Wash. state gets primary enforcement
March 8, 2010
One of 2010’s fiercest legislative battles over distracted driving raged in Washington — a state that already has banned handheld cell phone use and texting by drivers.
On Thursday night, the civil war ended as the House agreed with the Senate that the state’s bans on text messaging and handheld cell phone use should be toughened. The plan now goes to the governor, who has indicated he would sign it.
“I’ve fought for this for 10 years, and sometimes I thought this day would never come,” said Sen. Tracey Eide, the bill’s sponsor. “Maybe now people will pay attention to their driving instead of their conversations.”
Eide, D-Federal Way, on Saturday led the Senate in rejecting the House’s attempt to water down her legislation that would elevate distracted driving offenses to “primary enforcement.”
The day before, the Seattle Times called representatives “a House of wimps,” adding: “this gutless group failed to approve meaningful legislation to combat this dangerous practice.”
Rep. Dan Roach, R-Bonney Lake, has been called out by several newspapers for his efforts to derail tougher distracted driving laws.
Meanwhile, in Iowa, the House and Senate have gone down different roads as well. The House approved a ban on text messaging for all drivers several weeks ago — and the Senate concurred — but on Monday representatives downshifted the legislation into a prohibition of handheld electronics devices that only applies to teen drivers.
(background below — material above updated on March 12.)
The Washington state standoff could continue if the House again sends watered-down legislation back to the Senate. The issue also could go to a joint committee that would seek some kind of compromise — although there is no obvious middle ground between the two types of enforcement.
“It is a long way from being done,” Eide told the Seattle TImes.
Secondary enforcement is a common way of weakening legislation designed to halt texting and cell phoning while behind the wheel. It’s been used across the nation for compromise bills and for amendments tacked onto stronger bills. While primary enforcement empowers law officers to stop and cite offenders as they would for most moving violations, secondary enforcement means police need another reason to stop offenders before issuing the ticket.
The state Senate voted Feb. 5 to toughen Washington’s law against texting and the use of handheld cell phones
The House agreed with most of the bill, but on March 3 rejected its call for primary enforcement for adult cell phone violations.
The Senate then rejected the House changes in a Saturday session, on March 6.
N.Y. governor: Toughen texting law
February 24, 2010
New York Gov. David Paterson wants to “take the handcuffs off” when it comes to texting and driving.
He’s proposed legislation in the Senate that would upgrade enforcement of the state’s 2008 texting law from “secondary” to “primary.” That means law officers can stop and cite text-messaging drivers for that reason alone.
“This bill will take the handcuffs off our law enforcement officers and make our highways safer by allowing officers to observe a violation and immediately issue a summons,” Paterson said in a statement on SB 222 Wednesday.
The state reports that about 200 tickets have been written since last November, when New York’s texting while driving law took effect.
Secondary enforcement — usually the result of a fallback position adopted by legislators seeking distracted driving laws — has come under increasing fire from safety groups. In Washington state, the Senate has OK’d a plan to hike its texting while driving law from secondary to primary enforcement.
New York counties and cities have continued to adopt local texting bans because of the secondary provision at the state level. “New York State’s law doesn’t have any teeth,” an Erie County lawmaker said as he pushed through a regional texting plan.
Assembly Transportation Committee Chairman David Gantt, D-Rochester, who long resisted efforts to get a text messaging law in place, said he would review the legislation.
New York was a leader in cell-phone restrictions on drivers, passing its widely copied hands-free law in 2001. Text-messaging legislation gained enough momentum to get past Gantt after an upstate crash killed five teens.
The fine for text messaging and driving in New York state is $150.
Simitian: Hike Calif. distracted driving fines
February 22, 2010
Seeking “a more significant deterrent,” California State Sen. Joe Simitian has filed legislation that would more than double fines on the trio of distracted driving laws that he created in recent years.
Simitian defended the laws’ effectiveness last week — reacting to a widely publicized study that shows cell phone bans don’t work.
On Monday, he announced the filing of California Senate Bill 1475.
“I’ve heard repeatedly that the current fines are too modest,” Simitian told the Mercury News. “They wouldn’t be anymore.”
The state senator’s latest distracted driving legislation would:
- Increase fines for using handheld cell phones while driving to $50 (first offense) and $100. Current fines are $20/$50.
- Boost the penalty for text messaging while driving in California to $100 (each offense). Current fines are $20/$50.
- Mandate a drivers license point for each offense, often leading to an increase in auto insurance rates.
- Bicyclists would be included in the cell phone and texting prohibitions.
