Council to consider ban on texting while driving

Published 9:53 pm Friday, May 28, 2010

If the Demopolis City Council takes action on recent discussion, texting while driving will be a little more than a bad idea.

It would be a moving violation.

Mayor Mike Grayson said the council will consider a ban on texting while driving within the Demopolis city limit.

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“We’re trying to get more input on it,” he said. “Prattville just passed an anti-texting ordinance. Montgomery is waiting to see what happens with Prattville’s ordinance. I think that we need to take a look at theirs.

“The one that (District 4 representative) Bill Meador came up with came from Jacksonville, Ala., but theirs wasn’t anti-texting – it was anti-electronic device. You can’t use your cell phone. You can’t even be working with your GPS (Geographic Positioning System). I agree that all of those are distracting. They do not behoove good driving. To me, the real challenge is enforcement. It’s fine to have these ordinances on the books, but if you can’t enforce them, what’s the point?”

In other business, Grayson added that the council is moving ahead with the railroad spur at the airport industrial park as well as working on the industrial road.

“We have two or three businesses that are likely to be popping up in the next 90 days or so,” he said. “It’s not a lot of jobs, but it will benefit Demopolis.”

The Demopolis City Council will next meet on Thursday, June 3, at 5:15 p.m. at Rooster Hall.