State House bill would ban talking or texting while driving
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HARRISBURG -- In a sharp reversal from last April, the state House voted overwhelmingly Monday to make it a crime for motorists to talk on hand-held cell phones while operating a vehicle.
The House gave preliminary approval, on a 156-40 vote, to a measure by Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-Montgomery, to ban the use of hand-held cell phones by drivers. It would become a primary offense, meaning police could stop and cite a driver they see using a hand-held cell phone.
Mr. Shapiro's measure is an amendment to House Bill 2070, sponsored by Rep. Joe Markosek, D-Monroeville, which takes the additional step of banning all drivers from sending text messages while behind the wheel. He said drivers become very distracted when they take their eyes off the road to type and send a text message.
Mr. Shapiro said the Legislature must do more to ban "distracted driving" and keep Pennsylvania roadways safer. Last April, Mr. Shapiro failed, by just seven votes, to get the ban on hand-held cell phones approved.
"I've received thousands of phone calls and e-mails from citizens all across Pennsylvania in support of my efforts," Mr. Shapiro said after the vote. "We will save lives and stop accidents from happening by disconnecting distracted drivers from their hand-held devices on Pennsylvania roadways."
Mr. Markosek, who chairs the House Transportation Committee, said his constituents also are heavily in favor of prohibiting drivers from talking on hand-held cell phones because it diverts their attention.
Under the bill, drivers 18 and older would still be able to talk on hands-free cell phones, even though some safety advocates claim hands-free cell phones can be just as dangerous and distracting as hand-held phones.
The House will take final vote today on the bill banning drivers from texting and using hand-held cell phones. The bill also prohibits teens with learner's permits and drivers age 16 and 17 from sending text messages and from using any kind of cell phones. If the bill gets final House approval, it moves to the Senate for action.
Some legislators said there are many distractions while driving, such as eating, drinking, putting on makeup, tuning the radio or talking to passengers, and those practices should be outlawed also if the Legislature is serious about increasing highway safety. But Mr. Shapiro successfully argued that drivers talking on a hand-held cell phone is posing a special danger now because many people are doing it.
First Published January 26, 2010 12:00 am
