Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Cell-phone ban urged for drivers under 18

From: "marcel_rf1" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 06 Mar 2004 20:17:25 -0000

Cell-phone ban urged for drivers under 18

By Tony Bizjak -- Bee Staff Writer

Published 2:15 a.m. PST Saturday, March 6, 2004

Saying young drivers need to keep their focus on the road, a Southern 
California legislator is proposing to ban cell phone use by drivers 
under 18.
The bill, by Sen. Debra Bowen, D-Marina Del Rey, is one of several 
this year on what has been a continually controversial topic among 
lawmakers:

 How dangerous is the now-ubiquitous use of cell phones by drivers, 
and what restrictions on their use, if any, are appropriate?

Several broader bans on cell phone use have been rejected by the 
Legislature in the last few years - but officials say the more 
targeted Bowen bill has a good shot at becoming law.

Bowen, speaking via cell phone while driving to a dentist appointment 
this week, said her bill, SB 1582, is based on recommendations of the 
National Safety Commission and National Transportation Safety Board 
on teen drivers and cell phones.

"It just doesn't make any sense to have a beginning driver also dial 
the phone and have a difficult conversation with who knows, a 
boyfriend or girlfriend," Bowen said. Speaking of teenagers, she 
said: "We know that that age group has significantly more accidents 
than more experienced drivers. They are learning a new skill set. 
They need to focus on checking their mirrors, tracking their speed, 
maintaining their distances."

Several other bills take a variety of approaches to regulating cell 
phone use. None is proposing a full ban.

However, Assemblyman Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, is seeking to ban all 
hand-held cell phones in motor vehicles. His bill, AB 1828, would 
allow drivers to talk on cell phones as long as the phone's 
technology allows the person to keep both hands on the steering wheel.

A similar Simitian bill last year was voted down. Bowen is among 
those who dispute the premise of Simitian's bill.

"It's the conversation, not the act of holding the phone, that's 
responsible for the distraction," Bowen argued.

Simitian did not return Bee phone calls seeking comment.

Meanwhile, Sen. Richard Alarcón, D-Sun Valley, has introduced a bill, 
SB 1320, that would prohibit motorists from using hand-held cell 
phones when they are driving in a school zone.

The bill, suggested by Alarcón's secretary, stems from concerns about 
parents who often clog the streets in front of schools at the 
beginning and end of the school day, dropping off and picking up 
their children.

Alarcón said his sister was injured years ago in front of her school 
when an inattentive parent rammed the family car as his sister was 
climbing in.

"Whatever we do with cell phones, we ought to consider children's 
safety first," Alarcón said. "We might not be able to stop the use of 
cell phones, or want to, but at a minimum, we should agree people 
shouldn't use cell phones around schools."

Sen. Kevin Murray, D-Culver City, head of the Senate transportation 
committee, has introduced a broader bill, SB 1800, imposing an extra 
traffic fine for drivers who were engaging in any of various 
distracting activities while driving unsafely.

Those activities include: Using a cell phone or personal electronic 
device, adjusting the radio or CD changer, smoking, eating, drinking, 
interacting with passengers, such as children or animals, reading, 
writing, or doing grooming, such as combing hair or applying makeup.

Under the bill's wording, police are not allowed to stop a car simply 
to determine "whether a driver is engaging in a distracting activity."

Another bill would ban bus drivers from using cell phones while on 
the road.

Of the bills, legislative officials say Bowen's teenage ban appears 
most promising.

The bill is based on a National Safety Council recommendation last 
year for "restrictions that prohibit all non-emergency use of 
electronic devices including cell phones by teenage drivers during 
their graduated licensing period."

There are no specific studies on teen drivers and cell phone use, 
according to Allan Williams, chief scientist at the Insurance 
Institute for Highway Safety, but bills similar to Bowen's have 
passed in Maine and New Jersey, he said.

James Gross, a lobbyist for T-Mobile, a cell phone company, said his 
client is unsure what stance it will take on the bill, but 
acknowledged, "We agree the less experienced the driver, the more 
there is an issue about them multi-tasking in the car."

Earl Selby, an attorney for Nextel, also a cell phone company, said 
Nextel officials will look at the bills in the coming weeks to decide 
whether it will take a stance on any of them.

Although the company opposed Simitian's bill last year, that doesn't 
mean the company will take a stance this year on any bills, Selby 
said.

Sacramento area teenagers had mixed feelings about the ban idea.

Most of those interviewed said they had cell phones and said they 
considered the phones an important part of their daily lives.

Sacramento High School students Lyric Flood, Marcus Cortvriendt, and 
Jared Childress - all learning to drive - count themselves as good 
drivers, but said they have friends who aren't good drivers, and 
think the legislation makes some sense.

"Some kids are overconfident," said Childress, 15.

Speaking on her cell phone while driving on Fair Oaks Boulevard to 
swimming practice this week, Loretto High School senior Emily 
Newcomb, 17, said she would agree with a ban for drivers of any age 
during their first six months behind wheel.

Newcomb has been driving more than a year, and, although her mother 
has told her not to, she admits she takes calls while driving, but 
tries to keep the conversations short.

"My friends live far away, so it's important to set up where and when 
we are going to meet," she said.

She says she becomes a calmer and more passive driver when talking on 
the phone.

Her mother, Cheryl, is not mollified, however. "I tell her: 'Hang up! 
Pull over! Then talk!' I don't feel safe with her driving and using 
the cell phone."

Several beginning drivers question how police are going to be able to 
enforce such a law, given they can't know a person's age.

California Highway Patrol Commissioner D.O. "Spike" Helmick was 
noncommittal on the Bowen bill. "Some states have done it that way. 
We are still looking at that. We haven't run all the statistics yet."

A CHP study a few years ago identified cell phones as the main 
element in distraction-caused crashes in the state.

http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/ca/story/8428488p-9357810c.html

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