State cell phone limits sought

Three-quarters of all Americans ages 12-17 own cell phones, and most use them to send or receive text messages, according to researchers at the Pew Internet and American Life Project.

Even some teens who find it tough to pry themselves from their glowing phone screens said a texting ban would probably make the roads safer.

“I don’t know if I’d like it, but I know it’s probably the best thing for us,” said 18-year-old Kevin Huffman, who was punching buttons on his cell phone while walking to class at Greenville Technical College.

Drivers take their eyes off the road for an average of nearly five seconds while texting — enough time to travel the length of a football field at highway speeds, according to researchers at Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.

Rep. Don Bowen, R-Anderson, is sponsoring the bill that would prohibit all drivers from sending text messages or reading any printed materials, be it a magazine or a cell phone, while in motion.

“It’s the same as if you were drinking and driving,” he said. “It impairs your ability to function as a full person would.”

Sen. Thomas Alexander, R-Walhalla, is sponsoring the proposed cell phone ban on drivers under 18. Violators would face a $50 fine.

About a third of 16- and 17-year-olds said they texted while driving, Pew researchers found. That translates to 26 percent of all Americans in that age group, they wrote.

In a separate survey this year, more than one in five drivers said they had texted or e-mailed while driving, with teens saying they did it at the highest rates, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

South Carolina would join 19 other states and the District of Columbia in outlawing texting behind the wheel, if lawmakers pass Bowen’s proposal.

Violators on a first offense would have their licenses suspended for a year and have to attend an eight-hour defensive driving course, while facing up to 60 days in jail and $2,500 in fines. If they kill someone, they could go to prison for as long as 25 years.

The penalties were designed to be as tough as those for driving under the influence, Bowen said.

Text-messaging is on the rise. More than 135 billion text messages were sent in June alone, a nearly 19-fold increase over four years earlier, according to CTIA, a wireless-industry group that supports bans on texting and e-mailing while driving.

Greenville resident Reggie Sullivan, 29, said that while he frequently communicates with text messages, he liked the idea of a ban on texting while driving.

“You can’t focus on the road and look at your phone at the same time,” he said.

Clemson researchers tested drivers in a simulator in 2007 and found that those text-messaging weaved out of their lanes 10 percent more often than those who weren’t.

Drivers who were talking on cell phones had reduced reaction times but weren’t more likely to leave their lanes than those performing no task but driving.

Virginia Tech researchers reported this year that truck drivers who were texting were 23 times more likely to be in a crash or have a near miss than those who weren’t. Dialing a cell phone increased their risk nearly six times.

Garry Smith, R-Simpsonville, said he wants drivers to be held liable if they are using cell phones at the time of a wreck. But he said some people use their phones for business, and he would like to avoid setting a “hard and fast rule.”

A bill he is sponsoring would allow juries to consider cell-phone use when determining damages in civil suits.

No criminal penalties would be involved.

Nine states have restricted texting and driving without outright bans.

The restrictions most often affect novice drivers, typically those under 18, according the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Seven states have banned talking on hand-held cell phones behind the wheel, while others have limited such restrictions to school zones or have left those decisions to local governments, according to the institute.

President Obama has banned texting and driving while on the job for all 4.5 million federal employees and said in an executive order that government contractors should be encouraged to follow suit.

While no law in South Carolina specifically prohibits texting behind the wheel, drivers could be cited for other violations, such as reckless driving or failing to stay in their lane, said Lance Cpl. Kathy Hiles of the state Highway Patrol.

“Anything that distracts a driver’s attention is a danger,” she said.

Cell phones were the primary factor in 95 traffic collisions statewide in 2008, down from 142 the previous year, according to the state Department of Public Safety.

Hiles said the numbers are probably under-reported. Troopers subpoena cell-phone records in only the worst wrecks and often have to rely on drivers themselves to admit whether they were using a cell phone, she said.

Bowen’s bill would allow police to seize cell phones on the spot to determine whether a driver was texting.

The Sun News

by : Paul Alongi