Massachusetts Injury Lawyer Blog

A ban on using hand-held cell phones behind the wheel was approved by the Massachusetts Legislature's Joint Transportation Committee this week.

On Thursday, the committee voted 8-0 to move forward the bill which advocates say will reduce car accidents, driving injuries and motor vehicle deaths. Some lawmakers did not vote on the ban, which was also discussed in 2010. That year, a new law took effect to reduce motor vehicle accidents by banning drivers under 18 from using cell phones to talk or text. All other drivers were banned from texting while driving.

Under the proposed cell phone ban, drivers would still be allowed to use hands-free cell phones with Bluetooth and other devices. Many safety advocates say hands-free cell phones are safer and this type of ban will help police better enforce the law. Right now, police say it is difficult to differentiate between drivers dialing a phone number and sending a text message.

As a result, police only wrote 1,100 tickets for texting while driving in the law's first year, according to the Department of Transportation. This averages one for every 200 speeding tickets issued among Massachusetts' 4.7 million drivers in the same period.

The hand-held cell phone ban will now be sent to the Massachusetts House of Representatives and Senate. The Ways and Means Committee may also consider the financial aspects of it.

If approved, Massachusetts will become the 10th state to ban any type of cell phone use while driving.

The national debate over cell phone use and car accidents has been growing stronger.
In December, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) called for a nationwide ban on driver use of portable electronic devices (PEDs) while operating a motor vehicle. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood said he opposed including hands-free cell phones.

Click here to read more about the proposed hand-held cell phone ban in The Boston Globe.

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Massachusetts lawmakers will consider tougher laws this week to reduce car accidents associated with cell phone use.

The Legislature's Joint Commission on Transportation will hold a hearing Tuesday to discuss several bills. One proposed measure would only allow drivers to use hands-free cell phones. Another would ban drivers from using any type of cell phone within school zones.

Just nine states and the District of Columbia prohibit all cell phone use while driving. Massachusetts joins 34 other states and the District of Columbia in banning texting while driving for all drivers.

In December, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) called for a nationwide ban on driver use of portable electronic devices (PEDs) while operating a motor vehicle. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood is opposed to including hands-free cell phones.

Texting while driving, cell phone use and other distracted driving behavior causes a large number of car accidents across the country each year. In 2009, 16 percent of fatal motor vehicle accidents involved texting while driving and other distracted behavior. Twenty percent of car accidents resulting in injury involved distracted driving.

Massachusetts' ban on texting while driving took effect Sept. 30, 2010. But Massachusetts, like other states, has found its ban hard to enforce. The law bans texting while driving in a moving car, as well as when behind the wheel at intersections. But critics say it is often difficult to tell whether a driver is texting or dialing a number.

Another challenge is Americans are sending more text messages than in the past. In June 2011, more than 196 billion text messages were sent in this country, a 50 percent increase from June 2009, according to CTIA, the international association for the wireless telecommunications industry.

There is research suggesting any type of cell phone use engages a driver enough to create a dangerous distraction. A Carnegie Mellon University study found using a cell phone behind the wheel reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent. And a study from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) found that headset cell phone use is not substantially safer than hand-held use.

But when drivers text behind the wheel, they are 23 times more likely to get into a car crash than normal, the VTTI study found. Sending or receiving a text takes a driver's eyes off from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, which is the full-length of a football field for a car traveling at 55 mph.

Click here to read more about Massachusetts' proposed bans on cell phone use.

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