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    A Federal Ban on Texting While Driving?

    From the blog of Jeffrey Miron—

    A federal ban on TWD is not compelling:

    1. Federal imposition of the 21-year old minimum drinking age did not save lives.

    2. A ban on texting might increase other distractions: adjusting the radio, putting on makeup, eating a sandwich, reading a map, and so on. Relatedly, the evidence that TWD causes accidents is far from convincing. Traffic fatalities per vehicle mile travelled have declined substantially over the past 15 years, despite the explosion in text messaging.

    3. TWD has benefits, not just costs. Truckers, for example, claim that

    Crisscrossing the country, hundreds of thousands of long-haul truckers use computers in their cabs to get directions and stay in close contact with dispatchers, saving precious minutes that might otherwise be spent at the side of the road.

    4. If the benefits of banning TWD become clear, most states will ban on their own.