Council Seeks Compromise on Distracted Driving Ordinance

Council to table a resolution proposed by Councilman Dave Henderson that would have .

Council postponed voting on the resolution after Councilman Dane Slater suggested they work toward a compromise in the language of the section in question, which reads:

"Any action by the driver of a motor vehicle that diverts his or her attention resulting in the failure to use due care and caution in the safe operation of a motor vehicle while the vehicle is in motion on any highway or street or place open to the general public within the City of Troy. Such action can include but is not limited to: eating, reading, writing, performing personal hygiene/grooming, physical interaction with pets, passengers, or unsecured cargo, any of which is done in a manner that prohibits the driver from maintaining direct physical control of the motor vehicle steering mechanism with at least one hand that is free of all other objects and used entirely to form a controlled grip on the steering mechanism."

Council to direct city administration to prepare an amendment to Troy's strict distracted driving ordinance that removed the entire section above. At the meeting, Henderson called the paragraph, which includes a list of specific activities, "too subjective to enforce" and said it could allow police to cite drivers for any of the actions on the list, even if they are not driving dangerously. 

Councilman Wade Fleming agreed with Henderson on Monday. 

“We’re getting rid of one section," Fleming said. "I believe police have ample laws and reasons for puling people over without using that catch-all for distracted driving.”

Mayor Pro Tem Maureen McGinnis disagreed with Fleming and Henderson, saying, “I think the purpose is making the streets a little safer. ... This accomplishes that. I can’t support changing it.”

“We kind of went maybe too far in listing things," Slater conceded on Monday. “Instead of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, maybe we can come together to try to work something out here that would possibly be OK with everybody. ... I don’t want to lose this section. I think there should be discretion on the street when it comes to certain things.”

Council will revisit the issue at a future City Council meeting.

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