Bill to teens: Shut up and drive
Texting, talking on cell would be barred for 15-, 16-year-olds behind wheel
By Yvonne Wenger
Mike Derer/AP
Six states and Washington, D.C., have an outright ban against motorists using cell phones while driving.
Reader poll
Do you agree with the proposed bill making it illegal for 15-and 16-year-olds with beginner's permits to use their phones while driving?
- yes 89% 562 votes
- no 10% 68 votes
630 total votes.
Cell phones and driving
More than 25 states have some restrictions on drivers using cell phones, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Six states — California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Utah, and Washington — and Washington, D.C., have outright bans.
Another six states allow municipalities and counties to stop drivers from using cell phones. Those states are Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Eight states specifically stop local governments from enacting bans: Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah.
In all, 15 states prohibit school bus drivers from using cell phones on the road, and 17 states have restrictions for their youngest drivers.
For more information, check out the Insurance Institute's Web site at www.iihs.org.
To read more on the bill proposed in South Carolina, log on to www.scstatehouse.net and search for bill No. 4592.
COLUMBIA — Sixteen-year-old Sarah Taylor knows what texting while driving could cause: danger for the person behind the wheel and anyone else on the road.
That's why the North Charleston teen thinks it's a good idea that the state might stop new drivers from using their phones while on the road. But will they listen? That's another question.
"I do think it will be a big uproar if it does actually go through," Sarah said. "Nobody is going to follow it."
The bill would allow law enforcement to stop 15- and 16-year-old drivers if they are caught text messaging or talking on a phone without a hands-free device, although the provisions allow for emergency communication.
The issue pits personal rights against safety concerns and is sure to be controversial when the House debates the proposed legislation, said Rep. Bob Walker, R-Landrum.
"You know as well as I do, all of us, young people included, are going to be distracted, listening to the radio, talking on our phones, eating food," he said.
Walker likened concerns with the bill to those that had legislators clashing over whether to punish people for not wearing a seat belt, and whether that 2005 law was about saving lives or micromanaging them.
Still, Walker cast the tie-breaking vote in his
House committee that sent the cell phone bill to the floor for consideration, as early as this week. He said the safety concerns were too great to ignore.
While the state Department of Public Safety does not track accidents involving cell phones, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety commissioned a study that found that using a cell phone, including hands-free devices, left drivers four times as likely to get into an accident serious enough to cause injury.
The study used data collected from 2002 to 2004 in Australia and involved drivers that received emergency room treatment. The Insurance Institute, based in Arlington, Va., found that the risk did not change dramatically between men and women or when comparing older and younger drivers.
In the United States, more than half of the states place some restriction on cell phone use by drivers, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The majority of restrictions are on school bus drivers and teens.
In South Carolina, teens can receive a beginner's permit at age 15, and can qualify for a license without restrictions when they turn 17 and have held a permit for at least six months. The proposed bill would apply only to 15- and 16-year-olds with beginner's permits and conditional or special restricted driver's licenses.
For the first offense, teen drivers would have their license suspended for 30 days. Suspensions would last for six months and a year for the second and third offenses.
Susan Bennett of North Charleston, who has four children, the youngest now 22, said she likes the idea of the bill but does not know how it could be enforced practically. She said she never uses her phone while driving, and wishes others wouldn't either, including her own kids.
"I told them they were absolutely not to be on the phone, that it was for emergency purposes only," Bennett said. "Did they adhere to that? I seriously doubt it."
Jim Breen, instructor supervisor for Lord Ashley Driving School in North Charleston, said the bill, if it becomes law, would help inexperienced drivers stay focused on the road.
Teens not only must be taught the basics of controlling a vehicle and good driving habits but they need to know how to be defensive drivers, Breen said.
"Most teenagers are so inexperienced that if they are talking on the cell phone they are not looking at all the things they need to see," Breen said.
Sixteen-year-old Sophie Hagerty of Charleston admits to using her cell phone while she drives on occasion, but she usually doesn't text message. All the same, she said the bill is sure to "annoy a lot of teenagers, but in the end it could pay off" as word of the consequences got around.
Jan Elliott of Hanahan, a mother of two ages 19 and 20, said she thinks the legislation could make teens safer, and the consequences would make it effective.
"Driving that car means the world to them," Elliott said.
Reach Yvonne Wenger at ywenger@postandcourier.com or 803-799-9051.
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Comments
Slick50 (anonymous) says...
The state might stop new drivers from using their phones while on the road? How about the state stop ALL drivers from using phones on the road, including those sworn to protect and serve. While we are at it, how about in public places like malls, grocery stores, and theaters? If God wanted us to have loud, one-way conversations, He would have made us all crazy.
April 20, 2008 at 4:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ForPnC (anonymous) says...
Let me enlighten Rep Walker - While teens are guilty of this, it's mainly adults that are using their cell phones while driving.
April 20, 2008 at 5 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mac0cm4 (anonymous) says...
I think a 15yo is dangerous behind the wheel with or without a cell phone.
April 20, 2008 at 6:26 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Hey_U_Guys (anonymous) says...
Make it a law for ALL.
April 20, 2008 at 6:44 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
moonpie (anonymous) says...
...Just 15 to 16 year olds? I agree hands free for anyone. I like to find someone texting and driving then pull over in front of them and slam on the breaks! That usually stops them from talking/texting. That's my little educational contribution to society. SCARE THE CRAP OUT OF THEM TO PUT THE PHONE DOWN!
April 20, 2008 at 7:43 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jifdeng3 (anonymous) says...
EVERY driver talking or texting is dangeroous while driving. This law needs to extend to everyone. It also needs to include the following... reading while driving, putting on make up, chowing down on lunch, and every other thing that causes drivers to be distracted. We have seatbelt and helmet laws, now how about a law that works to prevent the crashes (not accidents) in the first place.
