Untitled Document

Lawmaker wants to curb hand-held use in cars
Driving distractions

Sunday, 14 January 2001

According to Response Insurance Co.'s 1999 National Driving Habits Survey, 76 percent of drivers reported engaging in at least one activity while driving that distracted them from the road.*
Activity Percent
* Tuning radio 62%
* Eating 57
* Turning to speak 56
* Reaching for something 44
* Drinking coffee/tea 38
* Reading 32
* Writing 32
* Using glove box 32
* Talking on cellphone 29
* Cleaning windshield 23
* Rubbernecking 22
* Smoking 21
* Steering without hands 20
* Having someone else steer 19
* Flirting 17
* Combing hair 17
* Picking nose 17
* Fighting with passenger 16
* Kissing 14
* Spilling coffee 14
* Breaking up kids fighting 12
* Wiping cigarette ashes 12
* Racing another car 12
* Dog jumping in car 11
* Putting on makeup 10
* Drinking alcohol 6
* Eyedrops/contacts 3
* Child on lap 3
* Using computer 1

Percentages do not add up to 100 because of multiple responses.

Cellphone legislation

Provisions of Senate Bill 1005:
* Prohibits a driver from using a cellular phone, personal computer or other electronic device while operating a vehicle. Navigation systems and other factory-installed devices are exempt.
* Allows use of cellular phones with a hands-free device, such as a headset or permanent mount.
* Exempts law enforcement and safety personnel, commercial drivers, motorists reporting reckless or negligent behavior or imminent personal danger, amateur radio operators using phones or other devices within the scope of a job.
* Sets a fine of $50 fine for violations and a fine of $100 for a violation that results in an accident.
* Requires law-enforcement officers to report the use of cell- phones or other electronic devices by drivers involved in accidents.
* Requires warning labels on cellphone packaging, stating that use while driving can cause accidents and is prohibited by law.
Cellphone driving tips
* Plan ahead to avoid using your phone while driving.
* Pull over to dial or to take notes.
* Route incoming calls to voice mail while driving and return them later.
* Use a hands-free kit in your car so you can keep both hands on the steering wheel.
* Avoid emotional or lengthy phone calls while driving.

Talk to us

Should the Arizona Legislature enact pending legislation restricting the use of hand-held cellular phones or other hand-held electronic devices while driving?
We'd like to know.
To comment, send e-mails with two to four sentences to: thinkq@azstarnet.com. Phone messages of no more than two minutes may be called in to 573-4209.
Responses should include full name and a daytime phone number. Respondents also are encouraged to include their age and occupation.
You also may contact your lawmaker through the Legislature's Tucson information office at 628-6593 or 628-6596.

Cellphone debate

Bill would make it illegal to use electronic devices when driving
By David Wichner
Arizona Daily Star

Using a cellular phone while behind the wheel has been likened by some to drunken driving. But others say it's no worse a distraction than tuning the radio, eating or other habits motorists commonly practice.

With more than 108 million Americans currently using cellular phones - including an estimated one-third of Tucson-area residents - careless cellphone use while driving is raising the hackles of lawmakers and the driving public.

And because of that, Arizona is among nine states that are looking into restricting cellphone use.

Legislation sponsored by state Sen. Tom Smith, R-Phoenix, would make it illegal to use a hand-held cellphone, personal computer or other electronic devices while driving.

Senate Bill 1005 would still allow drivers to use phones with so-called "hands-free" kits and other exemptions.

Smith said he sponsored the measure after getting an earful from constituents who are angry and alarmed over drivers weaving down the road - or even blowing through red lights and school zones - while yakking on cellphones.

"We felt it was a realistic compromise for people who do a lot of business over the cellphone," said Smith, who saw a more restrictive bill he sponsored last year fail in committee.

"At least you can keep both hands on the wheel," he said of the exemption allowing "hands-free" kits.

Smith has plenty of support among Arizonans who are fed up with rude and hazardous motorists with cellphones.

Sean Maple, an instructor with Tucson's Academy of Driving, said he sees drivers talking on cellphones every day - often weaving in and out of their lanes.

