Vermont: Cell phone, texting driving laws

Distracted driving update: Gov. James Douglas has signed into law a ban on text messaging and on cell phone use for drivers under 18. The laws are designated for primary enforcement, meaning law officers can pull over violators for that reason alone. Enforcement appears spotty.

Current prohibitions:

• Text messaging outlawed for all Vermont drivers. Fines $100 then $250.
• Drivers under the age of 18 banned from using cell phones. Fines $100/$250.

Distracted driving notes (2011):
The number of distracted driving tickets issued since the Vermont texting law went into effect in July 2010 appears to be relatively low. By April 2011, the number was 64; police estimates in late summer indicated that the number is “in the dozens.”

A texting-and-driving crash that left a Colchester woman in critical condition has the chairman of the state Senate transportation committee thinking about tougher distracted driving laws. An 18-year-old, Emma Viera, was texting as she hit Deborah Drewniak, 52, on Aug. 7, police said. Viera was charged with gross negligent operation of a vehicle with serious injury resulting.

State Sen. Dick Mazza, D-Chittenden/Grand Isle, told WCAX: “Evidently a fine doesn’t work. … To get their attention you’re going to have to probably suspend their license. And I’m not afraid to take that up for consideration.” He remains opposed to a handheld cell phone ban for adult drivers, however.

Cell, texting legislation
Vermont Senate Bill 280 (Senate version): Would ban text messaging for all drivers. Fines of $100/$250 plus 30-day suspension for junior drivers. Primary enforcement. Two points for first offenses; five thereafter. Calls for DMV education plan. Approved by the Senate in a 25-0 vote on Feb. 5 and by the House in a 134-5 vote on May 6. Signed by the governor on June 1. Effective immediately. (Committee on Transportation)

Vermont Senate Bill 280 (House version): Originally sought to ban text messaging and use of handheld cell phones by all drivers. Would outlaw use of cell phones and other handheld electronic devices by all drivers under age 18. (Aka Highway Traffic Safety Act of 2010.) Approved by the House on March 16. Converted to “An act relating to prohibiting texting, prohibiting use of portable electronic devices by junior operators, and primary seatbelt enforcement for persons under 18″ and approved by both the House and Senate in early May. Signed by the governor on June 1 and effective immediately.

(Other 2010 distracted driving legislation, below, now dead)

SB 151: Would outlaw drivers’ use of hand-held cell phones, but allows for operation with a hands-free device. Includes a ban on use of “other electronic communications devices” (text messaging). Outlaws the use of all cell phones and other electronic communications devices by a driver with a learner’s or junior license. Fines of up to $100. Sent to transportation committee Jan. 5, 2010, with a hearing on Jan. 12. (Sears, Brock)

Vermont House Bill 496: Would prohibit all drivers from text messaging. Fines are as high as $750 for a first offense scaling up to $2,500 a third violation. Mandates community service or jail time for second- and third-time violators. (Mrowicki)

HB 493: Would prohibit text messaging while operating a motorized vehicle in Vermont. Includes snowmobiles, boats and all-terrain vehicles. Fines of $100/$250 plus 30-day suspension for junior drivers. Two points for first offenses; five thereafter. (Grad)

HB 277: Would restrict drivers on Vermont’s roads and highways from using a cell phone. (No provision for hands-free devices.) Calls for secondary enforcement, meaning a driver cannot be stopped and cited for this reason alone. Fines of $25-$100 apply if driver also is fined for a primary offense. In Transportation Committee since February 2009. (Masland)

2010 legislation notes
Gov. James Douglas signed the distracted driving bill into law on June 1 at Montpelier High School. A test course was set up at the school to demonstrate the dangers of texting and talking behind the wheel.

The March 17 debate in the House over the amended Senate Bill 280 included these statements:

Rep. Anne Donahue, R-Northfield: “I vote yes because secondary enforcement is an illogical mechanism of law.”

From Rep. Don Turner, R-Milton: “If this law generates a thousand officer discretionary stops and only saves one life, it is worth it to me.”

From Rep. John Rodgers, D-Glover: “This country was founded by people who broke unjust laws. I will not give up any freedom easily no matter how small it may seem.” (Rodgers voted no.)

Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington, says his SB 151 carries a maximum $100 fine because it would most often be assessed on younger drivers. “Whatever (fine) you pick is going to be onerous on teenagers,” he said. Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Sen. Richard Mazza, D-Grand Isle, supported the bill.

The anti-texting-and-driving measure SB 151, approved by the Senate, has been sent to the House, where it’s expected to gain a handheld cell phone component.

Republican Gov. James Douglas says he’s in favor of distracted-driving legislation that focuses on text messaging while driving.

Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Richard Mazza, D-Chittenden/Grand Isle, says he believes the Senate will approve a text-messaging ban in 2010, but not prohibitions on cell phone use by drivers.

“It appears almost certain that Vermont this year will join the growing list of states that punish motorists who text,” WCAX news says.

2009 legislation:
An overall highway-safety bill prepared for the 2009 session prohibits cell phone use by drivers unless a hands-free accessory is engaged, and a full ban on 16- and 17-year-olds’ use of cell phones while driving. Given preliminary approval by the House on April 9, 2009.

Previous legislation notes:
The sponsor of the Vermont highway driving safety bill HB 147 is Rep. Maxine Grad, D-Moretown.

A similar bill sailed through the House in 2008 but failed to become law last year in a Senate squabble over graduated licensing rules. Senate President Peter Shumlin was blamed for holding up the safety legislation.

Bills presented in the 2008 session:

HB 117: Would prohibit drivers from using cell phones without hands-free devices.

SB 20 and HB 31: Would prohibit drivers from using cell phones.

HB 85: Would prohibit drivers with learner’s permits or a junior license from using cell phones.

Republican state Rep. Thomas F. Koch, a cell phone safety bill sponsor, told the AP: “What finally pushed me over the edge was when I was at a stop sign and somebody opposite me was trying to navigate around the corner with a cell phone to the ear in one hand and a cigarette in the other, and she wasn’t doing very well.” He said his wife saw a driver jamming with a flute, prompting the instrument wording.