Texting while driving; change from civil to traffic violation and increase penalty.

HB 291 prohibits texting while driving by making it a traffic violation (not a civil infraction) and imposes a $100 fine per offense. It specifically bans manually writing, sending, or reading text messages or accessing social media on handheld devices while operating a vehicle, excluding voice-operated or hands-free devices. The bill requires law enforcement to record the driver's age, race, and whether additional violations or crashes occurred during citations. This policy directly affects drivers who use handheld devices for texting or social media while driving, changing enforcement from civil penalties to traffic violations.