After a decade of failure, a proposal banning Maryland drivers from using hand-held cell phones and text messaging appears to be gaining momentum, lawmakers said.
Lawmakers said national traction on driver distraction could boost the chances of a proposal requiring drivers to use a hands-free cell phone device behind the wheel. Bill sponsor Sen. Mike Lenett, a Montgomery County Democrat, said he is close to collecting the full support of a Senate committee after a hearing Tuesday.
“This doesn?t purport to solve the whole problem,” said Lenett. “We won?t get rid of if all, but we will be driving on safer streets.”
Lenett?s proposal ? a scaled back version of last year?s sweeping proposal to ban all major distractions like grooming, reading and eating while driving ? carries a $100 fine for a first offense and $250 for subsequent violations. A judge could waive the first fine if a hand-held device is purchased, and calls to 911 would be excluded from the rule.
Only one cell phone carrier, Sprint Nextel, testified against the bill during the hearing before the Senate judicial proceedings committee.
Requiring hands-free devices could encourage longer conversations and changing lanes, pulling over or getting off the highway to take a call, said Gary Horewitz, a government affairs manager for the company. Those, he said, create a greater risk than answering or making a brief call.
“You cannot legislate responsible distractions,” Horewitz said.
If passed, Maryland would join four states and D.C., which have laws requiring hands-free devices, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Every state has considered some regulation of cell phone use behind the wheel in the past three years.
Some members of the committee said the regulation should be considered a secondary offense ? requiring a concurrent violation like speeding or running a stop sign. Sen. Lisa Gladden said she believes the phone conversation is as much a distraction as dialing and said she has concerns about profiling.
“Do the police have a responsibility to stop every person on the phone, or do they pick and choose the people they want to stop?” she said.
The bill has the support of the state?s Department of Transportation. An American Automobile Association Maryland spokeswoman said the organization has reservations about banning cell phone use when other activities are equally distracting for drivers.
