With the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, Texas physicians worry drivers are more distracted than usual on our roadways, especially with the advent of texting. “Distracted driving is a major cause of death and disability. The Texas Medical Association (TMA) supports all reasonable and enforceable efforts to reduce this problem,” said Stephen Brotherton, MD, Fort Worth orthopedic surgeon and TMA president-elect. The popular activity of texting while driving concerns several state legislators, who have filed bills to ban the practice.

These include:

• Senate Bill 28 by Sen. Judith Zaffirini (D-Laredo) and House Bill 63 Rep. Tom Craddick (R-Midland) would ban text-based communications except when using a GPS device, pressing a button to make a call, and using voice-operated technology. SB 28 would exempt texting for emergency situations and by emergency responders.

• House Bill 27 by Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer (D-San Antonio) would ban reading, writing, or sending a text message on a handheld device and establishes fines for offenders. • House Bill 41 by Rep. Jose Menendez (D-San Antonio) would prohibit wireless communication devices except hands-free device and establishes fines for offenders.

• House Bill 69 by Rep. Eddie Lucio III (D-Brownsville) would ban text-based communications.

• House Bill 108 by Rep. Patricia Harless (R-Spring) would ban text-based communications excepting GPS devices, pressing of a button to make a call, and voice-operated technology.

In 2011, legislation to ban texting while driving passed the House and Senate, but in the end, Gov. Rick Perry vetoed it. “Some forms of distracted or impaired driving are already discouraged with some success, such as driving while intoxicated,” said Dr. Brotherton. “The ability to effectively prevent texting while driving ― though challenging ― will encourage the reduction of incompetent driving in all forms. Safe driving saves lives and health costs. “A motor vehicle is a potentially lethal weapon,” added Dr. Brotherton. Include texting in the mix and the chances of dying in a car wreck increase dramatically. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that when drivers text, they are 23 times more likely to crash their car. The Texas Department of Transportation said distracted driving caused more than 81,000 collisions and claimed more than 360 Texans last year. In addition to saving countless lives, Texas physicians say new legislation banning texting could save Texas money. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports on-and-off-the-job traffic injuries cost Texas businesses $4.3 billion annually in the form of lawsuits, medical bills, property damage, and lost work. “Texting is one of the most controllable and potentially most deadly distractions on the road,” said TMA physician leader Arlo Weltge, MD. “At 70 miles per hour, taking your eyes off the road for even a brief moment can lead to loss of vehicle control and terrible crashes. “Even good drivers can suffer permanent life-changing consequences when they decide to text and drive,” warned Dr. Weltge. TMA is the largest state medical society in the nation, representing more than 46,000 physician and medical student members. It is located in Austin and has 120 component county medical societies around the state. TMA’s key objective since 1853 is to improve the health of all Texans.  

The Texas State Teachers Association voiced strong opposition to Sen. Dan Patrick’s so-called “choice” agenda and said Texas taxpayers should not be fooled by the senator’s effort to disguise the bill as something other than an attempt to divert tax dollars from public schools to private schools. “It doesn’t matter what Senator Patrick calls it, his bill offers no choice at all for most Texas families,” said TSTA President Rita Haecker. “He can call it vouchers or choice or tax credits, but any scheme that diverts state tax dollars to private schools will cost taxpayers money while undermining our public schools,” Haecker added. Although Sen. Patrick calls the legislation a school “choice” bill, the measure would offer nothing to the vast majority of Texas students and their families. That’s because the vast majority of Texas children will continue to be educated in traditional public schools, and that is where our state tax dollars need to be spent. And, most middle- and low-income families still will be unable to afford tuition at many private schools. Tax dollars that are needed to restore public education cuts should not be used to support private schools. “As Senate Education Committee chairman, Sen. Patrick should be making plans to restore the $5.4 billion he voted to cut from public education last session instead of promoting a scheme to enrich private school owners,” Haecker observed.  Public schools take all children, regardless of needs, special circumstances or family income. Private schools can “cherry pick” the best students, while refusing to accept children with special needs or those still learning to speak English. Public schools must account for how they spend tax dollars. Private schools do not. Research compiled by the National Education Association has found no evidence that voucher programs have improved overall educational results in other states. “The Patrick-Dewhurst proposal is nothing more than another cut to public education. Private schools are not accountable and do no better educating our children,” Haecker concluded. 

AUSTIN, Texas

Raising the minimum wage to a living wage begins the cycle of lifting single mothers out of poverty, according to a policy report released by the Institute for Urban Policy Research & Analysis (IUPRA) at The University of Texas at Austin. The U.S. census shows more Americans  — 46.2 million people — are living in poverty than ever before. And for African American and Hispanic women, a full-time minimum wage job isn’t enough to break out of the poverty cycle. According to the report, working women of color make $0.64 and $0.56, respectively, for every dollar white men earn. Shetal Vohra-Gupta, an IUPRA research fellow, said this disparity is concerning because female-led households with children have increased by approximately 10 percent during the past decade — and more families than ever before depend on women as primary breadwinners. To illustrate the adverse effects of a stagnant minimum wage, the analysis points to Texas, which has the largest number of low-wage workers ($7.25/hour) in the nation, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Despite its national reputation for economic growth, Texas ranks sixth in the number of people living in poverty, and its poverty rate is growing faster than the national average, according to the 2010 U.S. census. African American and Hispanic women are hit the hardest. Drawing from U.S. census and American Community Surveys data, the report shows the nation’s total of single-mother households increased 163 percent among Hispanics and 33 percent among African Americans during the past decade. To rise above the poverty threshold, a single mother raising two children and working full time would need to earn $17.50 to $31.60 an hour, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank for economic research. This amount, known as the living wage, is more than twice the average minimum wage in most communities. The findings indicate that Congress should work to increase the federal minimum wage and then adjust it to inflation in order to increase purchasing power and ultimately boost the U.S. economy. King Davis, professor of African and African Diaspora Studies and IUPRA director, says the report reveals the dire implications of a stagnant minimum wage on the U.S. economy. “Low wage earners cannot participate fully in the economy, thus lowering the overall economic health of their neighborhoods and communities,” Davis says. “Dr. Vohra-Gupta identifies that where race, low education and limited skills combine, the risks of long-term poverty for the women and their children requires policy action by a Congress that is intent on eliminating rather than increasing the worth of entitlements.” In a separate policy report, Vohra-Gupta and a team of IUPRA researchers analyzed demographic trends in the African American population in Texas since 1950. The findings show that single mothers comprise the third largest group of householders. Of the 24 percent living below the poverty level, single mothers comprise 65 percent. The researchers also found the share of African Americans in the category of “high school graduate, GED or alternative” is five percentage points higher than the general population. Yet that group is seven percentage points lower in the category of “bachelor’s degree or higher.” The reports raise important questions about several important issues, such as racial disparities in higher education, the economic toll of a stagnant minimum wage and the cycle of poverty among African American single mothers. “Wages that do not provide women with the ability to meet their needs is a major national problem that is often ignored,” Davis says. “This research shows just how concentrated low wages are in populations of women of color. The absence of a living wage greatly limits their ability to sustain themselves and their families or get out of poverty.”