City could take up a texting ban before Parker leaves. Katherine Driessen, HoustonChronicle.com ($$$)
The danger of using cell phones while driving is well documented, increasing crash risks by more than 23 percent, according to the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. In 46 states and the District of Columbia, texting while driving is already banned. Though Texas is one of the few states without such a law, 40 cities including San Antonio and Austin have already opted to enact a local ban.
Houston needs the law because "everyone else is doing it" it seems.
Never mind that there are already distracted driving laws that are not vigorously enforced that would cover this, or that it's going to prove difficult to prove whether the driver was texting, or something else. Houston wants to do this for the same reason they felt they needed Parker's folly.
Because everyone else is doing it.
And no, I'm not arguing in favor of allowing people to text on their phones while barreling down the freeway. But I'm equally concerned about people eating, putting on make-up and shaving while doing the same thing.
The problem is that we already have laws that prohibit this, but they're not enforced.
A bigger problem is that Parker is now desperately in search of a legacy before she leaves office. HER Ordinance was overwhelmingly rejected by voters, ReBuild Houston has been all but rendered moot by the Texas Supreme Court, and now there is a lawsuit being filed that the term-limits ordinance was poorly written.
Given the Parker Administration's track-record crafting ordinances, it is advisable that she just ride off into the sunset and leave things to her successor who, presumably, would do a better job writing ordinance that's not either misleading, or that blatantly violates the Texas Constitution.
There's already evidence that Parker is mobilizing the City Finance Department to act as a de-facto arm of the Sylvester Turner campaign a fact that Turner has seized on (h/t BlogHouston for that last link), and her meltdown after the defeat of Parker's Folly suggests that her time as an effective Mayor has come and gone.
I've mentioned before that Parker is using the results of some dodgy polls to justify her standing as a popular Mayor. This is in much the same vein as Obama refusing to acknowledge that he's currently underwater in approval ratings, pointing to the last election rather than real-time evidence. It would be much better for Houston if the current Mayor would just play out the string, keep things running and let the next Mayor and Council address the city's problems when they get into office.
Establishing a new area of law-enforcement with the ability to fine citizens, with an ordinance that must be carefully written to avoid free-speech concerns, is something best left to elected officials who still must face the wrath of the voters should they get it wrong. Parker is no longer under any such restrictions and we've already seen the fruits that her proclivities produce.
As with Parker's Folly, there are a lot of stakeholders impacted by this that should have a say in crafting the legislation. It's going to take more than Parker's staff. A staff that, in the past, has revealed itself to be not quite up to the task of writing a good ordinance.
