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Lawmaker Wants Young Drivers Off Cell Phones

By Carl Orth | The Suncoast News

Published: November 1, 2007

PORT RICHEY, FL - PORT RICHEY, FL - PORT RICHEY – Young drivers and cell phone calls or text messages don't mix, a Florida lawmaker insists.

So state Rep. John Legg will introduce legislation banning drivers up to 17 years old from talking or sending text messages on mobile phones in a moving vehicle.

"They are new drivers, they don't have the experience and reaction times" of more experienced drivers, Legg, R-Port Richey, said.

It was bad enough when minors tried to talk on cell phones and drive at the same time, Legg remarked.

"Texting has brought it to a whole new level," Legg said. Text messages are "visually distracting" because a driver might glance down at a keyboard to punch in letters of a text message.

"Both of them are pretty scary," Legg said of young people phone chatting and texting while at the wheel of a vehicle. An educator, Legg has witnessed near-miss accidents at school parking lots.

If a young driver gets into an accident, someone else usually is responsible for paying damages, Legg reasons.

"This bill is designed to save lives," Legg said in a press release. He cited at least four recent vehicle-related fatalities on the Suncoast in which cell phone abuse was a contributing factor.

"Driving is a privilege," Legg commented. Drivers who abuse cell phones are putting the lives of other people at risk, he says.

State Sen. Carey Baker, R-Eustis, will introduce companion legislation in the Senate, so Legg is confident the bill will have enough support to pass during the 2008 regular legislative session.

The bills, HB 193 and SB 504, are labeled "Wireless Communications Devices While Driving."

Violations would be regarded as a noncriminal traffic infraction, punishable as a moving violation. The violator will be assessed one point against his or her driver license.

"We're getting a lot of pressure to expand it beyond minors," Legg added.

An outright ban on cell phone usage while driving for minors and adults alike probably can't get enough political support in the Florida Legislature, Legg thinks.

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