Tennessee: Cell phone laws, legislation

Distracted driving news: The number of cell phone-related crashes in Tennessee topped 1,000 in 2011, preliminary numbers show. That’s up from about 650 in 2008.

A July 1, 2011, addition to the Tennessee vehicle code specifies that motorists must use “due care” to avoid hitting pedestrians and bicyclists. While the amendment does not specifically address distracted driving, the growth of handheld electronics use by drivers was cited throughout the debate over SB 1171/HB1007. Drivers who hit pedestrians or bicyclists face tougher penalties including jail time and loss of license.

Current prohibitions:

• Text messaging prohibited while operating a motor vehicle in Tennessee.
• Drivers with learner’s permits or intermediate licenses are prohibited from using cell phones while driving.
• School bus operators prohibited from using cell phones while driving, if passengers are present.
• Installation or use of video monitors in a motor vehicle are prohibited if the intent is to provide entertainment or business content for the driver.

2012 distracted driving legislation:
House Bill 2998: Would prohibit operation of vehicle with an animal in the driver’s lap or between the driver and driver’s door. (Cobb)

SB 3110: Would prohibit operation of vehicle with an animal in the driver’s lap or between the driver and driver’s door. Same as HB 2998, above. (Yeager)

2012 distracted driving notes:
Almost all Tennessee drivers feel that texting while behind the wheel is dangerous, but more than a quarter of them do it anyway, a University of Tennessee survey shows. The Center for Transportation Research found 89 percent of drivers thought texting was a threat to their safety. That’s slightly more than those who said the same about drinking and driving. Nonetheless, 27 percent of those surveyed said they had texted while driving in the past month. “It is telling that Tennesseans now find (texting) a threat equal in severity to drinking and driving,” research chief Jerry Everett said. Read the traffic study (PDF).

2011 distracted driving notes:
A Chattanooga City Court judge is pushing for an ordinance that would make text messaging while driving a moving violation (misdemeanor). Tennessee’s texting ban is limited to non-moving offenses, meaning no points are added to the driver’s license and there are no insurance problems. The overlap with state law also would allow distracted driving cases to be heard in city courts.

Frustrated by trying to catch drivers who are texting, Nashville police have starting cruising for violations in unmarked SUVs. The oversized vehicles allow for clear visibility of drivers using handheld devices, allowing officers to distinguish between texting and dialing a cell phone. Most of these vehicles were seized in criminal cases.

The Highway Patrol issued 171 tickets for texting and driving in 2010. In 2009, the year the texting law took effect, 54 citations were handed out over a six-month period.

2011 distracted driving legislation:
House Joint Resolution 200: Urges drivers to refrain from using mobile telephones while driving in marked school zones. No law resulted. Unanimous approval of House on April 24 and Senate on May 21. Signed by governor May 25. (Gilmore)

HB 1042: Would prohibit drivers from using handheld cell phones in school zones while warning lights are flashing. Maximum fine of $50. Non-moving violation; no points. Removed from Transportation Committee subcommittee calendar April 5. (Gilmore)

SB 702: Same as HB 1042, above. Removed from Transportation Committee subcommittee calendar April 5. (Henry)

SB 581/HB 322: Would have prohibited using cell phones while driving in active school zones. Fine: $50. (Henry/Gilmore).

2010 legislation (dead):
HB 2943: Would prohibit use of cell phones while driving in Tennessee unless a hands-free device is employed. Fine $50. Failed to advance after introduction. (Sontany)

2009 legislation:
SB 393: Would outlaw text messing while driving. Signed into law. History: Approved by the Senate in a 22-6 vote on April 23, 2009, and by the House on April 27 with amendments specifying exemptions such as police. The Senate approved the final text messaging bill on April 30 and sent it to the governor, who signed it into law on May 13.

HB 107: Would prohibit text messaging by drivers on Tennessee roads. Cites cell phones and PDAs. Same as anti-texting legislation SB 393. Approved by the House Transportation Committee on April 7, 2009, with a provision that the state post road signs warning of the ban. House substituted SB 393 for HB 107 (House version dead.)

HB 331: Would ban use of cell phones while driving unless a hands-free device such as a headset is employed. Same as handheld cell phone legislation SB 884.

Previous Tennessee legislation notes:
Tennesee’s new law prohibiting text messaging while driving comes with a $50 fine for violators with $10 court costs. It is a non-moving offense, with no points added to the driver’s license. Enforcement began July 1, 2009.

Rep. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, sponsor of the House version of the texting bill (HB 107), saw his bill delayed by two weeks in a transportation subcommittee. An opponent of the bill sought an opinion from the state attorney general, who replied that under current Tennessee traffic laws “an officer has the authority to issue a traffic citation to any driver who is operating a motor vehicle in an unsafe manner, regardless of whether such unsafe operation is caused by cell phone use, text messaging or any other activity that prevents the driver from exercising reasonable care in the operation of the vehicle.”

Sen. Jim Tracy, R-Shelbyville, saw his SB 393 approved by the Senate Transportation Committee on March 10. The anti-driving and texting legislation passed on a 6-1 vote. “I don’t think we can legislate against stupidity,” said the nay voter, Sen. Mae Beavers, R-Mt. Juliet.

Sen. Tracy, the author of SB 393, said earlier in the session: “From what I’ve heard from other lawmakers, I think we’re in good shape. I feel like it will pass this year. I think we have the momentum to do it.” His previous attempt died in subcommittee. Texting while driving would bring a maximum $50 fine and $10 court costs.

Tennessee Rep. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol, saw his text-messaging bill send to a “special summer study committee” during the 2008 session, a move often used to kill legislation. He reintroduced the text messaging legislation as HB 107 for the 2009 session. Lundberg’s measure would have mandated a misdemeanor for any driver who wrote or read text messages. The fine would have been $50.

Columnist Gail Kerr wrote about the text messaging debate in the Tennessean: “Is a law necessary? Yes. People are driving stupid. Teens have died. If the state doesn’t tell them to stop it, they’ll keep doing it. … Let’s put it this way. Would you want to be driving on a narrow, twisting road when the driver on the other side of the yellow line is text messaging? Didn’t think so.”

Six graduate students at the University of Tennessee are lobbying along with the American Automobile Association for passage of bills banning handheld cell phone use and text messaging by drivers.

The ban on school bus drivers’ use of cell phones was enacted in 2003.

The ban on cell phone use by drivers with learner’s permits or intermediate licenses was enacted in 2005.

The video screen law was revised during the 2008 session.

Cell phone-related legislation that was either rejected or allowed to die in the 2008 Tennessee legislative session:

HB 2550 and SB 2726: Would have prohibited drivers from using cell phones without hands-free devices. (Also SB 2726, SB 3670 and HB 2550)

HB 2618 and SB 2669 (identical): Would have prohibited text-messaging while driving.

SB 0088 and HB 0045 (identical): Would have prohibited the use of a cell phones when passing through a school zone as children are coming and going.