ANNAPOLIS – The Maryland House of Delegates passed legislation Thursday that would prohibit drivers from texting while stopped at a traffic light. The Senate gave preliminary approval to a similar measure.
State law bans drivers from texting while their vehicle is in motion, but the law does not address drivers stopped at a traffic signal. The legislation would prohibit drivers from reading texts while behind the wheel, and the state would charge violators with a misdemeanor and $500 fine.
Proponents of the bill, which passed the House 116-22, say it closes a loophole in the state’s texting-while-driving laws. Opponents say the bill is overreaching and gives too much discretionary power to police.
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“Texting and driving just don’t mix,” said Sen. James Brochin, D-Baltimore County, sponsor of the Senate’s version of the bill. “If the light changes and you are reading a text, you can cause an accident.”
The state issued 208 tickets to drivers who were caught texting behind the wheel in fiscal 2010, Brochin said.
Senate Minority Leader E.J. Pipkin, R-Eastern Shore, argued smart phones have become so pervasive in people’s lives that restricting their use is a grave misuse of power.
“This law goes to the core of the state invading the car,” Pipkin said. Regulating such a common behavior “makes a mockery of many of the laws that we pass,” he said.
Under the bill, drivers could only text or read texts while stopped on the shoulder of a roadway. While on the road, drivers would not be violating the bill if they use their phones to access music, Google Maps, or other applications — with the exclusion of e-mail and texting.
Sen. Edward Reilly, R-Anne Arundel County, said the bill would open to the door to demographic profiling, “giving law enforcement officers just one more reason to pull you over.”
Some conservative lawmakers introduced amendments to the bill that were all shot down. An amendment from Sen. Allan H. Kittleman, R-Howard County, would restrict drivers from reading a newspaper while driving. Another would prohibit drivers from eating or drinking behind the wheel.
“You can’t tell me it is more safe to hold some French fries and a Big Mac and Coke than it is to look down and read some text messages,” Kittleman said.
Brochin said eating isn’t a distraction while driving.
“Eating is not a cerebral event,” he said. “You just do it.”
The Senate’s version is moving to a third reading for final passage.
