In October 2009 the Transportation Commission requested Staff to investigate the options for creating a Citywide Texting While Driving ban.  Staff researched the topic and found that at the State and Federal levels there was quite a bit of activity and their seemed to be momentum enough that a Federal or State prohibition was imminent.  Staff recommended to the Commission that they wait and see how the Federal and State proposals progressed, instead of moving forward with a local ordinance.
 
After several months past and the State and Federal initiatives did not move forward staff brought a draft ordinance to the Transportation Commission.  The Transportation Commission discussed and modified the draft ordinance at multiple meetings in 2010 and 2011. The Transportation Commission in January 2012 approved the language in the proposed ordinance and recomended it be approved by the City Council.
 
Shortly after the Commission’s approval five separate proposals at the State level began moving through the Legislature.  This resulted in the City’s proposed ordinance again being put on hold.  The State has now concluded its session without enacting any variations to a  texting while driving prohibition.   

Distracted driving is any activity that could divert a person's attention away from the primary task of driving.  All distractions endanger driver, passenger, and bystander safety.  The U.S. Department of Transportation defines three main types of distraction, visual, manual, and cognitive. Text messaging, and other similar uses of wireless electronic devices, requires visual, manual and cognitive attention from the driver and, is considered to be the worst common distraction to drivers.

According to the U.S. DOT in 2011 3,311 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver, and an additional 387,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver.  According to a study performed by Virgina Tech Transportation Institue (VTTI) drivers distracted by text messaging incur a crash risk 23 times worse than driving while not distracted. A research study performed by the Department of Psychology at Carnegie Mellon University found that participants who were asked to concurrently listen and answer questions while driving a vehicle simulator had decreased driving accuracy and a measured 37% decrease in brain function associated with the driving task.

The City's proposed ordinance - USE OF WIRELESS COMMUNICATION DEVICES WHILE DRIVING OR BICYCLING PROHIBITED 2013-11 specifically addresses operators of motor vehicles or bicycles viewing, sending, storing or composing electronic messages and sending, reading, creating, playing or interacting with internet-based content. 

The Transportation Commission in drafting this proposed ordinance intentionally chose to address distracted driving associated with what is considered the worst common distraction to drivers, text messaging.  Hand-held and hands-free cell phone use is not addressed in this ordinance, though was debated at great length by the Transportation Commssion.