In Ohio, as in other states throughout the country, it is a common occurrence to see a driver who is obviously paying more attention to the person he or she is talking with on a cell phone than to the surrounding traffic conditions. Distractions abound with cell phones, and danger is ever present when they are used while engaging in an activity - like driving - that can severely punish inattention.

A story out of a small town in Louisiana illustrates how that danger can be magnified when texting is involved: While a driver on a phone can usually keep eyes on the road to some degree, numerous studies indicate that texting requires an almost total focus that shuts out other activities and dramatically increases the risk for a car accident.

That is obviously what happened to the driver in St. Charles Parish last week when, with eyes off the road while both texting and speeding, she struck three teenage boys on a curb. All of them were hurt, one with serious head injuries.

States vary widely in their approach toward motorists who talk or text while driving. Ohio, for example, has no state laws that regulate these activities, which places it within a minority of states that do not curtail them to some degree. A bill has, however, recently passed through the Ohio House that does provide for a complete text ban, and the Senate is considering similar legislation.

Louisiana, on the other hand, has comparatively stringent laws; concerning texting, the activity is completely banned for all drivers, with the added bite that enforcement is "primary," meaning that a police officer doesn't need to first stop a motorist for some other illegal activity before assessing a fine for texting.

Related Resource: www.nola.com "Texting driver injures three St. Charles teenagers, authorities say" August 31, 2010