Pa. House approves ban on drivers' cell-phone use

HARRISBURG - The state House yesterday overwhelmingly approved, and sent to the Senate, a bill banning handheld-cell-phone use - texting and talking - while driving.

If the bill becomes law, Pennsylvania would join five other states with the toughest distracted-driver restrictions, but its fate in the Senate is unclear.

"We are all one text from eternity," said the bill's lead sponsor, Rep. Joseph F. Markosek (D., Allegheny), chairman of the House Transportation Committee.

"Our legislation will help to educate folks that responsibility and common sense go hand-in-hand when operating a 4,000-pound potential battering ram."

The bill - which passed 189-6, with no Philadelphia-area representative voting against it - now goes to the Senate Transportation Committee, where it must be approved before being considered by the full chamber.

A senior aide to committee chairman John C. Rafferty Jr. (R., Montgomery) said the senator would bring the House bill before his committee soon, but could give no specific timetable.

The Senate passed its own bill last spring banning texting while driving and is considering a separate bill banning teenagers from using all electronic devices while driving.

With the competing Senate bills in play, a vote on the House legislation as written is not certain.

Gov. Rendell said yesterday through a spokesman that he would sign the House bill if it reached his desk.

That measure would impose a $50 fine on motorists who use handheld cell phones in all circumstances except when calling 911. Using a hands-free phone device and electronic navigation systems would remain legal.

The vote came on the day U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood ordered a ban on texting for all drivers of commercial trucks and buses.

In Philadelphia, police have issued more than 2,400 tickets since the city's ban on use of handheld cell phones while driving went into effect last month.

Studies show that drivers who talk on their cell phones are four times more likely to be involved in a crash. Since 2003, there have been almost 6,900 injuries in Pennsylvania highway accidents that listed a handheld phone as a contributing factor, according to Department of Transportation statistics.

Across the nation, the percentage of drivers distracted during a fatal crash has increased from 8 percent in 2004 to 11 percent in 2008, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In 2008, 5,870 people lost their lives and an estimated 515,000 people were injured in police-reported crashes in which at least one form of driver distraction was noted on the police crash report, according to the federal government.

"We will save lives on Pennsylvania highways if this bill becomes law," said Rep. Josh Shapiro (D., Montgomery), sponsor of an amendment adding the handheld-cell-phone restriction to the original bill banning text messaging.

Shapiro first began pushing the handheld-phone ban five years ago as what he called "a good public policy" initiative, but the issue became personal three years ago when he was rear-ended by a woman who admitted having been talking on her cell phone at the time.

Philadelphia Police Lt. Frank Vanore said that officers had issued 2,427 tickets as of Monday, but that the city had yet to tally the total collected from the $75 tickets.

Vanore said he believed a statewide ban would make enforcement easier and would help with public education.

"I think it would be easier to warn people, to get the word out," he said. "It's just easier to be able to say it's prohibited anywhere in the state."

In New Jersey, drivers have been banned from using handheld cell phones since 2004. In 2008, driving while using a handheld cell phone became a primary offense - as it would be under the Pennsylvania House bill - which means police do not have to first pull a driver over for another reason.

Text messaging and using other electronic devices are also banned under New Jersey law.