The bill would prohibit writing, reading or sending text messages and e-mails while driving state highways but does allow talking on the phone while driving and typing names and telephone numbers.

Under the bill, violators would be fined $50. If a driver is involved in an accident, the fine would be $200.

Senate Bill 1334 went before the state Senate Committee in the middle of February and passed unanimously.

Jerry Bilas, a patrol officer with the Sedona Police Department, supports the proposed bill, but he thinks it does not go far enough.

He said the measure would have significant impacts for Sedona because of the number of motorists who drive State Route 89A every day.

As an example, Bilas pointed to the 25,000 motorists driving every day between Coffee Pot and Mountain Shadows drives, many who text while driving.

“Everyone is in a hurry, and when you throw in the texting that makes it much worse,” Bilas said. “They are not really paying attention to what’s going on.”

The reason why people should not be texting a message while driving is simple; it takes away the primary responsibility of driving — even if only for a few seconds, he said.

Bilas said the amount of congested traffic in Sedona compounds the problem. There is a high number of rear-end accidents in the city because motorists tend to follow too closely.

“It only takes a second,” Bilas said. “You look back up [from texting] and everyone is stopped. A lot of people don’t follow the speed limit in this town.”

Bilas thinks the bill should also ban drivers from talking on the phone while driving if they are not using a hands-free device, which is the law in California.

He said this bill would be a good starting point.

The traffic stops Bilas has made for drivers committing traffic violations while talking on a cell phone are not uncommon. He said most of the motorists were unaware their driving skills were diminished.

Bilas said he can imagine how dangerous text messaging while driving is because he has seen what can happen when simply talking on a phone while driving.

“Personally, I think that would be a good idea,” he said of not allowing the use of cell phones without a hands-free service. “Not allowing text messaging is a step in the right direction.”

Bilas said he advises the people he pulls over for driving erratically while talking on a cell phone to pull over to finish or make a call.

He added if motorists have trouble obeying all traffic laws when talking on a phone, he can only imagine how dangerous texting can become since eyes will be diverted to phones rather than the road.

He also thinks younger drivers, who grew up with texting, will have a harder time with this proposed law because texting is something they have been doing for years.

Bilas said anything causing drivers to not pay attention is dangerous.

“When you are driving you already have some distractions,” he said. “It is not a good mix.”

Bilas also thinks it would not be hard for officers to enforce this proposed law, but added there are times when bills can be watered down before the governor signs them into law. He also wonders if officers will be allowed to make traffics stop if they see people texting or if there would have to be another traffic violation.

The bill has a lot of support from several large agencies, including the Arizona branch of the American Automobile Association. AAA took a poll, and it showed almost 90 percent of motorists support Melvin’s bill.

The study AAA conducted revealed people texting while driving are 23 times more likely to be involved in a collision.