Nolanville residents spoke in favor of the city's proposed ordinance to ban cell phone usage while driving during a city council meeting on Thursday night.
The ordinance, proposed by Council member George French III, would prohibit texting or talking on the phone while driving.
"If you look around you will see distracted driving all of the time.I just found it surprising that Texas didn't have a state ordinance for it," French said. "This was an opportunity for Nolanville to be on the forefront of this.
Residents said this is something that needs to be implemented as soon as possible.
"I see it every day. Individuals driving with two hands on the wheel, one hand has a cell phone. Whether they are talking or they're texting, it's nonstop," David Thornton, a Nolanville resident, said. "It's dangerous."
The Texas Department of Transportation reports that in 2015, there were 105,783 distracted driver crashes in the state.
"Something has to be done. Lives have been lost. Countless lives have been lost because somebody's yapping on the phone or texting someone. There's a time and place for everything," Thornton said.
The ordinance would include both city streets and Highway 190. If someone is caught using their phone, they could be fined up to $500.
Several council members and citizens made suggestions to change some of the wording in the ordinance.
City council members will meet for a workshop session on January 10th to edit the wording of the ordinance before putting it as an agenda item. The ordinance reading will be on January 19th at the next city council meeting.
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