Texting while driving ban passes Senate, moves to House

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“It’s changing the way I do business,” Jennifer Ives said of her new IPhone. “When I’m out on the road, I can instantly check my e-mails, documents, text messages, but I don’t text until I stop at a red light. A red light gives me enough time to answer simple questions from clients who would otherwise have to wait for an answer.”

Ives, a real estate agent and Maricopa homeowner, may have to return to old ways of communicating with clients in the near future. Last Wednesday, the Arizona State Senate approved SB 1538, a bill that would ban text messaging while driving, including texting at a red light. The bill has moved to the House of Representatives.

The proposed law stipulates: “A person may not use a handheld wireless communication device to manually write, send, or read a written message while operating a motor vehicle.”

However, the bill does allow several exceptions, including allowances for drivers to use their phone to read and dial numbers and texting while stopped in a traffic jam. It also doesn’t prohibit handheld phone use, a law that California and other states have on the books, requiring drivers to use an earpiece. If the legislation becomes law, the penalty for texting and driving will be a $50 non-moving traffic fine, while the penalty for being in an accident due to texting will be $200.

State Senator Steve Smith (R-District 23), doesn’t think the law could be enforced. “How does an officer distinguish between punching in a number or texting? I think we have enough laws on the books right now and I’d like to see the police take a firmer stand on distracted drivers.”

The Highway Loss and Data Institute, which has been closely monitoring the statistical impacts of similar laws in other states, also questions their effectiveness.

HLDI President Adrian Law said, “The laws aren’t reducing crashes, even though we know that such laws have reduced hand-held phone use, and several studies have established that phoning while driving increases crash risk. These findings don’t match what we already know about the risk of phoning and texting while driving. If crash risk increases with phone use and fewer drivers use phones where it’s illegal to do so, we would expect to see a decrease in crashes. But we aren’t seeing it. We’re currently gathering data to figure out this mismatch.”

According to city of Maricopa Public Information Officer Latricia Woods, the city doesn’t have any statistical data regarding accidents caused by texting, as they would be classified as “inattentive related accidents,” a classification that covers a wide range of circumstances. The city also doesn’t comment on any pending state legislation, but Woods said, “it would be our job to enforce” the law if it passes.

In Arizona, Phoenix is the only city that restricts drivers from texting, but there have been only a handful of citations issued since the law went into effect in October. If the state bill is signed into law this session, it will take effect in Jan. 2012.

“I wouldn’t have problem with it,” Ives said. “My only concern is, where they draw the line? Women are putting on their make-up, people are eating — to me, it’s all the same, no matter what the activity — people have to be responsible when they drive.”

Prior attempts to pass the texting-while-driving ban have failed. House Communications Spokesman Paul Boyer said many legislators agree with Smith that existing laws dealing with distracted driving are sufficient.