New Jersey: Cell phone laws, legislation

Distracted driving update: A bill that would ban public transit drivers from texting and talking on cell phones has been approved in the Assembly. If it becomes law, the state would be one of the first in the nation with a complete set of distracted driving laws.

Current prohibitions:
Drivers must use hands-free devices while talking on cell phones. ($100 fine)

Text messaging and use of video games prohibited while driving.

School bus operators prohibited from using cell phones while driving.

Drivers under the age of 21 with learner’s permits or intermediate licenses are prohibited from using cell phones while driving.

2010 legislation:
A407: Prohibits train operators and bus drivers from using wireless telephones and other electronic communications devices. Includes light-rail operators. Fines up to $1,000, imprisonment for six months, or both. Approved by the Assembly on Feb. 25. (Diegnan)

2010 distracted driving notes:
A407, which restricts public transit drivers from text messaging, is a repeat of last session’s A3358. The Assembly vote of Feb. 25 was unanimous.

The Division of Highway Traffic Safety says about 225,000 tickets have been issued since New Jersey’s handheld cell phone law went into effect in March 2008. About 3,600 accidents have been linked to handheld cell phone use in that two-year period.

2009 legislation:
A3358: Would have prohibited operators of public transit vehicles from text messaging while vehicles are moving. Includes light-rail operators. Combined with A3285, which addressed texting and railway operators. (Same as S2536.)

Legislation notes:
A3358 is sponsored by Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan Jr., D-Middlesex. It cleared in the transportation committee as a substitute on Jan. 26, 2009.

Diegnan’s ban on texting while driving public transit vehicles calls for fines of up to $1,000 and six months in jail. It is one of the many texting-related bills filed nationwide in response to the L.A. commuter crash.

Twin House and Senate bills that would have exempted truckers from the state’s ban on handheld cell phone use failed to advance in the 2009 session. Specifically, the bills would have approved use of citizen’s band radios and two-way radios. The House bill was approved, but the Senate left the legislation in committee. (AB 3084, SB 2242)

The Assembly has approved a plan for drivers with limited licenses (teenagers, usually) to place an identifying placard on their vehicles. Part of the idea is to help police enforce New Jersey’s law that prohibits motorists under the graduated driver program from talking on a cell phone, regardless of whether a hands-free device is employed. The Assembly vote came March 5 and the plan awaits the governor’s signature.

Eighteen municipalities in seven New Jersey counties undertook a two-week crackdown on drivers ignoring the state’s cell phone law for motorists. The March 2009 “Hang Up, Just Drive” program was funded by the Division of Highway Traffic Safety, which reported an drop in reports of illegal cell phone use after the sweep.

New Jersey was one of the first states to ban hand-held cell phone use and text messaging while driving. It also was a leader in prohibiting cell phone use by drivers with permits. In 2007, its existing cell phone driving law was updated to a primary offense, meaning police can stop suspected violators solely for that reason. The texting rules went into effect in March 2008.