Simitian, D-Palo Alto, said compliance with California’s distracted driving laws has been good, but “there’s room for improvement.” The real cost of moving violation tickets in California can be up to four times the amount of the fine.
The measure also would route $10 of the fines to state education programs regarding the risks of cell phoning and text messaging while driving. (Read the full text of SB 1475.)
Simitian’s press release on SB 1475 renewed his defense of California’s ban on drivers’ use of handheld cell phones, citing Highway Patrol figures for 2008 and 2009.
“A lot of folks are sitting down to dinner with their families every day, who might otherwise not have made it,” he said last week.
A recent study released by an insurance industry trade group suggested there was no meaningful improvement in accidents in California (and New York) after the ban on handheld cell phones, even though the raw numbers clearly indicated a drop. It cited similar downward trends in neighboring states.
Simitian and the U.S. Department of Transportation blasted the study.
Report: Urban areas best served by bans
February 13, 2010
Bans on handheld phones do work, and they work best in urban areas, according to a new study of traffic fatalities and injuries.
A University of Illinois team looked at New York state in the years before and after its 2001 ban on handheld cell phones.
All 62 counties in New York recorded lower motor vehicle injury rates after the ban, while 46 posted lower traffic fatalities — 10 of them at statistically significant levels.
When looking at three major population centers — the Bronx, New York and Queens — the personal injury decrease was more notable than in less populated counties.
“Hand-held cell phone bans are very valuable in high-density urban areas, but less so in lower-density rural areas,” said computer science professor Sheldon Jacobson. “But that doesn’t mean they have no impact in rural areas. It just means that such legislation is less likely to have an impact on driver accident rates.”
The Illinois study comes on the heels of an insurance-industry report that concluded handheld cell phone bans had little value. That study looked at collision claims following New York’s ban and found reductions, but dismissed them as part of a downward trend also found in neighboring states.
That widely publicized study by the Highway Loss Data Institute did not account for vehicles over 3 years old and did not include cell phone-related accidents in which claims were not filed. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration called the study “irresponsible.”
Jacobson, who relied on publicly available data on fatalities and injuries per numbers of licensed drivers, said availability of insurance industry data on property damage would improve the reliability of his results.
Still, “All the evidence suggests handheld cell phone bans while driving are a good thing, and this is more evidence to that effect,” he said. “But it doesn’t establish it definitively. There’s still more work to be done.”
Washington votes to toughen texting law
February 5, 2010
The state of Washington already said no to text messaging while driving. Now it’s shouting.
The state Senate voted Feb. 5 to toughen Washington’s law against texting and the use of handheld cell phones
Update: The House agreed with most of the bill, but rejected its call for primary enforcement for adult cell phone violations. The House vote came on March 3. The Senate then rejected those changes on March 6. The House and Senate versions must be reconciled before any legislation goes to the governor.
The 2008 bans were limited to secondary enforcement, meaning law officers needed another reason to stop and cite violators.
Meanwhile, Kentucky’s House voted to outlaw texting for all drivers and use of cell phones by teenagers (HB 43). Massachusetts’ House approved a ban on texing and use of handheld cell phones while driving. The Massachusetts bill also prohibits drivers under 18 from all mobile phone use.
Washington was among the first six states to outlaw text messaging while driving. The new plan OK’d by the Senate also would prohibit drivers with instruction permits or intermediate licenses from using cell phones or text messaging.
State Sen. Tracey Eide (pictured), D-Federal Way, who sponsored the 2008 law and the new legislation, called distracted driving “an epidemic” and “critical public-safety issue.”
“We need to strengthen our laws,” the senator said.
Secondary enforcement is a common way of watering down legislation designed to stopping texting and cell phoning while behind the wheel. It’s been used across the nation for compromise bills and for amendments tacked onto stronger bills.
State Rep. Reuven Carlyle, D-Seattle, sponsor of the companion bill, HB 2635, told lawmakers that the 2008 ban “is flouted because it’s a secondary offense.”
Several states are considering plans to toughen and modernize their earlier distracted driving laws.
Continuing reports that hands-free cell phone attachments don’t improve traffic safety have led to some initial consideration of total cell phone bans. No states ban the use of all cell phones while driving; political resistance fueled by the wireless industry would be significant.
Study: Handheld cell bans have no effect
January 30, 2010
Bans on handheld cell phone use by drivers aren’t cutting into accident rates, according to a study by insurance industry researchers.
“This finding doesn’t auger well for any safety payoff from all the new laws that ban phone use and texting while driving,” the leader of the Highway Loss Data Institute said.
