|
Bill calls for drivers
Date: Jan 26, 2005
Contributor: Saundra Devereux
A key committee will consider a bill to ban the use of hand-held cell phones while driving, the first time the idea has gained traction in the General Assembly.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Vanessa Summers, D-Indianapolis, would prohibit motorists from using any type of mobile phone without some sort of hands-free device. The legislation, House Bill 1508, would allow for exceptions in emergency situations. Violators would face up to a $25 fine.
Similar proposals over the past five years have died quietly and without public hearings. But with cell phones now ubiquitous, and 17 states and the District of Columbia recently approving at least some limits on their use to improve driver safety, key legislative leaders are beginning to take notice.
"I intend to hear the bill," said Rep. Cleo Duncan, R-Greensburg, chairwoman of the House Roads and Transportation Committee. "There are many questions, but I intend to give it a hearing."
Still, the idea isn't faring as well in the Senate; a similar bill introduced there isn't likely to get a hearing.
Driver distractions -- eating a sandwich, sipping coffee, tuning the radio -- are hardly new. Like most states, Indiana does not carefully track how many accidents are caused by such distractions.
But experts say the issue has risen to national prominence in recent years as portable electronics such as laptops and wireless, hand-held computers have grown in popularity and new vehicles have come equipped with satellite navigation systems, DVD players and even computers.
But cell phones are perhaps the most visible distraction and have come to symbolize the issue.
"Out of all the things we do in our cars, talking on a cell phone is the most noticeable to other drivers," said Matt Sundeen, a transportation analyst at the National Conference of State Legislatures in Denver. "If you have someone with their hand up to their ear, you know exactly what they are doing."
Most folks acknowledge that driving while phoning is a hazard. Ivan Rouse, 27, Indianapolis, said he has noticed that "most of the people driving slow are not really paying attention and are on the phone." But Rouse questions whether a new law is the answer.
"I wouldn't want it to be a law, because it just gives the law a way to get in my pocket," he said. "If they pass a law on it, then I think they will more or less abuse it."
Cell phones -- once regarded as a privilege for business users -- have spread significantly in the past decade, particularly among young adults and teenagers. About 60 percent of Indiana residents use mobile phones, according to the most recent industry estimates. That rate has more than doubled since 1999.
An estimated 175 million people nationwide now use mobile phones, according to the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association in Washington.
The impact of the growth trend on driver safety is unclear, since phone use among motorists is difficult to track. However, national studies often group cell phones with a host of other diversions that can lead to accidents.
"Cell phones are just one of numerous distractions that are in your car," said Greg Seiter, a spokesman for the AAA Hoosier Motor Club.
Lawmakers here and elsewhere confronting the issue have crafted proposals of varying severity. Some prohibit mobile phone use among school bus drivers or those with learner's permits. Others have mandated that local law enforcement track the number of accidents in which cell phone use is a factor.
Indiana is one of more than 30 states that have seen proposals pass or fail in the past year, Sundeen said. Of the 17 states with some form of driver-phone legislation on the books, only two -- New Jersey and New York -- have a full ban on hand-held mobile phone use while driving. Both states allow drivers to use hands-free phones.
In New Jersey, authorities can issue tickets for cell phone usage only if the motorist has been pulled over for another infraction. The District of Columbia also recently passed an ordinance prohibiting motorists from using hand-held phones.
New York's law has been seen as a relative success. Since the law took effect in 2001, Sundeen said, police have issued about 400,000 tickets or warnings.
Even so, some Indiana legislators are wary of singling out cell phones, which -- like, say, satellite navigation systems -- have a useful purpose.
Summers, the House bill's sponsor and an admittedly devoted cell phone user, said the idea for her legislation began several years ago after she nearly caused an accident while on the phone. A short time later, she drove around Downtown Indianapolis and counted phone-chatting drivers. She recalls seeing many.
"When you're on the phone, you don't tend to put your mind to what you're doing," Summers said. "It's a real problem."
Sen. Rose Ann Antich-Carr, D-Merrillville, has introduced a similar bill, Senate Bill 343. But a hearing on her bill is unlikely, said Sen. David C. Long, R-Fort Wayne, chairman of the Senate Committee on Corrections, Criminal and Civil Matters.
Long said he is afraid the legislation would encroach upon civil liberties and unfairly single out cell phones as potential distractions What about DVD players or travel mugs or makeup kits?
"I'm not ready to go down that road," Long said. "There's a line you don't cross between freedom and public safety. My biggest concern is that we pass a bunch of laws that regulate everything we do."
Many wireless companies also oppose restrictions, arguing that no direct link yet exists between cell phone use and driver safety.
Others, like Verizon Wireless, support legislation banning the use of hand-held mobile phones with some conditions.
"Two hands on the wheel is the best way to operate a vehicle," said Michael McDermott, regional director of state public policy for Verizon Wireless. "If drivers can't operate a motor vehicle safely with two hands on the wheel, then we don't want them to make a phone call."
Some Hoosiers said Tuesday they have witnessed an increase in reckless drivers and said cell phones were, in part, to blame. But others opposed a prohibition.
Michael Smith, a 31-year-old Indianapolis salesman who was eating lunch with friends at Circle Centre mall, said he has "seen a lot of mishaps because of people being on the cell phone."
But he said a ban wouldn't work. Most motorists, he said, do not drive with two hands on the wheel anyway.
"If I didn't have a cell phone, I wouldn't drive with both hands on the wheel," said Smith, who said he uses a hands-free cell phone while driving. "The next thing will be, you can't play music."
Krystle Roscoe, 23, Indianapolis, also doubted whether a ban would be successful. Still, she said mobile phone users often are a menace on the roadways.
"I can't stand drivers that are on cell phones and cut me off," Roscoe said. "A lot of times when drivers do weird stuff on the road, it's because they are on a cell phone."
For more information relating to "Bill calls for drivers", please visit our Bill calls for drivers page. |
|
