Over the course of the past two weeks, I was a part of two interesting interim studies.
The first involved members of the House of Representatives public safety committee. The topic was texting while driving. This is a topic I hear discussed frequently, with many different opinions expressed.
We were addressed by several families who had lost one of their family members to someone driving inattentively. We also heard from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and several other organizations, concerning potential enforcement and penalties.
The chairman of the committee, Rep. Sue Tibbs (R- Tulsa), and the author of the study, Rep. Danny Morgan (D- Prague), both intend to run legislation banning texting while driving in our state. Rep. Tibbs also plans to run her legislation banning cell phone usage, excluding hands free, in conjunction with the ban on texting while driving.
This seems to be an issue that crosses party lines. One of the Police Chiefs in my district expresses a desire for being able to ticket for inattentive driving proactively. Currently, law enforcement is only able to ticket for inattentive driving if an accident is caused. This would cover the gamut of inattention from applying make-up, spilling your coffee, texting, or even reading the paper.
One of the District Attorneys in the district worried about enforcement and the ability to prove whether texting had occurred. This is an issue that will come up in our next legislative session, so I would like to ask you to phone my office at the Capitol for an unofficial poll on what you as constituents prefer:
Do you support a ban on texting while driving?
Do you support a ban on texting and using a cell phone while driving? Do you support ticketing inattentive driving? Do you support no change?
My phone number is (405)557-7333. You can also leave it on machine, if no one answers. I would request your answer in the format of: I support number ___.
The second study I attended was at Roman Nose State Park in Watonga. It was an overview of our State Parks and their status. Roman Nose is one of six Oklahoma State Parks with a lodge, and theirs is currently being totally renovated. We also toured a beautiful, new ADA equipped cabin available to families with someone who suffers from a disability. In addition to the state parks with lodges, there are 11 more that offer cabin rentals.
For a very minimal investment, we are blessed with a wonderful park system, stretching into every area of our state. I encourage you to visit the travelok.com website and see what Oklahoma parks have to offer you.
Many of the parks have nature centers, RV facilities, group cabins, and even conference centers for conventions. There are hiking trails, horse stables, swimming pools, fishing, ATV driving trails, golfing, and even Teepee rentals at different parks in the system.
I encourage you to check out one of our beautiful and historical state parks soon.
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Leslie Osborn (R- Tuttle) serves District 47 of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.
She can be reached by phone at (405) 557-7333 or via e-mail at leslie.osborn@okhouse.gov.
