. Nancy Detert, R-Venice.

The bill, HB 299, would ban people from "manually typing or entering multiple letters, numbers, symbols, or other characters into a wireless communications device for the purpose of non-voice interpersonal communication, including, but not limited to, communication methods known as texting, e-mailing, and instant messaging," according to The News Service of Florida.

The infraction would be a secondary offense, meaning that police officers would not be allowed to pull someone over for the violation, but if they were pulled over for something else in addition to the texting a citation for both could be written.

The bill also includes an exemption for using the cell phone as a navigation tool.

(TM and © Copyright 2011 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The News Service of Florida contributed to this report.)

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