gchildress@heraldsun.com; 419-6645
Chapel Hill -- When Penny Rich was campaigning for Town Council, she pledged to be a voice of the people.
Well, the people have spoken, Rich says, and some of them want the town to ban the use of hand-held devices such as cell phones by people driving automobiles.
Since taking office, Rich said, lots of residents have approached her to ask that she lead a campaign in Chapel Hill to ban hand-held cell phones while driving.
Under such a ban, Rich said, residents could still use Bluetooth and other devices that don't require drivers to hold cell phones while talking on them.
Rich said residents urging her to pursue the ban cited safety reasons as the main concern. She said several residents shared stories about being involved in rear-end collisions because the driver behind them was distracted while using a cell phone.
"When I was running for election, I must have talked to hundreds of folks, and it wasn't a topic that ever came up," Rich said Tuesday. "After I was elected, I kept getting questions about it."
The proposed cell phone ban will be placed on the council's Feb. 3 agenda in case legislative authority is needed to enact such a ban. Town Attorney Ralph D. Karpinos would need the item in hand by then to put together the council's 2010 legislative agenda package.
Rich said supporters also would like to see such a ban extended to the UNC campus. She said the perception is that students, for whom "their phones are their lives," are notorious for using hand-held cell phones while driving.
"We would have to get the university involved to implement a ban on campus," Rich said.
Randy Young, spokesman for the UNC Campus Police Department, said students are encouraged to be aware of their surroundings, especially while driving or walking on campus.
He said one of the biggest concerns on campus is students who cross busy streets while talking on cell phones.
"We are trying to do our best to dissuade folks from being on cell phones when crossing the streets," Young said.
He said it's too early to tell whether the university would join the effort to ban motorists' use of cell phones on campus.
"It would be something we would have to investigate," Young said.
Meanwhile, Arthur Goodwin, senior research associate for the Highway Research Center at UNC, said to be effective, enforcement and publicity must accompany any ban on driving while talking on a hand-held device.
Goodwin said studies before and after bans were put in place had mixed reviews. While cell phone use while driving was initially cut in half in both places, the numbers eventually went up again in New York.
He said the low numbers in Washington, D.C., were attributed to tighter enforcement of the ban.
"It does look like enforcement is important," Goodwin said, noting that it isn't easy for police officers to enforce such bans.
He said North Carolina's law banning teens from talking on cell phones while driving has proven effective.
"Right after the law was enacted, there was not much usage, but over time, cell phone usage has been decreasing," Goodwin said, attributing the decrease to "high visibility enforcement" of the ban.
TURN 'EM OFF
Quick Facts about laws banning the use of hand-held devices while driving:
- A jurisdiction-wide ban on driving while talking on a hand-held cellphone is in place in seven states (California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Utah, and Washington) and the District of Columbia.
Utah has named the offense careless driving. Under the Utah law, no one commits an offense when speaking on a cellphone unless they are also committing some other moving violation other than speeding.
- Local jurisdictions may or may not need specific state statutory authority to ban cell phones.
Localities that have enacted restrictions on cell phone use include: Oahu, Hawaii; Chicago, Ill.; Brookline, Mass.; Detroit, Mich.; Santa Fe, N.M.; Brooklyn, North Olmstead, and Walton Hills, Ohio; Conshohocken, Lebanon, and West Conshohocken, Pa.; Waupaca County, Wis.; and Cheyenne, Wyo.
- Localities are prohibited from banning cell phone use in eight states (Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Utah).
- The use of all cell phones while driving a school bus is prohibited in 17 states, including North Carolina and the District of Columbia.
- The use of all cell phones by novice drivers is restricted in 21 states, including North Carolina and the District of Columbia.
-- Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety
