create an extreme risk when used by individuals op-
erating motor vehicles; 
(7) a 2008 study by Nationwide Insurance 
found that 20 percent of drivers in the United 
States send text messages while operating motor ve-
hicles; 
(8) according to a study by Car and Driver 
Magazine, texting while driving is more dangerous 
than driving while intoxicated; 
(9) a recent study by the Virginia Tech Trans-
portation Institute found operators of motor vehicles 
who sent text messages while driving had a collision 
risk that was 23 times greater while texting as com-
pared to the risk when the operators were not 
texting; 
(10) another study by the University of Utah 
found that college students using a driving simulator 
were 8 times more likely to have an accident while 
texting; 
(11) after a serious accident occurred on the 
Boston public trolley system in May 2009, the trol-
ley operator was found to have been texting his 
girlfriend at the time of the accident; 
(12) the problem of texting while driving has 
been recognized across the country; 
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(13) as of the date of enactment of this Act, 14 
States and the District of Columbia ban all drivers 
from texting while operating motor vehicles, and 11 
other states have a modified ban on texting while 
driving; 
(14) the risks created by texting while driving 
are increasing nationwide as the use of texting in-
creases nationwide; 
(15) it is necessary, therefore, for Congress to 
act to protect the safety of all people in the United 
States on highways and roads in the United States; 
and 
(16) Federal legislation to address the problem 
of texting while driving is necessary to ensure min-
imum standards of protection across the country, in 
the same manner as the national minimum drinking 
age provides a uniform standard of protection. 
SEC. 3. OPERATION OF MOTOR VEHICLES WHILE TEXTING. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title 23, United 
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘§ 167. Operation of motor vehicles while texting 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) HAND-HELD MOBILE TELEPHONE.— 
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‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘hand-held 
mobile telephone’ means a mobile telephone or 
other portable electronic communication device 
with which a user engages in a call or writes, 
sends, or reads a text message using at least 1 
hand. 
‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘hand-held 
mobile telephone’ does not include a vehicle-in-
tegrated, voice-activated device. 
‘‘(2) MOTOR VEHICLE.—The term ‘motor vehi-
cle’ has the meaning given the term in section 
154(a). 
‘‘(3) TEXT MESSAGE.—The term ‘text message’ 
includes a text-based message, instant message, elec-
tronic message, and email. 
‘‘(4) WRITING; SENDING; READING.—The terms 
‘writing’, ‘sending’, and ‘reading’, with respect to a 
text message, mean the manual entry, sending, or 
retrieval of a text message, respectively, to commu-
nicate with any person or device. 
‘‘(b) WITHHOLDING OF APPORTIONMENTS FOR NON-
COMPLIANCE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On October 1 of the second 
fiscal year beginning after the date of promulgation 
of the regulations under subsection (d), and annually 
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thereafter, the Secretary shall withhold 25 percent 
of the amount required to be apportioned to any 
State under each of paragraphs (1), (3), and (4) of 
section 104(b) for the fiscal year if the Secretary de-
termines that the State does not meet the require-
ment under paragraph (2) as of that date. 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—A State shall meet the 
requirement under this paragraph if the State has 
enacted and is enforcing a law that— 
‘‘(A) except in the event of an emergency, 
prohibits an operator of a moving motor vehicle 
from writing, sending, or reading a text mes-
sage using a hand-held mobile telephone; and 
‘‘(B) requires, upon conviction of a viola-
tion of that prohibition, the imposition of pen-
alties in accordance with the requirements for 
minimum penalties described in the regulations 
promulgated under subsection (d). 
‘‘(c) RECOVERY OF FUNDS WITHHELD.—All funds 
withheld under this section from apportionment to a State 
for 1 or more fiscal years shall be available for apportion-
ment to the State immediately upon a determination by 
the Secretary that the State meets the requirement under 
paragraph (2). 
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‘‘(d) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 
promulgate regulations to carry out this section, including 
requirements for minimum penalties for violations of the 
prohibition under subsection (b)(2)(A) that— 
‘‘(1) specify a minimum penalty for a first of-
fense; and 
‘‘(2) stipulate that penalties shall be graduated 
for repeated offenses.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The analysis for 
chapter 1 of title 23, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end of the items relating to that chapter 
the following: 
‘‘167. Operation of motor vehicles while texting.’’. 
Æ 
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