Alaska: Cell phone laws, legislation

Cell phone/text messaging update: Alaska lawmakers will consider at least two bills seeking to crack down on drivers’ use of cell phones. One seeks an outright ban on mobile phone use by drivers, without an exemption for hands-free devices. It is one of the few cell phone measures in the nation to seek a total ban.

Current prohibitions:
Drivers are banned from text-messaging or watching videos.

2010 legislation:
Alaska House Bill 257: Would outlaw all uses of cellular phones while driving. Does not permit cell phone use if a hands-free device is attached. Primary enforcement, meaning law officers must have another reason to halt drivers. Fines up to $300 plus points. (Doogan)

HB 15: Would prohibit the use of cell phones by drivers under the age of 18. Secondary enforcement. Fines up to $300. Filed in 2009. As of February 2010, the bill was technically alive but not scheduled for a hearing. Sponsor does not expect it to get out of committee. (Gardner)

2010 Legislation notes:
Alaska’s 2010 legislative session runs from Jan. 19 to April 18.

The head of the House Judiciary Committee plans to give Rep. Mike Doogan’s HB 257 a hearing. Rep. Jay Ramras, R-Fairbanks, told the Anchorage Daily News that in order to clear his panel, the legislation authored by Doogan, D-Anchorage, would have to change its goal from primary enforcement to secondary enforcement. “I don’t think law enforcement needs more reasons to pull people over,” Ramras said. (Primary enforcement means an officer can stop a motorist for that violation alone.)

HB 257 was referred to the House Transportation Committee, which is chaired by a co-sponsor, Rep. Peggy Wilson, R-Wrangell.

Rep. Berta Gardner, D-Anchorage, says of her HB 15: “For all intents and purposes, the bill is dead.” The measure has been stuck in the House Finance Committee for almost a year.

2009 legislation:
See HB 15, above.

2009 legislation notes:
Alaska’s fiercely individualistic nature could make cell-phone driving laws a long shot. Even State Rep. Max Gruenberg, co-author of texting/video legislation, says he doesn’t think Alaska is ready for a hands-free law.

The proposed cell phone ban on teenagers would be a secondary offense, meaning law officers would need another reason to pull over drivers under 18 using cell phones. The sponsors are Reps. Berta Gardner and Chris Tuck, both D-Anchorage.

Alaska’s texting law took effect Sept. 1, 2008. Six months later, State Troopers reported that only three motorists had been cited for the offense of text messaging while driving in Alaska. The law agency was investing in an ad campaign to warn of the dangers of texting while behind the wheel.

The texting/portable video law was inspired by a 2002 crash in which an Anchorage couple died. A man was accused of watching the movie “Road Trip” when he hit the couple, but he was acquitted of second-degree murder charges.

Anchorage activist Jennie Morris’ next project could be cell phone use while driving, inspired by an accident in which she was hit by a 19-year-old on a cell phone.

“The question is whether any state or local lawmakers would want to champion that potentially unpopular cause,” a post on the Anchorage Daily News site noted.

Based on reader comments, though, it looks like the Alaska cell-phone debate has begun.