Alabama: Cell phone laws, legislation

Driver safety legislation news: State Rep. Jim McClendon, R-Springville, returns to the distracted driving fray in 2012 with House Bill 2, which would prohibit drivers from text messaging. It appears identical to McClendon’s HB 102 of 2011. His texting bills of 2011 and 2012 both found success in the House but died in the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Jabo Waggoner reportedly plans to introduce the Senate companion bill to HB 2.

Current prohibitions:

• Drivers under 18 with restricted licenses (GDL) barred from using cell phones and text messaging.

2012 distracted driving notes:
“This is something the people want,” Rep. Jim McClendon says of his plan to ban texting & driving. He points to state Republican party polling that shows 91 percent of people in Alabama support a texting ban. “That’s every race, every age,” he told the Anniston Star. “You’re really hard-pressed to get 90 percent of Alabamians to agree on anything.” McClendon has seen his distracted driving legislation rejected or ignored at least six times.

Sen. Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills, expects a positive reaction to HB 2 or his Senate version of it. “The stock has gone up on that (texting) bill,” the Senate majority leader told the Birmingham News. It “will be given a higher priority in the Senate than it has in the past.”

2012 distracted driving legislation (2012):
House Bill 2: Would outlaw text messaging via wireless telecommunications devices while driving in Alabama. Primary enforcement. Fines: $25 (first offense) then $50 and $75. Two points against driver’s license. Includes racial profiling safeguard. (McClendon)

2011 distracted driving legislation (dead):
HB 102: Would outlaw text messaging via wireless telecommunications devices while driving in Alabama. Primary enforcement. Fines: $25 (first offense) then $50 and $75. Two points against driver’s license. Includes racial profiling safeguard. Cleared the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee via a voice vote on March 9. Approved by the full House in an 86-2 vote on March 31, 2011, and transmitted to the Senate. Latest legislative action: Marked for “further consideration” in the Senate. (McClendon)

Distracted driving notes (2011):
The House approved Rep. Jim McClendon’s plan to ban text messaging while driving in Alabama in near-unanimous vote taken March 31. The bill then moved to the Senate, where it was marked for “further consideration.” The 2010 distracted driving measure, also from McClendon, died in the Senate after committee members rewrote it to favor plaintiffs in crash lawsuits (detail below).

HB 102 sponsor McClendon was asked during an April 27 Senate debate about the risks of racial profiling via a distracted driving law. “You’re talking about harassing kids, and I’m talking about saving lives. … I cannot stop police officers from stopping people unnecessarily, but I do know that texting while driving is as dangerous as drunk driving.” McClendon, R-Springville, also dismissed concerns over enforcement by saying he sees people texting all the time — so why can’t police.

HB 102 includes a provision that all law enforcement agencies must provide monthly reports on the number of minority drivers stopped under the texting law. The Senate president cited racial profiling as one of the reasons to reject McClendon’s HB 35 of 2010.

Sen. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster, plans to amend McClendon’s HB 102 with an exemption for mounted GPS devices. The change would benefit car rental services and companies that have workers on the road, such as the Alabama Power Co., which requested the change.

Alabama is is second only to Mississippi in the number of teenage driving fatalities. The state Department of Public Health launched a campaign Aug. 26 to warn about the potentially fatal consequences of distracted driving for teens.

The new group Alabamians Against Distracted Driving has about 2,000 members, organizer Dee Fine says. Fine, a victim of a distracted driver, calls on the Kentucky Legislature to “have the courage to pass primary meaningful laws” against cell phone use and texting while driving.

City & country distracted driving laws:
At the local level, Alabama is one of the most active states in outlawing distracted driving. Ordinances against text messaging and using handheld cell phones while driving continue to proliferate due to inactivity at the state level.

Birmingham, Decatur, Huntsville, Montgomery, Madison, Vestavia Hills, Gadsden, Jacksonville, Roanoke and at least eight other communities in Alabama have banned texting while driving. The latest additions in 2011 are Scottsboro (January), Fairhope (March), Spanish Fort (April) and Florence (July).

Almost a year after Montgomery’s distracted driving ordinance went into effect, police have written about 275 tickets. Police started writing tickets for driving while text messaging or using a handheld cell phone in mid-September 2010. Enforcement remains secondary, meaning police cannot pull over violators for that reason alone. City Council Vice President Tracy Larkin, the bans’ sponsor, told the Montgomery Advertiser that primary enforcement should be coming soon. Fines are $50 (first), then $100/$500 with the possibility of jail time. Enforcement of Montgomery’s distracted driving law began Sept. 12, 2010, following the (6-1) City Council vote of Aug. 4.

