Georgia may become the next state to ban texting while driving. Last Tuesday State Republicans Allen Peake and Amos Amerson introduced House Bill 938, which would outlaw texting while driving and charge drivers with a fine and driver’s license penalties for doing so.

If the bill passes, it would go into effect July 1 and make Georgia the 20th state to make texting while driving illegal. Nine states ban text messaging for teen drivers.

According to Rep. Peter Barca, a bill author, texting while driving “is more serious than driving drunk because your eyes are off the road for just too long. Make no mistake about it: People are killed by people texting messages.”

The bill has the support of AAA Auto Club, which wants to see similar laws passed in every state by the year 2013. Kevin W. Bakewell, senior vice president of the AAA Auto Club South, said the ban on texting is AAA’s top legislative priority, as multiple studies have shown the practice to be an extremely dangerous distraction for drivers due to the extended time drivers’ eyes are off the road.

Peake says the bill is a step in the right direction for Georgia. He stopped short of a total ban on cell phone use and says the legislation addresses the “more dangerous” practice of texting. “I used to text like crazy while driving, I had no idea what was going on around me, and that’s scary. I knew I needed to make some changes before I hurt myself or someone else.”

Peake said the law may also be difficult to enforce, but hopes that having a law on the books which could cost drivers who get caught at least a $50 fine and two penalty points on their driver’s licenses would be a deterrent. A study in California shows that a ban in the state reduced texting while driving by 70 percent.