An Oklahoma Senate committee has approved legislation that prohibits texting while driving in the state.

     The Senate Public Safety Committee voted 8-0 for the bill on Thursday and sent it to the full Senate for consideration. A similar bill has been approved by the Senate and is pending in the House Rules Committee.

     The bill would make Oklahoma the 45th state in the nation to restrict texting while driving. The measure would make it a secondary violation, meaning a driver would have to be stopped for some other offense before being ticketed for texting and driving.

     A 2009 study found that texting while driving increases the risk of a crash or near-crash by 23 times over a driver who wasn't texting.