This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Hang Up and Drive

A Massachusetts legislative committee endorsed a proposal Thursday that would largely prohibit handheld cell phone use by drivers, limiting calls to hands-free devices.

Less than two years after Massachusetts joined the ranks of states that banned texting while driving, a legislative committee endorsed a proposal Thursday that would largely prohibit handheld cell phone use by drivers, limiting calls to hands-free devices.

The bill (H 1817) won the backing of the Committee on Transportation, Chaired by “our” Senator Tom McGee. The vote was 8-0 in support with three members abstaining. (McGee voted “YES”.) Under the bill “No operator of a motor vehicle shall use a mobile telephone or mobile electronic device for voice communications, unless said telephone or device is being used as a hands-free mobile telephone.” Drivers may defend themselves against alleged law violations if they show their car was disabled, a passenger required medical attention, police or firefighter assistance was needed, or if they witnessed an accident on the roadway.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently recommended that all non-emergency cell phone use by drivers should be banned. According to the National Safety Council, texting and talking on cell phones causes more than a million car accidents a year.

Find out what's happening in Swampscottwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A 15-month-old Massachusetts law fines motorists $100 for texting while driving with fines as high as $500 for repeat offenders. Drivers age 18 and under are barred from talking on cell phones at the penalty of losing their licenses. While young drivers may be more accident prone, any driver using a cell phone is distracted and at risk of causing an accident. Just about any driver can offer an example of being cut off by a driver blissfully gabbing away on a cell phone while running a red light or a stop sign. Many pedestrians can undoubtedly recall a similarly distracted driver coasting through a crosswalk.

Police agencies have said that the lack of a cell phone ban makes it difficult to enforce the texting-while-driving law because drivers are still allowed to use their phones while behind the wheel.

Some local safe driving advocacy groups are supporting the hands-free mandate calling it a further step to reduce distracted driving. “We are fully in support of a hands-free requirement in Massachusetts primarily because it provides police the ability to enforce the texting ban,” said Jeff Larson, from the Safe Roads Alliance. “It also takes the phone out of peoples’ hands so people will be less likely to text or do something else they shouldn’t be doing.”

Find out what's happening in Swampscottwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Congratulations Tom on a job well done. 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?