"You can tell they aren't paying attention to what they are doing," he said.

The angst over cellphone use by drivers has prompted a rolling war of words, as bumper stickers that read, "HANG UP AND DRIVE!" pop up across town.

But others say it's senseless to outlaw cellphone use when drivers do so many other bone-headed things behind the wheel.

Freelance photographer Tim Fuller of Tucson, who uses his cellphone in his car often to touch base with clients, says it's no worse than talking with a passenger.

He said he tries to use his phone responsibly, using a hands-free kit about 75 percent of the time and pulling over to take notes.

"It's clear to me that you have to pay attention," Fuller said, adding that he would have no problem abiding by a hands-free mandate.

"It's better to keep two hands on the wheel."

There are plenty of other driving distractions, judging from a 1999 survey by Response Insurance Co.

The insurer's National Driving Habits Survey showed that more people admitted to distractions like tuning in a radio station, eating or even reading, than talking on a cellphone.

Sgt. Ed Slechta of the Arizona Department of Public Safety said he has often pulled over motorists for erratic driving and found they were doing all kinds of bizarre things behind the wheel, including a man he stopped about two weeks ago.

"He said, 'I'm just working on my crossword puzzle.' I said, 'Not on my freeway,'" Slechta said, adding that other recent stops included a man changing his shirt and a woman nursing her baby while driving.

While the debate over cell-phone restrictions heats up, little hard information exists on how such behavior contributes to accidents.

Ban supporters often cite a 1997 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine that showed motorists are four times as likely to have an accident while using a cellphone. That report likened the risk to that of driving drunk.

Arizona legislative researchers cite a 1998 report by the National Highway Traffic Administration that concluded the use of cellphones in cars "is associated with an increase of the risk of a collision."

That study, which included an analysis of accident reports from North Carolina, Oklahoma and Minnesota, showed that cellphone-related crashes accounted for a fraction of 1 percent of the total, but that such incidents appeared to be on the rise as cellular subscribership increased.

However, the agency noted that lack of uniform reporting made it impossible to determine the magnitude of the problem.

Spokeswoman Elly Martin said the agency believes cellphones are a major distraction and is stepping up research efforts.

Only two states, Minnesota and Oklahoma, specifically track cellphone use as a cause of accidents, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Smith's bill would require Arizona law-enforcement agencies to specifically track cell-phone use as part of accident reports.

Lt. Brett Klein, commander of the Tucson Police Department's Traffic Division, said his officers frequently report pulling over suspected drunken drivers - only to find they were talking on their cellphones.

But Klein could not immediately recall any accidents blamed on cellphone use.

"I'm not seeing a lot of accidents attributed to that," Klein said, adding that such data may prove difficult to gather accurately.

"I don't think a lot of people are going to step up and say they were talking on a cell- phone when an accident happened," Klein said, noting that such an admission could subject them to liability for damages.

The lack of data doesn't deter Smith.

"When 500 people are killed, is that the time to get rid of it?" he asked.

Though no state currently bans the use of cellphones while driving, California, Florida and Massachusetts impose minor restrictions on such use, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

The major wireless trade group, the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association, does not take a position on state legislation but suggests measures short of restricting phone use.

The association advocates improved crash-data collection, enforcement of existing laws governing reckless or inattentive driving and educating drivers on the dangers of driving while talking on the phone.

"In our multi-tasking society, drivers get engaged in many distractive activities," said Dee Yankoskie, manager of the association's education programs.

"We don't want wireless phones singled out, especially when they have so many safety advantages to them," she said, citing the 118,000 emergency 911 calls placed over cellphones every day.

Yankoskie said the group would support a hands-free mandate as a "good-behavior enforcement tool."

Education is key, Yankoskie said, noting the group urges phone users to pull over to make calls if possible, use hands-free kits, suspend incoming calls and avoid emotional calls.

Smith's bill is due to be heard initially in two Senate committees this week.

The lawmaker gives his bill "about a 50-50" chance of passage, noting that local wireless businesses are lobbying hard against it.