A Utah state representative plans to introduce legislation next year that would ban the use of wireless phones while driving.
Rep. Ralph Becker said his bill would be similar to one sponsored last year in Utah by state Sen. Robert C. Steiner, according to Deseret News, a Salt Lake City newspaper. That bill would have made using a cellular phone while driving a minor infraction similar to a parking ticket.
“As a person who uses a cell phone periodically now, I know there’s a great temptation to use it to catch up on phone calls as you’re driving from place to place, and I know from my own experience it’s not safe,” Becker told Deseret News. “I think we’ve got enough problems on our roads without creating problems from people’s attention being diverted by cell phones.”
Similar legislation in the past has failed in Utah and other states.
“It’s a perennial thing,” said Tim Ayers, a spokesman for the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association. “The beginning of the legislative session begins in January, and legislators are announcing plans for the session.”
However this type of legislation typically hits snags in state judiciary committees because laws addressing inattentive driving already exist, and law enforcement agencies resist laws that single out specific devices, said Ayers.
Several studies have examined the issue of whether wireless phone use while driving contributes to motor vehicle accidents. Some studies have found a link between accidents and wireless phone use while driving. Other reports, however, have found that activities such as reading a map or changing a cassette tape are just as distracting to drivers, if not more.
“The issue is not whether using your phone while driving is dangerous, or putting on your make-up while driving is dangerous, or eating a sandwich while driving is dangerous,” said Ayers. “The issue is how you are driving.”
