MoDOT director: Missouri needs law to ban motorists from using handheld cellphones while driving

Missouri needs to ban motorists from using handheld cellphones while driving, Department of Transportation director Patrick McKenna said Tuesday.

Missouri has no law about the use of cellphones while driving. The state, however, bans texting for all drivers 21 years old or younger.

McKenna called for more comprehensive restrictions during a meeting of the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission at the Osage Centre in Cape Girardeau.

He said the state also needs to strengthen its seat-belt law.

Both measures could lead to fewer traffic fatalities, he suggested.

McKenna said he wants state lawmakers to make failure to use seat belts a primary offense.

It currently is a secondary offense, meaning a motorist cannot be pulled over and cited solely for that violation. A motorist can be cited for failing to wear a seat belt only in instances where he or she has been pulled over for another traffic violation.

McKenna told commissioners Missouri has experienced a growing number of fatalities this year, up 7 percent from a year ago.

More than 800 people have died in traffic accidents statewide this year, he said.

The number is on pace to top 900 by year's end, according to transportation officials.

McKenna said many fatalities are the result of "driver behavior and distraction."

He added, "It is something we need to focus on."

The Missouri Department of Transportation this year barred employees from using cellphones while driving its vehicles, McKenna said, adding MoDOT wants to set a good example for the rest of the state.

Failure to wear seat belts also is a factor in traffic fatalities, he told commissioners. About 60 percent of those killed in traffic accidents in Missouri were not wearing their seat belts, he said.

McKenna said 20 percent of Missouri drivers don't wear seat belts. When it comes to teenagers, only a third wear seat belts, he said.

McKenna also outlined his agency's general finances during the commission's meeting in what he called a "Citizen's Guide to Transportation Funding in Missouri."

MoDOT received almost $2.5 billion in revenue in fiscal 2016. Almost two-thirds came from state user fees, a third from the federal government and a small fraction from the state's general revenue fund, McKenna said.

Missouri has the seventh-largest state highway system in the nation but ranks 47th in revenue per mile, he told commissioners.

"We actually lag behind the region as well," he said.

MoDOT maintains 34,000 miles of highways and 10,400 bridges, McKenna said.

McKenna reported about 90 percent of the state's most-traveled highways are in good shape.

"Our low-volume routes are in the worst condition," he said, adding only 70 percent of them are in good condition.

Missouri has nearly 2,000 bridges in poor condition or operate under weight restrictions, McKenna said.

MoDOT has outlined its finances on its website in an effort to inform the public, he said.

"No one wants their taxes raised," he told commissioners.

But he said Missourians need to view funding of roads and bridges as "an investment."

mbliss@semissourian.com

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1625 N. Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau, Mo.