From the Portland Oregonian — Originally published Wednesday, July 29

… A new study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, one of the nation’s leading auto safety research organizations, answers once and for all the question of whether texting while driving is unduly dangerous.

Of course it is.

… Four Democratic U.S. senators announced Wednesday that they are co-sponsoring a bill that would require states to ban driving while texting or face the loss of 25 percent of their federal highway funds. It’s the same hammer that has required states to adopt a blood-alcohol level of 0.8 percent to combat drunken driving. Under the law, the transportation secretary would be required to issue guidelines within six months of the measure being signed into law, and states would then have two years to approve the bans on texting and driving.

With the growing evidence about the dangers of texting and driving, no state ought to wait two years to pass a prohibition. …