Michigan House, Senate Pass Bills Banning Texting While Driving

The Michigan House has voted to prohibit the use of cell phones to send text messages while driving.

The main bill in the package passed the House by a 94-13 vote Tuesday. A similar measure passed a Senate committee earlier in the day.

But some say the legislation that now awaits further Senate action does not go far enough.

The bills would make texting while driving a secondary offense. That means police first would need some other reason to pull over motorists before they could be cited for texting.

More than half the states will ban at least some drivers from sending text messages while driving by 2010, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.