CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Some state lawmakers want to crack down on drivers who text-message behind the wheel. 

Members of an interim legislative committee on Tuesday discussed a bill that would impose a $25 fine on anyone who "writes, sends or reads a text-based communication" while driving, except during emergencies. The committee hopes the full Legislature will take up the issue in January.

"The texting has gotten completely out of hand," said Delegate Randy Swartzmiller, D-Hancock.

The measure would make texting while driving a secondary offense, meaning someone could only be cited if an officer also pulled them over for something else, such as speeding.

Delegate Nancy Guthrie, D-Kanawha, thinks the bill could go further. She wants the committee to consider a ban on all handheld cell phones while driving, saying that dialing and talking on the phone can distract drivers just as much as texting.

"I don't believe the two issues are separate," she said. "I believe they're equally as dangerous."

In the legislative session earlier this year, Guthrie sponsored a bill that would have prohibited motorists from using handheld cell phones, except in emergencies.  The measure passed the House of Delegates, but died at the last minute after the state Senate added an unrelated provision to boost funding for subsidized construction of cell phone towers.

Guthrie said she often hears people say cell phone bans violate their "personal rights."

"I want to ask them what consideration they gave to the person whose life they just took because they were not watching the road," she said after the meeting.

Efforts to curb driving while texting have grown nationwide, especially in the last year, said Steve Dale, assistant to the commissioner of the state Division of Motor Vehicles.

In July, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute released a study that showed drivers' crash risk is 23 times higher while they are texting.

"That's what initiated a lot of action on the federal level," Dale said.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Some state lawmakers want to crack down on drivers who text-message behind the wheel. 

Members of an interim legislative committee on Tuesday discussed a bill that would impose a $25 fine on anyone who "writes, sends or reads a text-based communication" while driving, except during emergencies. The committee hopes the full Legislature will take up the issue in January.

"The texting has gotten completely out of hand," said Delegate Randy Swartzmiller, D-Hancock.

The measure would make texting while driving a secondary offense, meaning someone could only be cited if an officer also pulled them over for something else, such as speeding.

Delegate Nancy Guthrie, D-Kanawha, thinks the bill could go further. She wants the committee to consider a ban on all handheld cell phones while driving, saying that dialing and talking on the phone can distract drivers just as much as texting.

"I don't believe the two issues are separate," she said. "I believe they're equally as dangerous."

In the legislative session earlier this year, Guthrie sponsored a bill that would have prohibited motorists from using handheld cell phones, except in emergencies.  The measure passed the House of Delegates, but died at the last minute after the state Senate added an unrelated provision to boost funding for subsidized construction of cell phone towers.

Guthrie said she often hears people say cell phone bans violate their "personal rights."

"I want to ask them what consideration they gave to the person whose life they just took because they were not watching the road," she said after the meeting.

Efforts to curb driving while texting have grown nationwide, especially in the last year, said Steve Dale, assistant to the commissioner of the state Division of Motor Vehicles.

In July, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute released a study that showed drivers' crash risk is 23 times higher while they are texting.

"That's what initiated a lot of action on the federal level," Dale said.

Earlier this month, President Obama issued an executive order barring federal employees from texting while using government vehicles or cell phones, or while using their own vehicles and phones for government business.  The U.S. Senate is also considering legislation to make states ban texting while driving, or face losing 25 percent of their federal highway dollars, Dale said.

Eighteen states and Washington, D.C. now prohibit text messaging for all drivers, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. Six states and D.C. ban handheld cell phones for all drivers.

Studies have shown that both talking on the phone and texting increase crash risks, Dale said.

"But the texting is just really coming to the surface as the most dangerous activity," he said.

Some lawmakers say the Legislature is more likely to outlaw texting behind the wheel than to support a total ban on cell phones in cars. 

"I think strategically, [a text-message ban] should be the effort we take on because it's more dangerous," Delegate Daryl Cowles, R-Morgan, said after the meeting. "It would pass with flying colors."

Delegate Jonathan Miller, R-Berkeley, said the current bill would be tough to enforce, and would not do enough to stop distracted driving.

"The way the bill's written," he said, "it's really more of a political statement than an actual bill with teeth."

For instance, he said, drivers fined for text-messaging wouldn't rack up any points on their driving record, and their insurance companies and employers wouldn't be able to find out that they had violated the law.  

Reach Alison Knezevich at alis...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-1240.