WAFF-TV: News, Weather and Sports for Huntsville, ALTexting ban, a year later is it working?

Huntsville and Madison will soon mark a year since a texting while driving ban went into effect.

There are signs for warning drivers and the threat of getting fined for texting and driving has been around for almost a year, but are they really working?

"No, I still see people texting and driving," Susan Sandner, Huntsville resident.

The city of Huntsville passed a texting ban last September and the cities of Madison, Decatur and Athens all followed suit.
    
The point is to get drivers to focus on the road instead of their phones or else face a $100 fine for the first offense.

But between Huntsville and Madison, only three drivers have received tickets. So it makes people wonder if the ban is really doing the trick.

"Even if we are not writing citations, that doesn't account for some of the warnings that have been issued. We have had a handful of warnings that have been issued," said Lt. John Stringer, Madison Police.

"The ban wasn't created as a punitive tool it was more created as an educational tool. I think our roads are a little bit safer. Everything you can do to make sure that driver concentrates on the road when he is driving makes your roads a little bit safer," said Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle.

Just last week, a woman her 10-month old infant were killed when her vehicle collided with a dump truck on I-65 in Chilton County. The woman was apparently texting while driving.

Police said these are the kinds of accidents officials want to prevent and they said if a texting ban will help the cause, it is worth it.

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