New Oklahoma Law Targets Teens Who Text And Drive

NewsOn6.com

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A new law that aims to curb texting while driving for teenagers will go into effect on Monday.

Teens with learner's permits or a graduated drivers license will be breaking the law if they pull out their phone behind the wheel and could lose their license.

"I don't think that's overboard, it's just taking precaution because bad things can happen when you text and drive because all your attention is not on the road," said teen driver Billie Jean McCoy.

McCoy said she hit a dog when texting while driving and vowed to never do it again.

"That could've been a person or even worse, a couple of my friends have hit a few cars while texting," McCoy said.

Statistic show the number one distraction for drivers is using wireless devices.

"When you're texting you're looking at your phone and not the road so you can't really pay attention to what's going on. It causes a lot of accidents," said teen driver Autumn Marsh, teen driver. "I don't want my license taken away. I guess just don't text and drive.

Legal experts said the law will also apply to other hand-held devices, such as GPS systems and iPods.