If the North Dakota Legislature can't, or won't, do anything to combat the growing problem of texting while driving, perhaps other cities should follow the lead of Grand Forks.
Grand Forks City Council president Hal Gersham is urging the council to consider banning texting and driving within city limits, and the item is included on next week's agenda for discussion.
Members of the Legislature have discussed the issue before, but have yet to muster enough votes to pass any bill restricting or banning texting while driving. Meanwhile, the evidence continues to mount that proves texting while driving is a dangerous and sometimes deadly behavior. And we're not picking on teens, either. We've seen plenty of adults thumbing away on their phone keyboards while driving down Broadway and other city streets.
It's a problem that needs to be addressed, although it doesn't seem like members of the Legislature are too anxious to tackle the subject, for fear of infringing upon individual rights or being labeled a "nanny" state. Perhaps that will change in the next session, but we won't be holding our breath.
In the meantime, it will be interesting to see how the city council debate proceeds in Grand Forks.
