WASHINGTON-The Virginia Senate is poised to vote on a bill passed by the transportation subcommittee yesterday that would prohibit cell-phone use by teenage drivers.
The measure is championed by state Sens. James O’Brien and William Mims, two Republican lawmakers whose previous teen-driving bill-which includes a limitation on the number of passengers and 40 hours of driving with a parent before a teen can obtain a license-won approval by the state legislature in 2001.
“I am just overwhelmed over the loss to a family when a teen dies,” said O’Brien.
O’Brien, a self-proclaimed conservative Republican, said he must still convince other lawmakers who believe cell-phone use by teen drivers is a parental matter that need not be addressed through legislation.
O’Brien said a separate bill that died in committee yesterday would have barred all hand-held cell-phone use by drivers, regardless of age. New York, New Jersey, the District of Columbia and some towns have such laws on the books. Some research has found hands-free devices do little to improve driver concentration.
Meantime, Arizona, Washington and other states are pursuing hands-free driver laws in 2005.
O’Brien, the father of three teenagers (two of whom have learner’s permits), said driving is a privilege. The state, he said, has a responsibility to make driving as safe as possible.
“We have to have teens focus on one thing only, and that is driving. They (teenagers) have to learn to drive,” said O’Brien.
