The Florida Senate unanimously passed a bill that would ban texting while driving Tuesday. The measure still needs House approval. Senator Nancy Detert is sponsoring the bill for the fourth year and says its time has come. She said lawmakers could see the need for it with their own eyes.

"We see it every day as we drive to Tallahassee either on I-95, I-10 or wherever", complained Detert. "It's become an epidemic, it needs to stop, and this will stop it."

The bill would make texting while driving a secondary offense, meaning drivers would have to be pulled over for something else before they could get a ticket for texting.

The bill has exceptions, such as the use of "talk-to-text" technology, and allows texting while a vehicle is stopped at a red light.