AUSTIN, TX — Distracted driving is nothing to LOL about, blamed for the deaths of hundreds and thousands more injured each year. On Tuesday, the governor signed a law designed to stem the tide by signing the anti-texting measure dubbed House Bill 62 a reality.

Effective Sept. 1, the law will dictate that drivers not use a telephone to "read, write or send an electronic message while operating a motor vehicle unless the vehicle is stopped." Violators will be subject to fines ranging from $25 to $99.

Up to Abbott's bill signing, Texas was one of four states lacking a general texting ban behind the steering wheel. Efforts to pass similar legislation have failed in the past, most recently in earnest during 2011 when the measure passed the Legislature only to be vetoed by former Gov. Rick Perry.