April 20, 2008 at 7:48 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Brant (anonymous) says...
It's been my experience that few states have the cajones to actually ban the use of cell phones by drivers. Heaven knows my home state of North Carolina doesn't. Every day, I see the self-importants of my city zooming about, phones at their ears, totally oblivious to the world.
April 20, 2008 at 8:32 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
RTC (anonymous) says...
You can't just target the teens on this.
Just how is a leo supposed to determine that someone is 15 or 16 just by looking at them? They are going to have to pull them over and ask for their driver's license, and then find out that they may be older than they look.
This bill won't fly.
April 20, 2008 at 8:51 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Hutch (anonymous) says...
No, young people will not listen, they think they
are indestructible, ditto for adults.
we don't need to ban talking on cell phones, they
need to hand out something new! common sense
April 20, 2008 at 8:53 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
glevans (anonymous) says...
Personally I think that everyone should be barred from texting while driving...it is stupid to think you can pay attention to the road and type a message at the same time on a keyboard with tiny little keys. Several years ago a 16 year old girl dropped her phone and while trying to find it (while driving) ran over our mailbox (it was a stone mail box), drove across our yard barely missing one of our cars and came to rest against our neighbors very large tree. The girl across the street from us was talking on her cell phone and dropped it and while looking for it, ran into a ditch, flipped her car and totaled it. She came out of it ok but her parents took her phone away from her after that.
Texting while driving is not a smart idea. I know that I cannot talk on a phone and drive at all unless I am using my hands free device. You must pay attention to the road and what is going on..it is a zoo out there.
April 20, 2008 at 9:07 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Halcyon (anonymous) says...
How would law enforcement be able to enforce this proposed law? Just because a police officer sees a person on the phone while driving, how are they to know if they're a 15- or 16-year-old? I fully support a total ban on cell phones while driving, with the usual exceptions (public safety employees, emergency situations, etc.).
Additionally, I don't think kids should be able to get their beginner's permit at 15 either. You should have to be older and the process for getting the permit and license should be far more expensive than it is now. Look at Europe. It coses a fortune to get a license there and all prospective drivers are mandated to take driver training. Compare the US' collision statistics to any country in Europe...
April 20, 2008 at 9:34 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
BobH1962 (anonymous) says...
Think of all the revenue that the state could bring in by passing a hands free law with stiff penalties for those who violate the law. New York has been hands free and the state has made a HUGE amount of money on fines from violators. OH WAIT...who would write the tickets for the law enforcement officers who violate a hands free law?
April 20, 2008 at 9:40 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
jca (anonymous) says...
never happen there arent enough cops in the state to enforce this. they will be soo busy giving tickets for this that every other driver on the road will be speeding and committing far worse driving violations like driving drunk
April 20, 2008 at 9:55 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JC (anonymous) says...
I would like to see this law passed for ALL, but that will never happen since our lawmakers probably live on the phone while driving. I'd be willing to bet 75% of accidents are caused by drivers not paying attention and either causing the wreck or not driving defensively. Everytime you see someone driving slow in the fast lane holding up a long line of traffic or moving over a lane and nearing hitting someone its always someone on a cell phone.
April 20, 2008 at 10:07 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
scwendy (anonymous) says...
I agree with the previous comments that it is a law that should be passed for ALL.
I admit to talking on my phone while driving and frankly, a law barring it would stop me.
April 20, 2008 at 11:03 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
disco (anonymous) says...
I agree that a law should be passed, but where will the line be drawn? Eating while driving is also distracting and with 100+ radio stations on Sirius, it's hard for me not to get distracted.
April 20, 2008 at 12:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
willbillbedamned (anonymous) says...
The law, as written, will be unconstitutional because probable cause for the traffic stop can't be a guess on the cop's part. Make it pertain to all, no guess work.
April 20, 2008 at 12:44 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
blk_avenger (anonymous) says...
What about people who talk on cell phones or radios as a part of their job? What do we do about them?
April 20, 2008 at 4:47 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Slick50 (anonymous) says...
Anyone with a cell phone is probably guilty of driving and talking at the same time. You cannot use a cell phone while operating a vehicle on military installations unless the phone is hands free. Hands free doesn't mean you are a better driver, but at least the option of using two hands on the steering wheel is suddenly available. And yes, even police should be using a hands free units while yammering on their tax payer funded phones. After all, don't cops use RADIOS to conduct "official" business?
April 21, 2008 at 6:16 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
blk_avenger (anonymous) says...
I got an idea, how about instead of more legislation let's educate the people on the road. You know for instance drive on the right and pass on the left,if someone is tailgating you instead of getting pissed, just let them pass. And the most important thing to remember GIVE THE ROAD YOUR UNDIVIDED ATTENTION!!!!
April 21, 2008 at 8:28 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
glevans (anonymous) says...
Again, I don't think anyone should be driving while talking, while eating, while putting on make up, while drinking, while reading a book, looking at a map or texting. When you drive you need to be paying attention to what is going on around you. Oh and don't forget about those little extras on your car like turn signals, head lights, brakes and horns. Oh and one more thing when a traffic light is red that means you are supposed to stop...not continue through the intersection.
April 21, 2008 at 9:47 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
turner0449 (anonymous) says...
Lawmakers should make it a law that ALL cars have devices on them that make phone inoperable while the car is in gear. I am sick of these all important people that can't pass two minutes without having to talk to someone on the phone. I used to think it was fun to drink and drive until people get killed, how many cell phone caused car deaths are enough to finally pass a law for ALL phone users. How could these people have survived when you were attached to the phone line and there were no answering machines. Do you think they would just shrivel up and die?
April 21, 2008 at 7:39 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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