Should you be allowed to use your cell phone while driving?
It’s Friday afternoon, school is out and you’re trying to meet up with your friends. It makes sense to text them or call their cell phones. But imagine you are driving when you decide to do this; the situation could soon become a legal risk as well as a safety risk.
Two Pennsylvania lawmakers are looking to combat use of cell phones while driving, targeting drivers of all ages, not just teenagers. Rep. Josh Shapiro of Montgomery County has introduced House Bill 1827 (HB 1827) that would make the use of handheld cell phones while driving punishable by a $50 fine. Rep. Eugene DePasquale of York County is also pushing his own “driving while texting” bill, House Bill 1506 (HB 1506), that would levy a $100 fine on motorists who send text messages from behind the wheel. Both bills would create primary offenses out of the acts, meaning police officers could pull over a driver whom they see using a cell phone rather than waiting until the driver has committed some other violation. However, opponents of the bans say the bans would constitute government getting involved in areas where it should not.
Two proposed bans, for safety’s sake
Safety is the number one concern, according to both legislators who introduced the bills. Shapiro cites a PennDOT report showing that the use of handheld cell phones contributed to 1,241 vehicle crashes in Pennsylvania last year, while only 60 crashes were attributed to hands-free cell devices. DePasquale said he is also concerned with driver distraction and points to a Nationwide Insurance report that estimates one in five drivers overall send text messages while driving. The report also estimates that one in three drivers between 18 and 34 years of age sends text messages while driving.
Relatively few states have bans on the books. Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Washington state and the District of Columbia have all legislated cell phone bans while driving, and a cell phone ban while driving in California will go into effect beginning July 1 of next year. Additionally, Washington is currently the only state to ban text messaging.
Shapiro’s Cell ban
While it would allow drivers to use hands-free devices – such as Bluetooth earpieces, which do not require drivers to take their hands off the wheel to talk – HB 1827 would prohibit the use of hand-held cell phones by anyone operating a vehicle on public roads in Pennsylvania. Exceptions are made for law enforcement officers or operators of emergency vehicles on duty. In a press release, Shapiro said “leeway would be provided for drivers to use a handheld cell phone when they fear for their safety, are reporting a traffic accident or are making a 911 emergency call.” Violators would be punished with a $50 fine.
“The statistics are very clear: when drivers use hands-free devices, they drive safer,” Shapiro said in a Morning Call interview.
Under HB 1827, the use of cell phones while driving would be a primary offense, meaning police officers would need no other reason to pull over a driver whom they see using one.
“We want to stop accidents before they happen, not just punish drivers after the fact,” Shapiro said.
DePasquale’s texting ban
HB 1506 would also make it a primary offence to send text messages from behind the wheel, with the similar exceptions made for law enforcement officers, emergency personnel and those reporting an accident. The fine would be $100.
“The advent of technology allows us to be in constant and immediate communication with anyone, anywhere,” DePasquale said in a news release. “But it is just unsafe to have your eyes buried in the screen of a cell phone or Blackberry and your hands frantically typing away on the small keyboard while you are controlling a two-ton moving object. This really is just common-sense legislation.”
Both bills will be considered by the House Transportation Committee on Oct. 15.
Opposing views
Many of their colleagues in Harrisburg find the proposed bills to be “common sense legislation.” Others feel the use of cell phones in cars is should not be legislated.
Sen. Mike Folmer of Lebanon County told the York Daily Record that he agrees drivers should not be using cell phones or similar devices, but he is unsure whether or not he will support the bills because they would constitute “government intrusions.”
“I’m going to have to look at it really hard,” Folmer said.
Sen. Mike Waugh of York County told the Daily Record that he is in favor of the text message ban because texting is more complicated than making a cell phone call, but he said he has reservations about the cell ban.
Joseph Farren, a spokesman for the Cellular Telephone and Internet Association, a trade group in Washington, D.C., told The Morning Call that his group has no official stance on the bills. However, Farren pointed out that drivers face a number of distractions while driving – “fiddling with the radio or eating” – and not all of them are banned by legislation. A similar perspective is held by Rep. Chris Ross of Chester County, who proposed an alternative approach that would impose tougher penalties upon motorists who drive carelessly for any reason.
However, Shapiro feels that his ban is the best way to assure safety.
“I believe people should have the right to use a telephone while they drive,” he told The Morning Call. “But I do not believe they have the right to make our roads unsafe.”
What do you think?
Should state lawmakers ban cell phone use by drivers? What about text messaging while driving; is it more dangerous and should it be banned? How do you feel about these actions becoming a primary offenses? Should police be able to stop you just for using your cell phone while driving? Do you use your cell while driving? Do you feel it is unsafe? Join the discussion!
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