Annapolis lawmakers again will consider a bill telling Maryland drivers to hang up their cell phones ?and stop reading, writing and grooming themselves ? when behind the wheel.
Baltimore County legislators Sen. Norman Stone, D-District 6, and Del. John Olszewski Jr., D-District 6, are sponsoring a “distracted drivers” bill in the Senate and House, respectively, in part as tribute to the late Del. John Arnick. The Democrat from Dundalk, who died of lung cancer in June, lobbied for motor safety and unsuccessfully introduced similar bills every year since 1999.
“We?re protecting the citizens of Maryland but it?s also meant to honor John Arnick?s legacy,” Olszewski said. “I think he brought up a good issue, and I wouldn?t support an issue that I didn?t believe in.”
Maryland law prohibits drivers with learner?s permits from using cell phones, said Matt Sundeen, a transportation expert with the National Conference of State Legislatures. If passed, the law also would ban any cell phone use for bus drivers and limit all other motorists to hands-free devices.
Anyone found driving in an “inattentive” and “unsafe” manor while using cell phones, reading, writing, grooming, interacting with animals, adjusting cargo ? or performing any other distracting activity ? would violate the law.
Arnick?s bills never got out of committee, but Sundeen said cell phone regulation bills in other states are seeing movement. At least 28 states regulate cell phone use in some capacity, he said, and five have bans on hand-held devices, including Washington, D.C.
A ban on specific wireless devices in Washington, D.C., took effect in 2004, and allows first-time offenders to submit a receipt for hands-free equipment to have the $100 fine voided.
But some transportation experts question the benefits of hands-free devices.
A study by the AAA Foundation attributed the conversation, not the phone, to distracting drivers most, said Ragina Averella, spokeswoman for the automotive group.
