Measures toughening distracted-driving laws never received hearings

Tired of sharing roads with drivers busily texting on their cellphones?

Better get used to it for, at least, another year.

Several bills in the Florida Legislature that would have tough- ened laws about distracted driving never had a chance, getting shelved without a hearing before the session wound down Friday.

Texting while driving in school zones might seem like a bad idea to most people, but legislation — House Bill 47 — co-introduced by state Rep. Emily Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, to give police the authority to ticket those individuals didn’t get out of the gate.

A similar fate befell a second proposal from Slosberg that would have allowed law-enforcement to pull over drivers 18 years old and under caught texting behind the wheel.

“They never made it out of the drawer,” Slosberg said.

In Florida, texting while driving is considered a secondary offense. That means police must witness a driver committing a primary traffic infraction — such as speeding, running a stop sign — before a citation can be issued for texting. The fine is $30.

Attempts to beef up texting laws in recent years have all been snuffed out before they could get to the floor in either chamber.

“It would be hard for anybody to vote against these laws, so they don’t give it a hearing,” Slosberg said. “It’s like they’re saying, ‘We want there to be texting while driving.’ ”