Staff Report
They’ve already gotten the speed limit lowered. Now a Western Hays County group is revving up its legislative outreach months ahead of 2021.
The 290 Safety Coalition had pressed for the TxDOT speed study conducted in June 2019 that resulted in the lowering of the speed limit Aug. 3 to 55 mph along U.S. 290 between Dripping Springs and Oak Hill. Now they are taking aim at distracted driving, backing a bill (SB 43) by State Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo) that would make Texas a “hands-free” state.
Nationwide, more than 25% of crashes are due to distracted driving, the group said in a news release and, in Texas, “almost 10,000 crashes occur every month due to distracted driving.”
They also note that those figures may well be underreported, as some are reluctant to admit they had been driving while distracted.
Dripping Springs resident Sarah Kline of the 290 Safety Coalition praised TxDOT’s decision to lower the speed limit to something safer for the many families who drive 290 — which is essentially Dripping Springs’ main street — to get to school, to the doctor or to the grocery store.