Florence banned text messaging while driving on July 6, 2011. The law should be in force by August, with fines starting at $100. Councilman Andy Betterton pushed for the safety ordinance, which calls for primary enforcement.

Mobile is holding off on a local ordinance against use of wireless communications devices that aren’t hands-free. The is awaiting the outcome of legislation at the state level.

Spanish Fort approved its ban on texting while driving on April 18, 2011. Jasmine Lee, a Daphne student who reigns as the Alabama Junior Teen Queen, brought the idea to the City Council. The law has teeth: Serial offenders could end up spending three months in jail. Fines: $100 with a possibility of 10 days in jail (first offense), $200/30 days (second), $500, three months (subsequent offenses).

More Spanish Fort: The police chief sought primary enforcement for driving while texting and/or using handheld cell phones. “It serious enough to me and my guys, that if they are texting while driving, it is serious enough to pull them over for,” Police Chief David Edgar said in late March.

Scottsboro’s overall distracted driving ordinance went into full effect April 1, 2011, after a three-month waiting period. Fines range from $25-$100 (first offense) and then $50-$250. Protests from police derailed plans for a specific texting while driving ban. Mayor Melton Potter told council members: “This is something we need to look at and send a statement that it is a serious problem.”

Fairhope joins the list of Alabama cities that ban text messaging while driving. The City Council’s unanimous vote came on March 14. “If it saves one life, it’s well worth the effort we put into it,” Mayor Tim Kant says.

Athens has banned text messaging while driving in city limits. Fines $100 then $200 then $500, with the possibility of jail time. The ban includes various uses of wireless telecommunications devices, but cell phone use remains legal. Councilman Harold Wales pushed through the new Athens distracted driving ordinance, approved unanimously on Nov. 8, 2010. It was based on the texting laws passed in Huntington and Madison.

Daphne’s City Council outlawed texting while driving in a unanimous vote Nov. 1. Daphne prohibits drivers from using any wireless communications device to text or download data (cell phones, computers, iPhones, iPads, Blackberries, etc.). The ban was proposed by a high school student. Secondary enforcement. Fines: $100/$200 with the possibility of jail time.

Decatur has outlawed texting while driving, with the new ordinance set for primary enforcement. The Oct. 4 vote (4-1) bans use of all wireless handheld devices while behind the wheel, except for making phone calls. Drivers also are prohibited from entering data into GPS systems. Fines $100 then up to $500, jail time possible. The law took effect Dec. 1, 2010.

Huntsville and Madison adopted text messaging bans in September 2010. They call for secondary enforcement, meaning police need another reason to stop and cite a texting suspect. Fines $100 (first offense) up to $500 along with possible jail time.

Birmingham has banned texting while driving, setting a fine of $100. The unanimous vote came July 13. The city, ironically, is home to Sen. Rodger Smitherman, who derailed a statewide texting law in 2010 by inserting language into the bill that was seen as pork for attorneys (above).

Florence’s City Council rejected a plan to ban handheld electronic devices for drivers, although the vote in August 2010 was a tie. Councilman Andy Betterton said he may try again.

Decatur is considering a citywide ban on text messaging while driving. Councilman Ronny Russell is the sponsor.

Gadsden banned text messaging in city limits on June 22. Fines $25 (first), then $50/$75. “I think eventually there will be some kind of state guidelines,” the mayor said.

Jefferson County’s sheriff has placed “Don’t Text and Drive” bumper stickers on all patrol cars.

2010 cell phone, texting legislation (dead):
Alabama House Bill 35: Would ban text messaging and use of handheld GPS devices while driving on Alabama’s highways and roads. Fines of $25 (first offense) then $50 and $75, plus court costs and a point. Calls for primary enforcement, meaning police and deputies may pull over drivers when a violation of the law is suspected. Approved Jan. 13 by the public safety committee. Approved by the Alabama House on Jan. 19 (95-3 vote). Blocked in the Senate Judiciary Committee in a disagreement over language that made text messaging while in a crash a presumption of negligence. (McClendon)

SB 196: Would outlaw drivers’ use of text messaging devices and mobile GPS units. Primary enforcement. Fines $25/$50/$75. Died in Senate Judiciary Committee. (Waggoner)

2010 legislation notes:
Rep. Jim McClendon, R-Springville, saw his HB 35 approved by the full House in a 95-3 vote. It was sent to the Senate, but did not advance there. He plans to return with the bill in 2011.

Sen. Jabo Waggoner, R-Vestavia Hills, attempted to sub McClendon’s bill for his own during debate in the Senate Judiciary Committee, but the chairman set aside the plan due to member disagreements over the primary status for enforcement. “I don’t understand anybody being against it,” Waggoner said. “To me, it is a no-brainer.”

