Stunned by cop’s death, Arizona goes hands free

Inspired by tragedy yet slow to overcome resistance, Arizona has adopted a handheld cell phone ban.

A hands-free measure cleared the Legislature on April 18 and was signed into law by the governor April 22.

Arizona lawmakers were so opposed to electronic distracted driving regulation that the state does not currently have a texting & driving law. That dynamic changed in January, following the death of a police officer in a crash caused by a driver who admitted to texting.

Dozens of Arizona’s cities and counties have local laws against electronics use while behind the wheel, and those ordinances will remain in effect until Jan. 1, 2021, when the state law goes into full force. A warning period will exist until then.

The new law prohibits the holding of a wireless communications device with any part of the body. It allows for GPS use and for use of cell phones at stop lights. The measure was sponsored by Rep. Noel Campbell; the bill began life as an unrelated motor vehicle department bill.

Enforcement will be primary, meaning that police can stop and cite offenders for that reason alone. Efforts to cap enforcement to secondary status were defeated.

Fines range from $75 to $149 for a first offense and then $150 to $250. Enhanced penalties and liabilities are provided for those causing serious bodily harm or death while distracted.

The April 18 vote for House Bill 2318 was 44-16. It previously cleared the Senate. House leaders vowed “to get something” passed and cleared the way for voting on a trio of bills. Another bill was approved in that body — a general distracted driving plan that returns to the Senate.

Arizona has a long history with distracted driving legislation, a push long led by the perennially frustrated Steve Farley, a former senator and representative.

“It’s been 13 sessions of very hard work on the part of so many,” he said on social media after the vote. “A hands-free bill is on the governor’s desk at last. I am so deeply grateful for the courage and persistence of the families of distracted driving victims.”

Opponents frequently cited personal freedoms and racial profiling in organized efforts both sad and comic. They succeeded in derailing all legislation over the years except for a watery texting ban affecting only novice drivers. Arizona is one of the few states without a true texting ban.

“We are only one of three states in the entire nation that does not ban text messaging and driving even though we know the frightening statistics,” Campbell said before the House vote.

A parade of cities and counties adopted electronic distracted driving bans in recent years, citing failures to act at the state level.

Gov. Doug Ducey said on the eve of the vote: “We need to catch up as a state and make sure we’re protecting and providing the proper public safety on our roads.”

State Sen. Kate Brophy McGee, whose similar hands-free plan also advanced to a House vote April 18, said early in her campaign: “We are at the point where everybody has reached the enough-is-enough point.”

Clayton Townsend, a Salt River police officer, was killed in early January during a freeway traffic stop. A man admitted to texting while hitting the officer. Townsend’s mother and family watched the House vote to enact the distracted driving law.

“I think everyone just saw this as such an avoidable death,” Ducey said at the signing. “When someone comes down and speaks with the power and passion of a mom on behalf of a fallen son, how could they not deliver (a bill) to the governor’s desk?”

• Read the new Arizona handheld cell phone ban.
• Read more about distracted driving legislation in Arizona.