SD lawmaker will try to ban texting while driving

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

Sen. Mike Vehle (VAL'-ee) 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.