Phoenix texting ban called success, despite few citations

Phoenix police have issued citations to just seven drivers for violating the city's ban on texting which went into effect last October, but the law is still being called a success.

``We knew that the number of citations was going to be small," said City Councilman Greg Stanton, who sponsored the law.

Citations were not the point of the law, Stanton said.

``We wanted to send a message that, in the city of Phoenix, this dangerous activity was unacceptable."

The law has raised awareness about the dangers of texting while driving, said Stanton.

``It really created a conversation between parents and teenagers about what expectations were for safe driving habits."

People have gotten the message, Stanton said.

``These citations come up when someone has engaged in erratic driving and they get pulled over and, through an investigation by police, it is determined that the cause of this erratic driving was texting while driving."

Texting behind the wheel was a topic of conversation at a National Highway Safety Conference in Scottsdale this week.

Pam Fischer, a New Jersey director of the national Governors' Highway Safety Association, said more states and cities need to pass laws similar to Phoenix's, but she also said a lot of people know how to get away with texting while driving.

``A lot of times, they're texting lower than sight vision for law enforcement to see," she said. ``We have police officers in our state who say people are doing it in their laps."