The text messaging bill couldn’t get out of committee in the Senate due to the actions of President Pro Tem Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham, and Sen. Roger Bedford, D-Russellville. The texting-while-driving measure was rewritten by Bedford and other Senate attorneys to insert language that a text-messager was presumed at fault in an accident. They refused to let the bill advance without that language. A major state insurer had objected to that provision.

Days after the bill died, the Huntsville Times editorialized: “Opponents of this ban should be ashamed of themselves for killing this life-saving bill. … Bedford, Alfa (insurance group) and whoever else torpedoed the text ban law are wrong on this one. … (Their) excuses, frankly, don’t make sense.”

Smitherman said primary enforcement invites racial profiling by law officers.

McClendon had texting and handheld cell phone bills debated in the House and Senate in 2009. His HB 157 was approved in the House but failed in the Senate. “Fatalities on our highways are simple enough to prevent,” McClendon said. “If you don’t use seat belts, you put yourself at risk. When you text message, you put everybody at risk.”

Huntsville’s ban on texting while driving goes into effect Sept. 20. Mayor Tommy Battle is the sponsor. Fines will be $100 (first offense) and then up to $500 plus possible jail time. Enforcement is to begin 60 days after the July 22 vote, which was unanimous.

The Associated Press polled Alabama state legislators and found that 84 percent of House members approved the bill, and 79% of senators wanted to see it pass (most but not all legislators responded to the pollsters). The same poll taken last year produced similar numbers (below).

A coalition of state and federal transportation officials had vowed to see through Alabama legislation banning drivers’ use of cell phones and texting devices. They gathered at the Alabama Distracted Driving Summit in Birmingham on Dec. 4, 2009. The summit was co-sponsored by the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s University Transportation Center and the University Transportation Center for Alabama.

Ray LaHood, secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, delivered the Distracted Driving Summit keynote. “There are proven strategies we can use to help combat this epidemic, but it will also take leadership and coordination to protect our communities and the traveling public. … (This summit) — the first of its kind outside Washington — helps continue the national conversation on distracted driving and will put more good ideas on the table to prevent needless deaths. I hope other states will follow its lead.”

“Secretary LaHood issued a challenge to the states to move quickly to address the issues of distracted driving,” said Russ Fine, director of the UAB Transportation Center. “Alabama’s response has been gratifying, as this summit has brought together leaders in state government, transportation safety, science, law enforcement and public policy to begin that process and provide a safer driving environment for all Alabamians.”

2009 distracted driving legislation (dead):
HB 157 would ban drivers from text messaging. Approved by House.

HB 282 seeks to restrict young drivers from using any “audio” hands-free or hand-held device that is not required for operation of the vehicle. Applies to drivers 16 years old or younger, or 17 years old who have been driving for less than six months.

2008-09 legislation notes:
Rep. Jim McClendon saw his text messaging bill clear the House in February 2009 but run into opposition in the Senate from Sen. Vivian Figures, D-Mobile, who wanted to water down the bill. “(The legislation) prohibits, writing, sending or reading text message while operating motor vehicle,” McClendon said in late April. “She wants to delete those words.”

McClendon’s bill to ban handheld cell phone use by drivers, HB 158, was defeated on a 5-3 vote. McClendon said he was pleased to get one of the driving safety bills through committee.

McClendon’s text messaging bill sought penalties starting at $25 and three points up to a 60-day suspension of the driver’s license after a fourth conviction.

Texting poll: An Associated Press poll taken during January shows that Alabama legislators are solidly in favor of a text-messaging law:

81 percent of House members responding said they would support a ban on text messaging while driving, while just 1 percent were opposed and 18 percent said they were undecided. In the Senate, 77 percent of respondents said they would support the bill, while 10 percent were opposed and 13 percent undecided.

Rep. McClendon, who heads a state safety committee, introduced HB 17, the 2008 bill banning drivers under 18 from using cell phones. * McClendon told Hands-Free Info that the legislative session ended with the bill stuck in committee, “blocked by chairman of rules Ken Guin, D-Walker County.” Greenhill said of the teen-targeted legislation: “The bill should address everyone or no one.”

HB 17 was endorsed by the Birmingham News: “Alabama legislators should place more restrictions on teen drivers, including a ban on their use of cell phones while behind the wheel. … No, it’s not good for any of us to be gabbing on cell phones when we’re steering a deadly weapon. But it’s certainly not good for inexperienced drivers to be doing so or, worse, to be sending text messages.”