Senate committee approves amendment increasing points for 29 traffic violations, including distracted driving

The Senate Transportation Committee approved an amendment to Senate Bill 2243 that changes the state driver-point schedule by moving a set of 29 violations to three-point offenses, the committee's sponsor said.

Senator Rummel (sponsor of the amendment) told the committee the changes respond to enforcement priorities identified by the Highway Patrol and the driver's license division, and singled out distracted driving as "the number one issue for crashes" that previously carried no points. He described extensive work to extract the most serious offenses from a confusing section of Century Code and place them in a clearer, higher-point schedule.

Why it matters: The point schedule affects license suspensions, reporting to insurers and commercial driver requirements. Moving violations to three points both increases the chance an insurance company will see the violation and pushes repeat offenders toward suspension under the…