Lawmakers in 19 states have passed laws banning drivers from texting while behind the wheel. Alabama may soon become the 20th state on that list.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill by way of an 8-1 vote Wednesday that would prohibit Alabama drivers from texting while driving. The bill, sponsored by state Rep. Jim McClendon, R-Springville, was also passed by House members in January by a vote of 95 to 3. Clay Ingram, public relations and marketing manager for AAA Alabama, said passing the bill is a no-brainer, and the organization ranks texting while driving in the same category as drinking and driving.

“Passing the bill won’t cost anyone any money, won’t make anyone money, and has no hidden incentives,” Ingram said. “Seeing the stats and deaths in states where texting while driving is legal really shows you that this bill will save lives.”

The bill now heads to the full Senate for debate. Ingram said that he expects the bill to pass within the next few weeks.

“I think that, within the next year or two, we’ll see most states passing laws similar to this one,” Ingram said.

McClendon presented the same bill to committee last year. It passed in the House but was delayed in the Senate Judiciary Committee and was not approved by the end of session, killing the bill.

This time around, Judiciary Committee members passed the bill after making changes to McClendon’s original draft. The amended bill says that though it is against the law to text while driving, police cannot pull a vehicle over unless the motorist is committing some other offense, such as speeding.

The bill says that first-time offenders will face a $25 fine, and the bill does not make it illegal to talk on the phone while commuting.

Abby Haynes, a sophomore majoring in nursing, said she hopes to see the bill passed.

“People who text and drive are hazards to themselves and other drivers around them,” Haynes said. “By passing this proposed bill, Alabama could diminish a high number of texting-related accidents.”

A recent study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute equipped long-haul trucks with video cameras focused on the drivers as they traveled a combined three million miles across the country.

Researchers found that in the five seconds preceding a crash or near crash, texting drivers often took their eyes off of the road for five seconds – enough time to cover the distance of an entire football field. Analysis of the information showed that truck drivers who text while driving are 23 times more likely to be in an accident than a non-distracted driver.

Daniel Turner, UA professor emeritus of civil engineering, said this information alone justifies laws against texting while driving.

A July 2009 study conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety polled 2,501 drivers, of which 95 percent said texting while driving was a serious safety threat to commuters.

There may be some resistance to the bill, however, as 21 percent of those polled said they had sent a text or e-mail while driving. Allen Parrish, professor of computer science, said while the bill is a good idea, “it may be difficult to enact.”