The House and Senate voted to liberalize the current ban on driver viewing of video screens, to allow use of dashboard screens that have navigation, traffic and other vehicle-related information.

New Hampshire’s ban on text messaging went into effect Jan. 1, 2010.

Current prohibitions:

• Text messaging outlawed for all drivers. Fine $100.
• No limits on cell phone use.
• Viewing of TV broadcast signals prohibited while driving.

Read the laws: Texting and driving | TV viewing

2011 distracted driving legislation:
HB 397: Seeks to contemporize current ban on drivers viewing TV signals with added prohibition of watching “dynamic visual images.” Long list of exceptions such as screen viewing related to operation of vehicle and navigation. Approved by the House on March 15 and then by the Senate on April 27. (Packard)

House Bill 546: Would prohibit use of handheld cell phones by drivers. Primary enforcement. Police would be allowed to examine cell phones to determine if a violation occurred. Fine: $100. Set aside by the Transportation Committee on March 17. (Pantelakos)

Distracted driving notes:
State Rep. Laura Pantelakos has filed HB 546, which seeks to ban handheld cell phone use while driving in New Hampshire. Pantelakos, D-Rockingham, previously tried and failed to get New Hampshire lawmakers to outlaw the handheld cell phones (below).

Rep. David Welch, R-Kingston, a sponsor of HB 546, expects removal of the provision that allows police to examine cell phones as it “appears that would be very questionable as to constitutionality.”

New Hampshire transportation officials say distracted driving and tailgating account for as much as a third of non-fatal vehicle crashes so far in 2010. As of early November, the state already has topped the number of roadway fatalities compared with 2009. Officials blame the 23 percent increase in fatalities on distracted driving. “We are sliding backward instead of forward,” said Peter Thomson, coordinator for the New Hampshire Highway Safety Agency. “We do have some problems with distracted driving.”

2010 legislation:
HB 34: Prohibits text messaging and any other use of two hands for typing on an electronic device. Fine $100. Approved in the New Hampshire House and Senate. Signed into law by Gov. John Lynch on July 31 and went into effect Jan. 1, 2010.

HB 294: Would have prohibited text messaging while driving and use of two hands for typing on an electronic device. (Retained in committee as HB 34 advanced.)

Legislation notes:
“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. “This new law sends a strong message that drivers should be attentive to the road, and those around them at all times.”

The new texting law reads specifically: “A person operating a moving motor vehicle who writes a text message or uses 2 hands to type on or operate an electronic or telecommunications device, is guilty of a violation.” That offense brings a fine of $100.

Rep. Richard Drisko, R-Hollis, saw the amended version of his HB 34 approved by the House on March 24, 2009, on a 222-137 vote. The bill advanced to the Senate, where it was approved by the Transportation Committee in a 5-0 vote on May 14 and then by the full New Hampshire Senate on May 20. The governor signed the bill in late July and it went into effect as 2010 began.

Rep. David Campbell, D-Hillsborough, is the sponsor of HB 294.

HB 1222 sought to prohibit text messaging while driving. It was introduced in the 2008 session, passed in the House and was last seen in the Senate’s Transportation committee.

State Rep. Laura Pantelakos’ 2007 bill seeking to ban use of cell phones without hands-free devices was shelved.

Regarding the state’s Live Free or Die ethic, Pantelakos said: “I can live free, too, and die because someone’s not paying attention,” she said of her cell safety legislation. “I don’t want to see someone killed because a driver was not paying attention.”

Many police cars in New Hampshire are outfitted with voice-activated control systems, freeing up officers’ hands.