Bill: Don’t text and drive

Proposal would make typing at the wheel a traffic offense

By CHRISTOPHER KROMER / Tribune Chronicle
WARREN — It’s one of those things that most people know is dangerous, yet many persist in doing it.

It’s being called ‘‘driving while texting,’’ or ‘‘DWT’’ for short, and it’s making its way across the legal and political landscape in Ohio.

House Bill 425, a measure that seeks to establish driving while texting or typing on a communication device as a secondary stop traffic offense, was introduced in the state House on Jan. 8.

If passed in its current form, the secondary nature of the offense would prevent law enforcement officials from stopping a driver solely on the basis of texting or typing while driving.

It has been assigned to the House committee on Infrastructure, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs.

Key provisions of the bill include the requirement that anyone texting or typing at the time of a motor vehicle accident appear in court to answer the charge — precluding the possibility of a written plea of guilty — and the exclusion of driving while texting/typing violations from the driver’s license point system.

The bill was introduced by Reps. Diana M. Fessler (R-Bethel Township) and Michael DeBose (D-Cleveland) and was co-sponsored by Rep. Sandra Stabile Harwood (D-Niles).

Infrastructure, Homeland Security and Veterans Affairs committee chair Rep. Steve Reinhard (R-Bucyrus) indicated that the committee stage of the bill could last several months.

‘‘We only have one more committee scheduled before the second week of March,’’ said Reinhard.

Reinhard said concerns among House members center on the difficulty of enforcing the proposed measure. Past committee members have asked why other distracting behaviors would not be addressed in the bill.

‘‘The shortcomings are going to be trying to get law enforcement to agree on how to get compliance, especially when you have to have another reason to stop someone in the first place.’’

Harwood cited personal experience as an influencing factor in her decision to co-sponsor.

‘‘I drive down to Columbus every week and I cannot tell you how many near misses I’ve had with people text messaging,’’ said Harwood. ‘‘It’s like driving in a combat zone.’’

Harwood also referred to a recent news story that figured prominently in her decision to support the legislation.

‘‘The state of Washington recently became the first state to pass such legislation after a man caused a five-car pileup along an interstate because he was distracted by sending an email on his Blackberry,’’ said Harwood. ‘‘We need to do something before we get to that.’’

Harwood noted that a joint Liberty Mutual Research Institute for Safety-Students Against Destructive Decisions report identified text messaging while driving as a growing cause for many car accidents in the nation, especially among teens.

According to 2006 data compiled by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co., younger segments of the population are more prone to send text-based messages than others. In a sample group of 400 people age 18-27, 37 percent of respondents admitted to texting or sending instant messages while driving, compared with only 17 percent of respondents age 28-44 and 2 percent of respondents age 45-60.

‘‘Certainly it seems that teenagers are most susceptible to texting or talking on cell phones while driving,’’ said Lindsay Komlanc, spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Public Safety, who added that texting is a part of the larger issue of driving while distracted.

‘‘We don’t want to limit it to just one type of behavior,’’ said Komlanc. ‘‘We don’t want people driving impaired, driving while they’re putting on make up, driving while texting or driving without wearing a seatbelt. There are a variety of behaviors that could be distracting.’’

Locally, Sgt. Larry Salvato, traffic commissioner for the Warren City Police Department, expressed frustration at the bill’s secondary stop provision.

‘‘If I ever saw someone on a cell phone, if I saw someone not paying attention, I couldn’t stop them if they’re not doing anything else wrong,’’ said Salvato. ‘‘It would be as frustrating as the seatbelt law, because they have to be doing something else wrong.’’

Harwood said the bill has a solid chance of passing through the House.

‘‘The good part about the bill is that it’s a joint sponsorship bill to gather bipartisan support. That increases its chances (of passing),’’ said Harwood.

Support from the wireless industry may also augment the bill’s chances.

‘‘We certainly wouldn’t take issue with that legislation,’’ said Joe Farren, assistant vice president for public affairs for the Washington-based CITA-The Wireless Association, which serves as the official trade group for the wireless industry in America. ‘‘We don’t think anyone should be text messaging while they drive. Public safety is a constant and primary issue here.’’

Bill Windsor, associate vice president of safety for Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company in Ohio, expressed similar feelings.

‘‘Clearly, Nationwide believes that, in one regard, we shouldn’t need a law to tell people not to, since it’s such a big distraction,’’ said Windsor. ‘‘Obviously a law that bans these things is a good step towards encouraging responsible behavior.

Windsor drew a parallel that may put distracted driving in perspective.

‘‘If you’re driving 60 mph with a three-second distraction, that’s equivalent to driving the length of a football field without knowing what you’re doing.’’

He also added that texting is part of a growing phenomenon taking place on the country’s roadways.

‘‘Americans are doing just about everything in the car. If it can be done in the kitchen, office, bedroom or bathroom, it shouldn’t be done while you’re in the car.’’

Personal responsibility is a common theme stressed by all involved.

‘‘When you’re behind the wheel, safety is your first and primary responsibility,’’ said Farren. ‘‘At the end of the day, we all have to recognize that it is the individual who is going to make this decision.’’

‘‘People just don’t realize that taking their eyes off the road for just a second can be fatal,’’ said Harwood. ‘‘Just one split second can mean life or death.’’



ckromer@tribune-chronicle.com