By Linda Taaffe
Holding a phone while driving could end up costing California motorists a $20 penalty under a new cell phone ban drafted by Assemblyman Joe Simitian that cleared its first legal victory this month.
The Assembly Transportation Committee gave Simitian’s bill the green light March 3 with a 14-to-five vote after defeating the ban twice by a single vote in 2001 and 2002.
“I’m pleased we’ve taken the first step to saving lives on California roads and highways,” Simitian said. The Palo Alto Democrat, who represented Los Altos and Los Altos Hills as Santa Clara County Supervisor, attributed this year’s success to new evidence that holding a cell phone while driving can be dangerous.
A recent California Highway Patrol study found that cell phones were responsible for more distracted driving accidents than eating, smoking, children, pets and personal hygiene combined. Nearly one in 10 accidents were associated with cell phone use, based on the 9,000 crashes evaluated in the report that were linked to driver inattention. Fumbling with the radio or CD player and eating were other leading causes.
Simitian said he expected the problem to get worse as holding phone conversations behind the wheel becomes routine for more and more motorists. About 134.5 million people subscribed to cell phones in 2002 compared with about 4.3 million in 1990, according to statistics released by the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association.
Assembly Bill 45 would require cell phone users to use hands-free technology while driving, unless calling 911. Offenders could be fined $20 for a first offense and $50 for subsequent violations.
“We’ve had to wait for the data to tell us what common sense made clear - it’s safer to have two hands on the wheel than one, particularly when you’re distracted by a cell phone conversation,” Simitian said.
If the bill becomes law, it will take effect in 2005 - making California only the second state in the country to require hands-free use of cell phones by drivers. New York was the first state to implement the requirement in 2001.
Los Altos Police Officer Paul Arguelles, who heads the department’s traffic team, said motorists who try to multi-task on the road tend to run lights, speed, swerve or drive erratically.
“They’re doing something they don’t realize they’re doing - speeding, swerving- because a cell phone is distracting them,” he said. Arguelles said cell phones are not the only distractions in a car.
“You need to be aware” of all the things that can be distractions, he added.
Los Altos just began including cell phone usage in its accident reports at the start of this year as part of a state requirement. The California Highway Patrol is scheduled to review and tally the reports for its annual statewide statistics report. The number of accidents tied to cell phones in Los Altos was not available last week.
Arguelles said he has had two close calls with drivers on cell phones. In one case, a woman using her phone drifted into his lane on Foothill Expressway and more than likely would have struck his partner if he had not kicked her passenger door to get her attention.
A woman on a cell phone recently struck officer Brent Butler while he was patroling.
Arguelles said under current law police cannot pull over drivers for being distracted. There must be some other violation, he said.
AT&T Wireless, Sprint PCS and Cingular Wireless have said the ban unfairly targets cell phones and should include other devices that cause distractions.
A new study released this month in the National Safety Council’s “Injury Insights” suggests that banning hand-held devices, but permitting hands-free devices in motor vehicles is not likely to significantly reduce driver distractions associated with cell phone conversations.
The bill is next headed to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