Collision claims in Calfornia, Connecticut and the District of Columbia remained about the same after they adopted bans on the use of handheld cell phones (meaning those without hands-free functionality), the group said.
New York did show a decrease, but researchers dismissed that reduction in collision insurance claims as part of a pre-existing trend.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration immediately trashed the cell phone law study, saying: “It is irresponsible to suggest that laws banning cell phone use while driving have zero effect on the number of crashes on our nation’s roadways.”
California state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, called the release of the study’s findings “largely a nonevent” due to the limits of its data. Simitian authored California’s ban on handheld cell phones and then its ban on text messaging.
The study only reported on vehicles up to 3 years old and did not include accidents in which no claims were made. (Read the cell phone study results.)
“Month-to-month fluctuations in rates of collision claims in jurisdictions with bans didn’t change from before to after the laws were enacted,” HLDI said in a statement. “Nor did the patterns change in comparison with trends in jurisdictions that didn’t have such laws.
The group said the finding was “a mismatch” with what is known about the dangers of cell phones and driving.
“If crash risk increases with phone use and fewer drivers use phones where it’s illegal to do so, we would expect to see a decrease in crashes,” said Adrian Lund, president of HLDI. “But we aren’t seeing it.”
DOT chief Ray LaHood wrote on his blog: “Not explaining likely reasons for the surprising data encourages people to wrongly conclude that talking on cell phones while driving is not dangerous!”
The researchers did speculate that the number of accident claims remained steady because drivers began using hands-free technology, which it believes makes no improvement in safety.
The National Safety Council, which has called for a total ban on cell phone use by drivers, issued a statement praising the insurance group’s work:
“There is a common misconception that hands-free is safer and research tells us hands-free is just as dangerous as handheld,” said Janet Froetscher, president and CEO of the National Safety Council.”
The Highway Loss Data Institute, a “nonprofit research organization,” has been crunching numbers from auto insurance companies since 1973. It is an affiliate of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which Lund also heads.
A previous Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study of driver phone records found a four-fold increase in the risk of injury crashes.
In a bit of irony, the DOT’s distracted driving web site features a rolling scroll of related news headlines, which today all started with some variation on: “Distracted Driving Laws Don’t Reduce Crashes.”
Oprah’s ‘No Phone Zone’ campaign
January 15, 2010
Oprah wants her viewers to know “how absolutely stupid it is that we continue to text and drive.”
The TV talk titan devoted Monday’s show to distracted driving, with appearances by people who have lost loved ones to someone using a handheld cell phone or text messaging.
Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Productions said the show’s effort against distracted driving would be called the “No Phone Zone” campaign. Fans are asked to pledge not to use cell phones
Update: “We need to make our own movement to stop (cell phoning and text messaging while driving),” Winfrey told her audience. “Don’t tempt fate; that text can wait.”
Those who lost love ones to accidents caused by distracted drivers made up much of the audience.
Several younger people who admitted they used wireless communications devices while driving took a road test administered by Car & Driver magazine. They reported back to Winfrey with the results.
“It’s absolutely changed my life,” said one texting and driving fan of her wobbly test performance. “I’m so lucky that nothing has happened to my children” while driving distracted, she said.
Winfrey said before the show:
“Most people think they can text and talk on the phone and they can handle it, and it’s the ‘other’ people who can’t really handle it. “So what needs to happen, I strongly believe, is that the laws need to change to put us all in check. Everybody thinks that they can handle it. But you can’t. You can’t.”
“Oprah has an ability to change the world,” said a Massachusetts man from the show. Two years ago, Jerry Cibley was talking to his son, who was driving and using a cell phone. The teen’s car slammed into a tree, killing him.
FocusDriven: support for cell phone victims
January 13, 2010
Born of personal tragedies, a group that fights the use of cell phones while driving has been launched with the help of the National Safety Council and the U.S. Department of Transportation.
FocusDriven describes itself as “an advocacy group for victims of motor vehicle crashes involving drivers using cell phones.” The founders (pictured) all lost family members to crashes caused by drivers who were distracted by their cell phones.
The group’s mission recalls that of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
They include president Jennifer Smith, who lost her mother to a distracted driver in Oklahoma City. Smith has been a frequent speaker at governmental hearings, including last fall’s DIstracted Driver Summit.
Founding director Shelley Forney started her fight against cell phone use and driving after her 9-year-old daughter was killed in Fort Collins, inspiring Colorado’s “Erica’s Law” legislation. She, too, has been active in testifying as to dangers of cell phone use while driving.
