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Sunday, December 14, 2008
Ind. Law - "Kentucky, Indiana ponder teen-driver cell-phone laws"
Lesley Stedman Weidenbener has this story today in the Louisville Courier Journal. Some quotes:
INDIANAPOLIS – Floyd Central (Ind.) High School senior Mitch Moutoux remembers the text message telling him a girl he knew was pregnant. It came as he was driving his maroon Chevy Silverado, but he looked down to read it anyway -- and acknowledges now that cell phones "can be distracting.""My buddy grabbed the wheel for me," said Mitch, of Georgetown, Ind., recalling that text. "It was a pretty surprising message."
Mitch, who just turned 18, is not alone among teens who say they regularly use their cell phones while on the road.
Last year, a survey by AAA and Seventeen magazine reported that nearly a third of 16- and 17-year olds admit talking on the phone while driving. Nearly one in four acknowledge texting.
A study released this year by the Erie Insurance Co. found evidence the numbers are even higher. Teens said more than half their friends sent text messages while driving and more than three-quarters talked on the phone.
It's a practice some Kentucky and Indiana lawmakers want to stop.
In Indiana, Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, plans to introduce a bill next year that would strengthen the state's graduated driver's license law and add a section prohibiting cell-phone use by minors while driving. * * *
Motor vehicle crashes are the leading killer of young people, claiming more than 6,000 15- to 20-year-olds each year, according to AAA. Many of those crashes are caused by inattention and distractions, including cell-phone use, officials say.
Seventeen states prohibit young drivers from calling and texting while they're on the road, even if they're using a hands-free device such as Bluetooth. In some states, the law refers to probationary drivers only. In others, it applies to anyone younger than 18.
Five other states plus the District of Columbia ban all drivers from using hand-held phones, a proposal that has failed in both Kentucky and Indiana.
Indiana Rep. Peggy Welch, D-Bloomington, said she would support a broader ban and thinks her constituents would, too.
"I have my booth at the county fair, and one of the major issues I hear every year is people asking, 'When are you going to ban the use of cell phones for driving?' " Welch said. "People have very strong feelings about it."
But lawmakers have a tough time restricting the actions of adults, she said.
"So, you start somewhere. And if this is where we need to start, we will," said Welch, who hopes to be a co-sponsor of Holdman's bill if it passes the Senate. "There's lots of anecdotal stories that if someone's distracted they don't drive as well."
Posted by Marcia Oddi on December 14, 2008 10:44 AM
Posted to Indiana Law