The nation's first blanket ban on cell phone use while driving has been approved by Chapel Hill, N.C. Drivers will be barred from all cell phone conversations, including those conducted via hands-free and voice-activated accessories. The law takes effect June 1 and the fine is $25. The town provided "some real leadership" on the distracted driving issue, the head of the National Transportation Safety Board said in response. The Chapel Hill law isn't as groundbreaking as it may appear, however. The new law presents two significant loopholes for those who can't go without driving and talking: Enforcement is secondary, meaning police will need another reason to stop and cite violators. And … [Read more...]
Lower Chichester talks tough on texting
August 19, 2009 by Leave a Comment
The blah blah blah over text messaging and driving gets pretty tiresome: How could any law possibly be enforced? What about my civil liberties? Yadda yadda. We've heard it all by now. Meet a lawmaker in Pennsylvania who is mad as hell about texting and is not going to take it anymore. The president of the township commission in Lower Chichester, Rocco Gaspari Jr., had this to say Monday after the body voted to ban text messaging for all drivers, effective immediately: “Text messaging now supersedes drugs and alcohol for causing the most accidents in the United States. Something needs to be done and I won’t wait for someone in Harrisburg to get off their butt to tell everyone across … [Read more...]
Honolulu bans take effect July 1
May 7, 2009 by Leave a Comment
The City of Honolulu's long debate over drivers' use of handheld electronic devices finally has reached an end. Mayor Mufi Hannemann signed Bill 4 into law on May 7. Prohibited devices include handheld cell phones, text messaging devices, PDAs, laptop computers and video game machines. In February, the Honolulu mayor vetoed an earlier plan to ban text messaging while driving after police complained they had no way of telling what a driver was doing while holding a cell phone. Honolulu's police have resisted all previous efforts to control drivers' use of wireless devices, citing enforcement concerns. The department also has lobbied against State of Hawaii cell phone legislation. The … [Read more...]
Bowling Green voters strike cell law
May 5, 2009 by Leave a Comment
(Originally posted May 2009) The voters of Bowling Green, Ohio, have spoken on mobile phones and driving -- kind of. The city of about 30,000 decided to put to voters the issue of whether to ban handheld cell phone use by motorists. On Tuesday, 56 percent voted no, killing the plan. “Fifty six percent of people aren’t against a ban, they are just against a local ban,” the legislation's sponsor, Robert McOmber said. But there's more. Turns out the ballot didn't actually state what a vote either way would accomplish. Here's the ballot text: "An ordinance proposing to create and adopt Section 73.13 of the codified ordinances of the City of Bowling Green, Ohio, relating to use of … [Read more...]
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