Massachusetts may soon join other states that limit the use of cell phones while driving. A public hearing is scheduled at the State House Thursday morning to review 15 separate bills that would impose varying levels of restrictions.
This issue is now front and center because of last month's crash of two Green Line trolleys. Nearly fifty people were injured when a driver missed a red light and slammed into another trolley stopped at Government Station. The trolley operator said he was texting his girlfriend at the time of the crash.
The T swiftly put rules in place forbidding their drivers from even carrying cell phones while at the controls of a trolley, train or bus.
Supporters of a cell phone ban for auto drivers point to current research: a Harris poll this month fond that one quarter of drivers with cell phones send or receive text messages behind the wheel. A Harvard University study from 2003 showed that cell phone use while driving contributed to 2,600 deaths a year.
"We can't legislate commonsense," said Representative Peter Koutoujian (D-Waltham) who sponsored one of the bills, "but at a certain point government has to step in to stop an action that is so dangerous and yet so common."
The 15 bills in the legislature right now ban cell use to varying degrees. Some just ban texting while driving, others allow for phone calls but only with the use of a headset. Koutoujian's bill bans both texting and talking without a headset.
No comments:
Post a Comment