By Laura Weber, Michigan Public Radio Network
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-899369.mp3
LANSING, MI –
A statewide ban on texting while driving has been signed into law. Governor Granholm signed the bills live via satellite Friday on Oprah Winfrey's show. The show was dedicated to the issue of distracted driving.
AUDIO:
Governor Granholm signed the bill in front of a couple hundred people at the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit. The governor signing the bill caps a multi-year effort to regulate cell-phone use in cars. Granholm says banning drivers from texting on cell phones is good, but she says lawmakers need to continue to discuss distracted driving.
"It would be an, I think, important step for us to make the next step, which is to require just hands-free conversation, as opposed to while you're on your cell phone," she says.
Some lawmakers say they are ready to look at other distracted driving issues now that a texting ban has been signed into law. The law goes into effect July 1.