JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- A Missouri bill would put a blanket ban on using devices like cell phones and GPS receivers while driving.
The Columbia Missourian reports that the bill proposed by Republican Sen. Bob Dixon was heard Thursday by the Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee.
Current state law only prohibits drivers under 21 from texting and driving. Other drivers follow Missouri's more vague distracted driving law by driving in a "careful and prudent manner." But that law doesn't have any explicit language on texting.
Data from the Missouri Department of Transportation shows that about 100 people were killed in 2016 in crashes involving a distracted driver.
Missouri is currently one of only three states that don't explicitly ban texting for all drivers.