SD lawmaker wants to ban texting while driving

A South Dakota lawmaker says he will make another attempt to ban texting while driving.

Sen. Mike Vehle of Mitchell says he is still working on details of the bill, which will be introduced soon in the South Dakota Legislature.

A similar bill sponsored by Vehle was passed by the Senate last year, but then was rejected by a House committee.

Vehle says texting while driving can be dangerous because it distracts a driver's attention from the road. He says a number of South Dakota cities have already banned texting while driving, so a law is needed to make a ban statewide.

But opponents say studies indicate it's not clear that texting bans have lowered crash rates in the 41 states that have them