Town Launches Anti-Texting Campaign

Mount Pleasant has launched a "No Text, No Wreck" public service campaign aimed at reducing the number of distracted drivers on local roads.

A video spot, which will air at local schools, shows a distracted mom texting in spite of warnings from her daughter. The mom then goes on to strike a pedestrian in the 1 minute, 30 second video commercial.

"Texting and driving is extraordinarily dangerous," said Police Chief Harry Sewell, who has a cameo role as the victim struck by a car in the commercial.

The mayor's secretary and a town intern are also actors in the video. Aired at Tuesday's council meeting, the public service announcement received hearty chuckles from the audience.

Though it produced laughs Tuesday, town leaders hope the video will encourage kids to think twice about texting while behind the wheel.

"We have state laws on distracted driving. Crossing the center line, careless driving, reckless driving, running stop lights and stop signs," Sewell said. "We can enforce against those behaviors and that's what we're going to do."

At least 12 municipalities across the state have texting-while-driving bans, but Mount Pleasant has balked at similar proposals, because municipal bans are confusing to motorists and difficult to enforce.

Sewell said he prefers the increased ticketing effort on distracted and careless driving, coupled with an aggressive education campaign, since it's difficult to prove motorists were actually texting.

That approach is a compromise to a proposal by Mayor Pro-Tem Thomasena Stokes-Marshall who wanted a town-wide ban on texting and driving. Chief Sewell and Mayor Billy Swails said they would prefer to wait for the South Carolina Legislature to pass a statewide ban.

"If there isn't a statewide ban passed by June, I will vote for a town ban in July," said Mayor Swails at Tuesday's meeting.

Stokes-Marshall said she would hold the mayor to his word on the texting ban. Town Councilman Ken Glasson said he has spoken with two state senators who feel confident the ban will go through this year.

In 2011, the South Carolina House of Representatives passed a texting-while-driving ban but the measure did not come for a vote in the Senate.