‘Distracted driving’ bill drops

The legislation would bar drivers from using a cell phone or other telecommunications device unless it is hands-free.

The legislation would bar drivers from using a cell phone or other telecommunications device unless it is hands-free.

Drivers in Georgia would no longer be allowed to talk on a cellphone or manipulate any kind of telecommunications device under legislation recently filed in the General Assembly.

Rep. Eddie Lumsden, RArmuchee, is the second co-signer on House Bill 673, which is sponsored by Rep. John Carson, a Marietta Republican.

“I’ve heard nothing but positive feedback from the general public on this,” Lumsden said. “There’s a spike in fatalities, their insurance premiums are going up. They say we need to do something about this.”

Lumsden said the initial recommendation was modified to allow a “oneswipe approach,” meaning that the device could be touched once to turn it on and once to disconnect.

“The phone could be mounted on a steering wheel or someplace close to the line of vision,” he explained. “If you can use it hands-free and answer with a touch, that would be acceptable.”

GPS devices would have to be set before the driver starts off on the road.

In addition to the nearblanket prohibition, HB 673 ups the penalties for violations. Currently, state law only forbids texting while driving, with a 1-point penalty and a $150 fine attached.

A first violation of the distracted driving ban would result in a 3-point penalty and a fine of $150 to $300. Licenses would be docked 4 points on any subsequent violations and fines would rise incrementally from $250 to $500 and from $500 to $750.

State law calls for a license to be suspended if a driver accumulates 15 points within a 24-month period.

“As it goes through the committee process there may possibly be further modifications, but based on the data we have, this is needed,” Lumsden said.

The legislation is a recommendation from the House Distracted Driving Study Committee, which Carson chaired. Lumsden also served on the committee, along with Rep. Rich Golick, R-Smyrna, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee where the bill is assigned.

Lumsden is a retired Georgia State Patrol trooper and a licensed property insurance agent. He and his wife, Teresa Lumsden, also lost a child to a distracted driving wreck.

At a press conference registering his support for the new bill, Lumsden said it’s a “very real public safety crisis” and “the pain and suffering are undeniable.”

He pointed to the social stigma now attached to Driving Under the Influence of alcohol or drugs following years of beefed up enforcement and public education campaigns.

“We cannot and must not take 30 years to change the direction of this careless behavior,” Lumsden said.