Hands free cell phone legislation... will it ever get past the House?
Will we finally get a hands free cell phone law? The House had the opportunity to do something in 2016 and 2017, but chose not to. Maybe the Governor's bill will make the difference. This law needs to be passed quickly and it will be interesting to see who is against this. Part of this would also expand the use of ignition interlock devices for first offense drunk driving offenses. Lets hope the State can get the breathalyzer crisis fixed before this law would take effect.
From MassLive
BOSTON — Gov. Charlie Baker on Tuesday introduced a bill that would ban the use of handheld phones while driving.
The
“hands-free” provision is one aspect of a larger bill on road safety,
which would also allow the police to pull someone over for not wearing a seat belt and expand the use of interlock ignition devices for drunk
drivers.
“I’m thrilled,” said Mary Maguire,
director of public and legislative affairs for AAA Northeast. “To have
the chief executive of the commonwealth so focused on the safety of
motorists, pedestrians, cyclists and those who work at the roadside is
really extraordinary.”
Baker said in a
statement, “This bill includes common sense proposals to substantially
reduce distracted driving, stiffen penalties associated with operating
under the influence, improve safety requirements for certain trucks and
to begin establishing a regulatory framework for new forms of
transportation.”
posted by Jim Pillsbury @ 9:34 AM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
This is another attempt to infringe on our rights. I think the no texting or dialing while driving is a valid policy as if you do that you can impact and injure others, but they are tying in the right for police to stop you if your do not have your seat belt on. That harms no one but yourself and why should the cops be able to pull you over and ticket you for making that choice?
the proof is in the numbers from the institute for Highway Safety for this USA Today piece on phone use in cars."The number of people killed in traffic crashes in 2017 was 37,133, the second deadliest year in the past decade". The piece goes on to say, it's not just using the phone to call someone, but doing other things with the phone that causes distracted driving. Worth the read.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2019/01/24/distracted-driving-iihs/2655556002/
Cops don't need any more reasons to stop someone... BUT, if it's truly about public safety and NOT a way to make more arrests out of a traffic stop, I can support it as long as the cops keep track of who they are pulling over and ticketing.
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