House passes ban on drivers’ hand-held cellphones

But police are limited in stopping motorists

HARRISBURG — A ban on using a hand-held cellphone while driving in Pennsylvania was approved by the state House of Representatives on Wednesday, but some lawmakers called it a step backward because of a provision that prohibits police from stopping motorists simply because they spot cellphone use.

The bill to put the ban in place was approved by a vote of 120 to 74 and now will go to the Senate for consideration.

Its prime sponsor, Rep. Rosemary Brown, R-Monroe County, said on the floor of the House she was not completely happy with the final language.

An amendment approved Tuesday despite Ms. Brown’s objections made the cellphone infraction a secondary offense, meaning police could not pull over a motorist simply because of the cellphone violation ― the officer would have to see some other infraction first to make a stop.

But the amendment also makes texting while driving a secondary offense, replacing its current status as a primary offense.

That means that if the bill becomes law, police will no longer be able to stop a motorist spotted texting while driving, as they can now.

Rep. Mike Carroll, D-Luzerne, who is Democratic chair of the

House Transportation Committee, loudly objected to the provisions on Wednesday and called the bill a step backward.

“We will have additional people texting and driving,” he said, and that is going to lead to more deaths. “It will happen,” he said.

The amended bill maintains the primary offense status for cellphone use― talking or texting ―by drivers who are 17 or younger.

But Ted Leonard, executive director of the Pennsylvania AAA Federation, said the realities of law enforcement make that application almost meaningless. He questioned how a police officer who spotted a relatively young driver texting could be sure the driver was young enough to pull over.

Mr. Leonard said the amendment almost negated the positive effects of the bill. He could not say whether his organization would continue to support it.

The amendment that reclassified cellphone infractions as secondary offenses was sponsored by state Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon.

On Tuesday, Mr. Heffley told the House enforcement of the law against texting while driving has been “ineffective and hard to enforce.”

Mr. Heffley said that every person who is driving a car and has a cellphone on their lap should not be considered a criminal. The touch screen displays built into the dashboards of many new vehicles create more dangers than holding a cellphone, he said.

Racial profiling also was part of the debate.

State Rep. Jordan Harris,

D-Philadelphia, who is African American and supported the secondary offense classification, said there are places in Pennsylvania where people of color cannot drive and feel safe from unwarranted stops by police.

The law should not be written in a way that allows police more leeway to stop motorists for less-than-worth-while reasons, Mr. Harris said.

“I am nervous when I drive at times in certain places in Pennsylvania,” he said.

Twenty states, including five of the six states that border Pennsylvania, have banned hand-held use of cellphones by all drivers. Others have banned handheld use by young drivers.

Ms. Brown’s district borders New Jersey, where a ban on hand-held cellphones while driving already is in place.

Part of Ms. Brown’s motivation in sponsoring the bill was to establish continuity for drivers who cross the state line repeatedly while going to and from work or on errands.

In an interview, she said she also wanted to make things easier for law enforcement. The existing law that bans texting while driving is difficult to enforce, she said.

Ms. Brown repeatedly stressed the dangers of cellphone use while driving.

She said, “I have been working on this for five years, and I believe that this is absolutely overdue.”

She said she planned to work with senators to move the bill forward and “strengthen it to the best absolute product we can have so, hopefully, it can get to the governor’s desk and help our roadways become more safe.”