Can You Hear Me Now? - UM Commissioners Talk About Distracted Driving

Appropriately, during the last Public Safety committee meeting, the issue of banning the use of mobile devices was discussed.

“Many of you know that I’m on the street every day,” Kevin Spearing, Ward 2 commissioner, said. “And, I can attest to the fact that a hand-held device absolutely distracts your driving.”

According to distraction.gov, the official U.S. government website for distracted driving, there are three main types of distraction:

• Visual: taking your eyes off the road
• Manual: taking your hands off the wheel
• Cognitive: taking your mind off what you’re doing (i.e. driving in traffic).

The website provides some sobering statistics illustrating the dangers of distracted driving, most of which deal with fatalities.

“I recommend we send a letter to our state representative and senator to have the Commonwealth pass a law throughout the entire state,” he said.

As recently as late last year, Spearing said that the township tried to pass an ordinance that would ban the use of cellphones while driving.

However, Spearing said that commissioners were advised not to enact such an ordinance, as it would be ineffective in a court of law.

Upper Moreland Township solicitor Kate Harper brought up a similar ordinance passed in Hilltown, Bucks County, in 2009.

The ordinance, which prohibits drivers from using cell phones, was a reaction by the township supervisors to the death of a 2-year-old-girl. A driver texting at the wheel rear-ended a vehicle with the girl inside.

“Someone was prosecuted under [the Hilltown ordinance], and it went up to the appellate level, and they ruled it that the ordinance was preemptive, because only the Commonwealth has the power to pass rules of the road,” Harper said. “And, so I think that the commissioners' advice that you to look to your state legislatures is a good idea … there are bills that are pending”

Last week, the House Transportation Committee heard testimony about the dangers of distracted driving, according to a report on handsfreeinfo.com. The testimony may play a role in passing several house bills that address all the forms of distracted driving.

According to distraction.gov, it’s not just cell phone usage that makes for a distracted driver.

The website lists:

• Talking with passengers
• Using a PDA or navigation system
• Watching a video
• Fiddling with the car’s radio

About two years ago, I interviewed a New Jersey cop who was facilitating a distracted driving event for students at a local high school.

With his highway patrol experience, this officer informed me of some more bizarre instances of distracted driving, which included eating a foot-long hoagie, putting on makeup while using the car’s visor mirror, and reading a book, along with the typical distraction of people talking on their hand-held mobile devices.

So far, 30 states prohibit texting while driving, and eight prohibit the use of handheld mobile devices while driving, Pennsylvania, of course, not being one of them.

In this area, less than a handful of municipalities (including Conshohocken and Hilltown) have such laws, as well as the city of Philadelphia.

The majority of the comments I’ve seen on various newsites and blogs support the bills currently being reviewed by the state’s House and Senate, citing safety on the roads as the chief reason.

However, the few that are opposed decry the potential of police abusing the law just to make an excuse for a vehicle stop, adding that more laws means less freedom.

It seems that those who make this argument have missed the point.

I would say that enacting a statewide distracted driving law would provide all drivers the freedom to get to their destinations without fear of colliding with a distracted driver.

After all, it’s not cellphones that kill people, it’s irresponsible drivers that do, and making it illegal for drivers to be irresponsible would be a good step toward saving lives.