Driver safety is of the utmost importance. We’re glad to see members of the Maine Legislature agree.

On Monday, lawmakers approved a bill to ban text messaging while driving, with unanimous approval of LD 736 in the House and final passage by the Senate.

While the law may be a challenge to enforce, it sends the right message to drivers: Do not text behind the wheel.

The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, said “studies have shown that texting while driving decreases response time as much as drinking. Maine has had several high-profile accidents in the last year involving texting, and it has become a real problem.

He added that although Maine is the last state in New England to get the law on the books, it will now join more than 30 other states nationwide that have banned the practice.

In safety exercises at high schools around the state, students learn the dangers of texting while driving.

At Old Orchard Beach High School last year, students attempted to drive golf carts while texting. Students in all grades took part of their lunch period to participate in the event. A police officer rode along as they tried to maneuver the carts through a course of traffic cones.

Eric Santos, who was 16 and had a driver’s permit at the time, said the exercise was a good reminder not to text while driving.

But John Weaver, who was 18 and did not have a driver’s license at the time, summed it up best: “I wouldn’t text and drive in the first place. I like my life.”

According to AAA Northern New England, 80 percent of Americans believe that distracted driving ”“ when people engage in a non-driving activity while driving ”“ is a serious threat to roadways. But, one in five people admitted to reading or sending a text or e-mail while driving in the last 30 days before the AAA survey.

While most agree it is dangerous, many people engage in texting and other activities or tasks while driving that threaten everyone on the road.

Hopefully, more Mainers will heed the new regulations since a $100 fine could be the result if drivers are caught texting ”“ regardless of whether it causes an accident. The state should invest in some educational tools like signs to reinforce the message ”“ and consequences ”“ should drivers choose to text and drive.

We hope people will follow the law in Maine and elsewhere and save their texting for times when they are not behind the wheel of an automobile.

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Questions? Comments? Contact Managing Editor Kristen Schulze Muszynski by calling 282-1535, Ext. 322, or via e-mail at kristenm@journaltribune.com.