Restrictions proposed on cellphone use while driving
Injury traffic accidents involving a driver distracted by an electronic device decreased significantly in Oklahoma after a law banning texting and driving went into effect on Nov. 1, 2015.
State Sen. Ron Sharp now wants to up the ante and ban motorists from talking on a hand-held cellphone.
Injury crashes involving a driver distracted by an electronic device fell 21.6 percent, from 538 to 422, in a nine-month period after the law went into effect, compared with the same period a year earlier, according to the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office.
Total crashes in this category fell 12.5 percent, from 1,291 to 1,129, and fatal crashes of this type dropped from 10 to 7.
“I think that’s cold, hard proof that the texting while driving law is working, that people are voluntarily putting the phone down,” said Chuck Mai, spokesman for AAA Oklahoma.
“The causes of motor vehicle crashes are many and varied but it’s clear that Oklahomans are thinking twice before picking up their cellphone while driving. Lives are being saved, injuries are being prevented and families are being saved the anguish of traffic collisions.”
Hard to enforce
One law enforcement concern with the law is that it is difficult for an officer to prove someone is texting while driving.
The law states: “It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a motor vehicle on any street or highway within this state while using a hand-held electronic communication device to manually compose, send or read an electronic text message while the motor vehicle is in motion.”
Since other uses of the phone are allowed, law enforcement is placed in a position where a driver has to admit to texting in order for an officer to issue a citation, said Sharp, R-Shawnee. Still, he thinks the law has been effective because it has raised awareness of the issue and most people want to follow the rules when they are behind the wheel. Oklahoma was the 46th state to ban texting while driving.
Legislative opposition
For several years, the Legislature had opposed such a law. Some lawmakers said it would be redundant as Oklahoma already had a distracted driving statute. Its passage finally came after one Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper was killed and another was seriously injured when
Your automobile is a weapon of mass destruction. It can cause major damage to you, your family and other individuals. We have to recognize that. We have to get a situation here where you are in command of your vehicle.” State Sen. Ron Sharp
they were hit on Interstate 40 in Seminole County by a driver who was reportedly updating a social media page.
Sharp’s Senate Bill 44, to be considered when the Legislature begins its yearly session in February, would make Oklahoma the 15th state to ban hand-held cellphone use while driving. The District of Columbia also has such a ban.
Sharp said Oklahoma needs this restriction.
Mass destruction
“Your automobile is a weapon of mass destruction,” Sharp said. “It can cause major damage to you, your family and other individuals. We have to recognize that. We have to get a situation here where you are in command of your vehicle.”
Mai said Sharp’s proposal is badly needed but likely will face an uphill battle.
“In Oklahoma, we don’t like people telling us what to do, and we sure as heck don’t like the government telling us what to do,” he said. “This might play into the hands of those who don’t want a ‘nanny state’ developing in Oklahoma.”
He said many people simply don’t realize how distracting it is to talk on a phone while driving, even if one is using a hands-free device.
“It’s a cognitive distraction whether you are holding the phone or not,” Mai said. “The problem is not holding the phone, but holding the conversation.”