Hazleton mulls ban on cells while driving

HAZLETON – City council on Thursday tabled a controversial ordinance on restricting motorists’ cell phone use after debating just how restrictive the proposed law should be.

The Mobile Telephone Operation Ordinance, which Councilman Robert Nilles had asked the solicitor’s office to draft at an April 23 council meeting, would prohibit people from dialing, answering, talking, texting or listening on a cellular device while driving unless the driver keeps both hands on the steering wheel.

Exceptions would include calling police or other public safety personnel, using a phone while the vehicle is parked or using a hands-free device such as a Bluetooth or wired headset.

Emergency personnel would be exempt from the ordinance while on duty and acting in an official capacity.

Nilles said his primary concern was that young drivers can easily be distracted by sending and receiving text messages on their cell phones while driving.

Last month, Councilwoman Evelyn Graham asked the solicitor to have the ordinance ban any use of a handheld mobile device while driving.

Proposal tabled

Councilman Tom Gabos said he thought the ordinance went too far and asked that it be tabled pending further discussion and a possible amendment.

Slusser recommended tabling rather than amending the ordinance because the focus of the legislation would change if the law was limited to addressing text messaging only.

Graham said she thought any hand-held cell phone use was a dangerous distraction to drivers.

Nilles said he voted against tabling the ordinance because he thought it could be amended to ban only text messaging while driving.

He didn’t think the legislation could muster enough support on council if it banned motorist hand-held cell phone use entirely.

Mayor Louis Barletta said he thought the ordinance went too far and said it would be difficult to enforce because there is no statewide law prohibiting motorist cell phone use.

“If someone from Baltimore, Md., happens to be driving through the city, how would they even have any idea we have an ordinance that they’re not allowed to use their cell phone? Would we require that at all entry points to the city, we put up a sign alerting everyone who enters the city that it’s against the law to use a cell phone (while driving)?” Barletta said.

Graham said that despite enforcement problems, possibly preventing an accident is enough reason to adopt the law.

Nilles said an ordinance proposed in Bethlehem restricts cell phone use and texting and targets younger drivers because “they were more prone to be texting and less prone to be an experienced enough driver to avoid causing themselves and/or someone else harm.”

Nilles said his point in introducing the texting ban “was to say you can’t be safe and text at the same time.

“The mayor quite rightly said people drink coffee, comb their hair, do all kinds of things when they’re driving. But nevertheless, a lot of those activities can be accomplished without looking down at a machine to type a message,” Nilles said.

Slusser said he would prepare an ordinance that prohibits texting while driving for the next meeting.

Bethlehem proposal

Bethlehem City Council is also considering a proposal that would bar drivers from using hand-held cell phones while driving in the city.

Using a pending ban in Philadelphia as a model, Bethlehem is considering fines of $150 to $300 for motorists caught holding cell phones while driving, the Allentown Morning Call reported in April.

The City of Carbondale in 2007 adopted an ordinance similar to the one council tabled.

According to a December 2008 AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety report on cell phones and driving, a growing body of research suggests that using a mobile telephone while driving increases a driver’s risk of being involved in a crash.

Vehicular cell-phone use in U.S.

• More than half of U.S. drivers report having used a cell phone while driving in the past 30 days, and one in seven even admits to text messaging while driving.

• Young drivers were found to be overwhelmingly more likely than older drivers to text message, and somewhat more likely to talk on cell phones while driving.

• The proportion of drivers 35 to 44 who report talking on cell phones while driving is not significantly lower than the proportion of drivers 18 to 24.