Along a stretch of State Road in Webster just over a year ago, Carrie Baxter and Sue Moriarty came dangerously close to losing their lives when they were hit by a car while biking.

"The next thing I knew, I heard a loud crack and felt myself flying through the air," Baxter said as she remembered the accident.

"I didn't know what had happened," Moriarty said. "I knew something awful was happening."

Their helmets were essential in saving them. Moriarty's hip was broken.

It was all because of a driver who had been drinking and was texting behind the wheel.

"He just said, 'Oh, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have been doing it, what was I thinking, I was texting,'" Baxter said.

A state-wide ban on driving and texting went into effect today, and you might think Baxter and Moriarty would be happy about it.

"I think the state law is a big mistake," Baxter said. "It took back what Monroe County had done, and Monroe County had enacted a tougher law."

That county law went into effect in August. It was initiated because of Baxter and Moriarty's accident.

"For the most part, it was just, 'Let's raise the awareness of how dangerous this is,'" Monroe County legislator Carmen Gumina (D), who represents Webster, said.

Under the county law, police could pull over drivers as soon as they saw them texting. The new state law requires more.

"It's a secondary offense, so you have to be pulled over for something else," Gumina said, "and then they also have to catch you texting."

Baxter and Moriarty say the tougher the law, the better.

But they believe it really comes down to changing people's attitudes about when and where they use their phones.

"People are so distracted," Moriarty said. "They're in such a hurry. They think once they get in the car, nothing's going to happen, and that's the scary part."

The state law carries a maximum $150 fine if a driver is caught texting.

A recent study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that when drivers are texting, they are 23 times more likely to crash than when they are not.

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