I'm glad this came up again as it was discussed once before. Here in Alabama they have passed a No texting while driving law. At that time, it was a new law and I had said one of many of the issues people are having with it was that Law Enforcement and Emergency Personnel were exempted from this law. At that time I was tasked with proving that and I said I would. And here you go. In Paragraph #4 last sentence.
Will state's new texting ban stop drivers from sending messages? | al.com
Further even law enforcement takes issue with this exemption.
Police Chief Magazine - View Article
These mandates vary widely in the acts outlawed, the drivers covered, and whether enforcement is primary or secondary. However, virtually all of those laws that apply to all drivers exempt law enforcement officers from their coverage; this includes the president’s executive order and the sample texting while driving law.
As their experience increases, police officers may come to regard themselves as invincible. Well-intended laws that allow officers to engage in hazardous behavior from which others are forbidden to participate may contribute to that feeling, do more harm than good to officer safety,
and contribute to the perception that officers engage in hypocritical behavior by enforcing the same prohibitions against driving while texting or making handheld cell phone calls that they appear to flout. Interestingly, the average age of police officers accidentally killed in 2009 was 35 years old with 9 years’ service; between 2000 and 2009, it was 38 years old with 10 years’ service.7 Drivers aged 30 to 39 years accounted for the largest group of reportedly distracted drivers in fatal crashes involving cell phone distraction.8
Recognizing the perils of distracted driving, law enforcement leaders are especially concerned about the safety of those whom they lead and have developed effective policies to permit officers to more safely discharge their duties. In that vein, the state of Washington enacted legislation, effective June 10, 2010, to make texting and handheld cell phone use a primary offense. Even though law enforcement is exempt from this legislation, the Washington State Patrol proactively applied it to its troopers by agency order.9 Furthermore, the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) mandated, as of October 4, 2010, hands-free voice communication for its troopers, although the state of Florida has not enacted a statute in this regard.10 Finally, the city of Cheyenne, Wyoming, enacted last year an ordinance allowing only hands-free cell phone use, from which its police officers were not exempted.11
I am in total agreement that texting while driving is dangerous. No exceptions.