Maine: Cell phone laws, legislation

Texting, cell phone news: Maine traffic fatalities numbered 136 in 2011, the lowest figure reported since 1959. Some of the credit went to the state’s education efforts against distracted driving and its 2011 ban on texting while behind the wheel.

Maine has become the 33rd state to ban texting while driving. The law took effect Sept. 28, 2011. Fines are at least $100.

Gov. Paul LePage signed State Sen. Bill Diamond’s bill banning the reading and writing of text messages (and email) on June 3, 2011. The sending of text messages while driving remains legal.

Final approval of the bill came in the House and Senate on May 23.

Diamond’s general distracted driving law went into effect Sept. 12, 2009. He told told the Transportation Committee on March 15, 2011: “The one thing (the 2009 law) hasn’t done, which we hoped it would, is have an impact on the texting.”

Current prohibitions:

• Text messaging prohibited for all drivers. Minimum $100 fine.
• Drivers under the age of 18 prohibited from using cell phones while driving.
• Drivers with learner’s permits or intermediate licenses prohibited from using cell phones while driving.
• General distracted driving law penalizes motorists who fail to have their vehicles under control due to wide range of behaviors. Enforcement tied to other traffic offense or accident.

Distracted driving notes (2011):
Police in Berwick say the truck driver killed when he slammed into a train in July was distracted by talking on his cell phone. Peter Barnum, 35, died immediately.

LD 736 and LD 670 received a public hearing March 15 before the Transportation Committee. LD 670 sponsor Cynthia Dill, D-Cape Elizabeth, told the panel she saw no meaningful difference between using a cell phone and text messaging while driving: “In order to text, you have to turn on your phone and you press buttons. In order to use the cellular telephone, you turn it on and you press buttons.”

All Maine legislation over the years that sought to prohibit adults’ use of handheld cell phones while driving has failed to advance.

The Maine Chiefs of Police Association spoke in favor of LD 736 and LD 670 at the Transportation Committee’s hearing of March 15. The state Civil Liberties Union presented its case against the bills.

State Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, and AT&T Maine exec Owen Smith wrote an Op/Ed piece carried in the Portland Press Herald that said of LD 736: “The legislation would impose a civil fine of $100 if someone is stopped by a police officer who observes a driver texting. We believe this is enough of a fine to get the attention of drivers, and to get people focused on the danger they put themselves and others in while trying to multitask behind the wheel.”

2011 distracted driving legislation:
SP 228/LD 736: Outlaws text messaging while driving in Maine. Fine no less than $100. Amended in committee to delete “sending” of texts and email as offenses. Approved by the Senate on April 14 (no roll call vote). Approved by the House in a 129-13 vote on May 19. Final non-roll call approval in the House and Senate on May 23. Latest action: Signed into law by the governor on June 3. (Diamond)

HP 500/LD 670: Would ban use of handheld electronic devices while driving. Hands-free operation OK. Fines: $50 (first offense) then $250. Latest legislative action: Killed by the Transportation Committee on April 13. (Dill)

2010 distracted driving notes:
Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, said of his new text messaging legislation completed in October: “While Maine took a big step forward passing a distracted driver law in 2009, it is clear to me now that measure deals more with the effect,” Diamond said Aug. 31. “The proposed ban on texting while driving I have put forward deals better with the cause of the problem.”

AAA Northern New England said Diamond’s campaign for a text messaging law comes at a good time, in late August, as teens are returning to school: “This is an excellent opportunity to remind Maine teen drivers that it is illegal to text while driving until you have reached 18 years of age.”

2009 legislation:
SP 15/LD 6 — Would make distracted driving an offense. The original legislation cited electronic devices including games, e-mail and texting devices, as well as grooming. These references were removed. Went into effect Sept. 12, 2009.

HP 35/LD 40 — Would prohibit drivers from using handheld cell phones unless a hands-free accessory is employed. Also prohibiting handheld cell phone use: HP 96/LD 112. Rejected in transportation committee on Feb. 19.

HP 36/LD 41 — Would prohibit drivers from making cell phone calls unless a hands-free accessory is employed, and from text messaging.

Legislation notes:
The distracted driving law was enacted June 12, 2009, and signed by Maine’s governor on June 19. It took effect Sept. 12. Read Maine’s distracted driving law.

Sen. Bill Diamond says his overall law targeting distracted drivers (SP 15/LD 6) makes more sense than a list of banned devices for drivers that would need regular updating. “We cannot just focus on cell phones or the electronic device of the day that people are interested in at that moment,” Diamond says. “What we do is focus on the behavior, not what specifically caused it.”

Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine, told the Bangor Daily News that Maine’s distracted driving approach — targeting the behavior, not the devices — has drawn interest from the Transportation secretary and other members of the U.S. House.

The cell phone driving legislation from Rep. George Hogan, D–Old Orchard Beach, calls for fines between $50 and $250. “It’s on the minds of every state, and almost every state is more aggressive than Maine,” Hogan said.

Text messaging brings a fine of not less than $500 under the legislation sponsored by Rep. Paulette Beaudoin, D-Biddeford (HP 36/LD 41). Cell phone fines under the law would be between $50 and $250.

The Sun Journal of Lewiston, Maine, editorialized on texting and driving: “Researchers found texting, as compared to other habits that distract drivers, is exponentially more dangerous than once thought. … Texting is unsafe. Lawmakers in Maine should ban it specifically (not just distracted driving). Drivers should be told of its dangers and punished if caught doing it. It is a safety issue. It’s common sense.” (July 29, 2009)

A hands-free bill died in the state Senate in June 2007.

A study of cell phone-related accidents was mandated by the Legislature, to run through September 2008 with a report due by Jan. 15, 2009. That study was the result of legislation from Rep. Christopher Babbidge, D-Kennebunk, who also authored the state law regarding recycling of used cell phones.