Bills take aim at distracted driving

With an ever-increasing panoply of hand-held and dash-mounted devices vying for the attention of drivers, South Carolina legislators are looking for ways to get every driver's eyes back on the road.

Bills making their way out of committees to the state House and Senate floors Tuesday included a House bill that would ban text messaging and talking on a hand-held phone while driving, and a Senate bill that would bar only texting and e-mailing while driving.

"Anything other than focusing on the road can be a distraction," said S.C. Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Bob Beres, public information officer for the Patrol's Troop 6. "It's not just texting; everyone should pay attention to the task in front of them, which is driving."

Beres said he read a report from the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration that said talking to a passenger in the car can be just as distracting as talking on a cell phone. "The only difference is, the passenger can warn you about something that's happening around you," he said.

Asked if the patrol had any statistics on the relationship between cell-phone use and accidents, Beres said there is a check box on the back of collision reports that troopers are to mark if a driver indicates he was using a cell phone at the time of the accident. But he doubts drivers answer that question truthfully.

At least one of the many bills introduced this session on this issue would give law enforcement the power to seize a driver's phone or subpoena phone records to determine if a text message were being sent at the time of an accident.

The House Education Committee approved a bill banning texting and talking on a cell phone with surprisingly little debate after an effort to separate the issues -- and ban only texting -- failed. The measure would exempt hands-free talking systems. It would fine offenders up to $100 and add two points on their licenses. School bus drivers who use a cell or text would face harsher penalties and lose their school-bus certification.

The bill approved 15-5 by the Senate Judiciary Committee would fine drivers caught texting or e-mailing up to $25 and put one point on their licenses.

Either bill faces many challenges before becoming law, including concern about how such a ban would be enforced, said Sen. Paul Campbell, R-Goose Creek. Similar legislation over the last several years has failed to pass because of enforcement concerns.

This year, the ban has more momentum.

"I think it's a good move," Campbell said.

Campbell, a member of the Judiciary Committee, said he voted to send the bill to the floor after hearing testimony from Mark Keel, director of the state Department of Public Safety.

Keel is concerned about the dangers of using a cell phone to type and read messages while driving. He has been advocating for the Legislature to pass a ban this year. "Anytime you take you're eyes off the road and you're not looking where you're going, it's dangerous," Keel said recently.

The NHTSA reports that distracted and inattentive driving contributed to nearly 6,000 roadway deaths across the country in 2008.

If the bill passes, South Carolina would join about 20 other states that ban text-messaging behind the wheel, according to AAA Carolinas. Some states require hands-free devices to talk on the phone, but state lawmakers are hesitant to go that far.

Earlier this month, the S.C. Departments of Transportation and Public Safety imposed a ban on employees at the agencies from texting while driving a state vehicle.

Campbell said a ban won't stop all drivers from sending text messages and e-mails, but the threat of a ticket will stop some, and in the meantime improve safety.

"It is not going to stop some drivers until they get caught once or twice, but it is a move in the right direction," Campbell said.