Posted by Mark Koenig on Monday, January 31, 2011
Carl Hessler of The Mercury writes:
Pennsylvania lawmakers have re-introduced a proposal in the state House that would ban cell phone and texting for all drivers and impose stricter rules for teen drivers.
“I’m going to be fighting very, very hard in my time in the House to get this done,” state Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-153rd Dist, said on Monday.
The latest bill, House Bill 330, combines some ingredients from two bills considered last session — House Bill 67, which set passenger and cell phone restrictions for teen drivers, and House Bill 2070, which would have prohibited all drivers from using hand-held cell phones and text messaging but allow cell phone use if a hands-free device is used.
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Posted by Mark Koenig on Wednesday, January 5, 2011
From The Delaware County Daily Times:
For more than a month, southbound I-95 motorists have been confronted with a digitalized message on a sign spanning the highway in Lower Chichester, just before entering Delaware.
As of Jan. 1, 2011, talking on hand-held cell phones and texting while driving would become illegal in the First State, it advised.
Obviously ignorance of the law isn’t expected to fly in Delaware courts when motorists get caught, cell phone-in-hand.
Delawareans took the warning to heart. Last week Delaware merchants reported an increase in sales of devices that would enable motorists to keep both hands on the wheel while talking on the phone.
Pennsylvanians also need to heed the warning, considering their proximity to Delaware.
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According to the Pennsylvania Dept. of Transportation, there have been at least 6,877 accidents where hand-held cell phones and at least 397 where hands-free phones have been contributing factors in the state since 2003.
While the state House passed bans on both a year ago, the Senate in May gutted the legislation to only making it a secondary offense for junior drivers to talk or text while driving.
“It was an irresponsible vote that will ensure that people will continue to die on Pennsylvania’s roads,” state Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-Montgomery, one of the House bill’s sponsors, said last year.
He is planning to re-introduce the bill next week.
“I already have about 50 co-sponsors — an almost equal number of Democrats and Republicans. This has never been a partisan issue,” said Shapiro.
He noted that a recent poll showed 85 percent of Pennsylvanians support a handheld cell-phone ban while driving.
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Posted by Mark Koenig on Saturday, January 1, 2011
Carl Hessler of The Times Chronicle writes:
While Pennsylvania lawmakers failed this year to pass legislation that would impose stricter rules for teen drivers, some have pledged to continue the battle in the New Year.
“It is not a dead issue,” claimed state Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-153, who recently sent colleagues a letter seeking co-sponsors for the teen and distracted driving legislation he plans to introduce as soon as the new House convenes in January. “This is an issue I will not let die.”
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Shapiro said his next proposal will be “identical” to two bills considered last session -House Bill 67, which set passenger and cell phone restrictions for teen drivers, and House Bill 2070, which would have prohibited all drivers from using hand-held cell phones and text messaging but allow cell phone use if a hands-free device is used.
“This needs to be a bipartisan effort in order to get it done. We’re going to keep working at it. We’ll continue to build consensus around this issue,” Shapiro pledged. “This bill will save lives in Pennsylvania.”
Shapiro said he has heard from many constituents who “frankly expressed outrage” that the Senate did not adopt a House version of the distracted driving bill in May and added amendments that watered down the proposals, essentially killing the likelihood of passage.
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Posted by Mark Koenig on Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Editorial from The Philadelphia Inquirer:
It’s good news that fewer teens are dying in car wrecks, due to more restrictive licensing rules for younger drivers.But despite the trend in many states, Pennsylvania lawmakers are still standing by the roadside in their failure to agree on ramping up driver safety rules for teens.
The state has yet to join 30 states, including New Jersey, that have texting and handheld phone bans in place – targeting risky activity that’s particularly prevalent among teen drivers.
Nor has the state given police the right to stop motorists solely for driving without a seat belt, a key enforcement measure that, again, would benefit first-time drivers.
Finally, the state needs to limit the number of passengers who can carpool with a new driver.
Highway accident experts have documented that a young driver’s risk of a fatal crash rises dramatically with each new passenger who climbs into a car.
State House members had the right approach on these issues, embodied in a bill championed by Rep. Josh Shapiro (D., Montgomery). But Senate members strongly favored a lighter touch, both in the area of enforcement and in limits on teens’ passengers.
By getting nowhere, though, both chambers failed young drivers, their families, and the other motorists whose safety is put at risk by careless drivers. After doing very little in the last brief session, state lawmakers have gone home for the year, focused instead on getting reelected next week.
When lawmakers return in 2011 with a new governor, they should take up the issue of greater safety measures for young drivers. It’s one policy that can actually reduce insurance and health costs, and, more important, save lives.
Posted by Mark Koenig on Thursday, October 21, 2010
Bradley Schlegel of The Reporter writes:
Don’t text while driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. That’s the message of a safety-awareness campaign launched by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.
The statewide campaign — introduced Sept. 30, in conjunction with the 70th anniversary of the turnpike — is intended to highlight the danger of distracted drivers, according to Bill Capone, the commission’s director of communications and public relations for the PA Turnpike Commission.
In 2009, more than 120 turnpike accidents were attributed to driver distraction, according to a prepared statement. It also states that 93 distracted-driving accidents occurred on the turnpike during the first six months of this year.
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Texting bans have been enacted in 32 states, including Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and New York, the release states. Bans on all handheld devices have been enacted in eight states, including Delaware, New Jersey and New York.
In April 2009, the state House overwhelmingly approved legislation that banned text messaging for all drivers and cell phone use for novice drivers, according to a release from the office of state Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-153rd District.
A month later, the Senate amended the bill to make texting a secondary offense, meaning law enforcement officers could only cite teen drivers for using a cell phone if they had been stopped for another offense or been involved in an accident, according to another release.
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