Put Down Phone, D.C. Tells Drivers

TechNews

By David Nakamura and Robin Shulman

January 7, 2004

Motorists in the District who use a cellular phone without a hands-free device while driving would face a $100 fine beginning in July under legislation passed yesterday by the D.C. Council, the first such ban in the Washington region.

The legislation, approved by a vote of 12 to 1, would apply to all drivers in the city, regardless of whether they live in Washington. Exceptions would be allowed in emergencies and for police and emergency medical personnel who are on duty.

D.C. Council members said the legislation is necessary to help curb automobile accidents by forcing drivers to think about using their cell phones more safely. Although many jurisdictions across the country have similar laws, the only statewide ban exists in New York.

Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) supports the legislation and will sign it, a spokesman said. The bill still requires approval from Congress. Several calls to the office of Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), head of the House Government Reform Committee, were not immediately returned yesterday.

The use of cell phones by drivers has become so common that several council members joked yesterday that they will have to buy hands-free devices before July. The aim of the legislation is not to ban the phones but simply to modify how they are used, members said.

"I have seen people just chatting away with one hand on the wheel. At least now we'll get two hands on the wheel," said Carol Schwartz (R-At Large), one of the architects of the legislation.

The measure would allow first-time offenders to avoid the fine if they purchase a hands-free device and submit the receipt before the ticket payment is due.

Not everyone agrees with the legislation, including council member Jim Graham (D-Ward 1), who cast the only dissenting vote. Graham said the council should not create a measure that will take police attention away from more serious crimes, such as killings and robberies.

"In a time when we had more police, a time when we had a greater sense of confidence in what our police are accomplishing, I would be with this," Graham said. "But in this particular time, when we're finding out about our homicide rate and realizing there's an increasing number of robberies, I can't see devoting major police resources to this issue."

Cell phone industry lobbyists and some highway safety advocates also objected. They argued that there is not sufficient research to show that such measures have reduced automobile accidents.

Jonathan Adkins, spokesman for the Governors Highway Safety Association, a nonprofit group that represents the states' highway safety agencies, said his organization fears that drivers will think it is all right to make cellular calls with a hands-free device, such as an earpiece.

"We want drivers to get the message that they shouldn't use a cell at all while driving," Adkins said. "We do not want other states to take the momentum to do this type of thing. There's really not a lot of research to show that it's going to be effective."

At a gas station at New York Avenue and Bladensburg Road NE yesterday, people were driving in and out while holding cell phones to their ears and talking.

Margo Posey of Dallas said she uses the phone while driving, often while trying to find directions. "The phone becomes a tool," she said.

But her daughter said a ringing cell phone, with or without a headset, provides the kind of diversion that causes accidents. "Just looking away that split second can cause an accident," said Mercedes Posey, 19, a Howard University student. "It doesn't take much."

At another pump a few minutes later, Kevin Clark of Annapolis said he had attended driving classes that recommended using a hands-free device. He said he had narrowly avoided accidents when other drivers talking on cell phones came to a sudden stop or weaved between lanes while holding phones.

But Clark, a project manager at a construction company, has continued to hold his phone to his ear. "I've never been in an accident," he said, although he said he will now buy a hands-free device.

Travis Larson, spokesman for the D.C.-based Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association, said his organization encourages the use of hands-free driving devices, but argued that they will not solve the problem of distracted drivers.

"Eating, tuning the radio or talking to a passenger can be more distracting to the driver than talking on a cell phone," Larson said. "Education, not legislation, is the only thing that can solve this."

But council Chairman Linda W. Cropp (D) disagreed. "People get involved in the other end of the conversation and get distracted," she said. "They may get angry at someone and get emotionally involved, or someone gives them happy news. The distraction increases substantially. This law is not trying to keep people from using their cell phones. We're just saying that when you use your cell, think of public safety."

Schwartz noted that Washington is densely populated. "We're not on the lonesome roads of Texas. . . . I have not received one e-mail against this. Most people realize its day has come."

Other council members challenged Graham's claim that police would be unnecessarily preoccupied with tracking down cell phone users. They said the law would simply discourage people from using a cell phone without a hands-free device.

"This law is a deterrent," said Kathy Patterson (D-Ward 3). "It dissuades people from driving in a distracted manner and endangering public safety."

Tony Bullock, the mayor's spokesman, said that "the law enforcement community likes these kinds of laws. It gives them a legal basis to stop a driver they are suspicious of. It will not in one instance decrease police presence in communities."

In other business yesterday, the council tabled a final vote on a bill that would cap the increase in property taxes homeowners must pay at 10 percent, down from the current cap of 25 percent.

Council members have been split on various approaches to granting homeowners tax relief. Cropp said the council will discuss the matter further in the next two weeks before voting on the bill.

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