The top of the FocusDriven web site features pictures of the founders’ relatives who died in cell phone-caused crashes.
The group was formed, in part, because of the National Safety Council’s call for a victim support organization. DOT chief Ray LaHood announced formation of the group on Jan. 12.
“I’m deeply impressed by (the founders’) commitment to turn these tragic events into positive actions that will help save lives,” LaHood said. “Their stories are not just heartbreaking; they’re also a clear and compelling call to action.
“Just as groups like MADD changed attitudes about drunk driving, I believe FocusDriven can help raise awareness and change the way people think about distracted driving.”
Victims of cell phone accidents and those seeking to prevent them can interact with FocusDriven on its website.
New year, new distracted driving laws
January 4, 2010
A handful of distracted driving laws went into effect on Jan. 1, 2010, seeking to rein in drivers who yap on cell phones and send text messages while behind the wheel.
The vast majority of distracted driving legislation went nowhere in 2009 — surprising for a year in which so much publicity was generated over the issue — but a handful of states got past the debates and took their safety concerns to the streets.
The focus now moves from the legislatures to the law enforcement agencies, where enforcement could be spotty.
- In Illinois, text messaging is now illegal for all drivers. Fines are $75. House Bill 72 was signed into law on Aug. 6. The state also banned drivers from using cell phones in school speed zones and construction/road maintenance zones.
- In New Hampshire, text messaging has been outlawed for all drivers. “It is clear that texting while driving poses a serious danger on our roadways,” Gov. John Lynch said as he approved the anti-texting legislation House Bill 34. Fines are $100.
- In Kansas, drivers with restricted (learning) licenses cannot use cell phones or texting devices. This is the state’s first restriction on mobile phone use (HB 2143)
- In Oregon, drivers are not be allowed to text message and cell phone use will be limited to adult motorists using hands-free attachments. Tickets are pegged at $142.
In Canada, two provinces got in line with the nationwide distracted driving trend:
- In British Columbia, drivers still have a month before getting tickets for using a handheld cell phone or text messaging while driving. After that, the tickets will cost $167.
- In Saskatchewan, the use of cell phones without a hands-free device or texting will cost drivers $280 and points.
- The Big Island of Hawaii has outlawed the use of handheld cell phones while behind the wheel. Violations will cost up to $150. Drivers causing accidents while using a mobile electronic device while driving on the Big Island are subject to $500 fines.
- Austin has prohibited use of Internet-related activities while driving, such as texting, Tweeting, using iPhone applications and visiting web sites. The ban went into effect Jan. 1, but enforcement begins Feb. 1 in the form of $500 tickets.
- First offense: Imprisoned up to 60 days, fined up to $2,500, with a license suspension of one year. Must complete an eight-hour defensive driving course. Trial in either municipal or magistrate court.
- Second offense: Imprisoned up to 180 days, fined up to $5,000 with a license suspension of two years.
- Third or subsequent offense: Imprisoned up to three years, fined up to $10,000 with the driver’s license permanently revoked.
And a handful of regional bans also swung into action, including:
S.C. proposal: text & drive, go to prison
November 18, 2009
The nation’s toughest sanctions against driving and text messaging have been proposed in South Carolina.
House Bill 4189 calls for fines of up to $2,500, two months in jail and a driver’s license suspension. And that’s for the first offense.
A driver who kills someone while text messaging is looking at 25 years in prison.
The legislation would also allow law officers to seize and inspect a driver’s cell phone to if he or she was texting while driving when they were stopped. That provision, no doubt, would face opposition from civil liberties advocates.
Rep. Don Bowen, R-Anderson, on Tuesday prefiled the legislation for South Carolina’s next session. The state currently has no limits on motorists’ use of cell phones or text messaging devices, and last year’s legislative efforts regard distracted driving were unsuccessful.
Here’s what Bowen (pictured) proposes for drivers who text message while driving:
A driver who is text messaging without causing bodily injury or death would be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, faces these penalties:
If bodily injury occurs as a result of driving while texting, the offender is charged with a felony and, upon conviction, would be imprisoned not less than five years and not more than 15 years.
If a death occurs as a result, the text messaging driver is charged with a felony and, upon conviction, would be imprisoned not less than 10 years and not more than 25 years.
Bowen was not immediately available but handsfreeinfo.com has requested comment from the representative.
The new term will be his second in the South Carolina Legislature. He bills himself as “Your conservative Republican choice” and has vowed not to smoke or drink while in the capital or doing legislative business.
Legislation calling for the impeachment of Gov. Mark Sanford could take up much of the Legislature’s time this next session.