By Katja Timm
Capital News Service
Traffic safety advocates are upset by the surprise defeat of legislation that would have prohibited motorists in Virginia from holding their cellphones while driving.
They said the legislation – HB 1811 and SB 1341, which died as the General Assembly adjourned Sunday (Feb. 24) – would have helped prevent accidents caused by distracted driving.
“We’re very disappointed,” said Janet Brooking, executive director of DRIVE SMART Virginia, a nonprofit group that promotes traffic safety. “We had been working very hard to make sure the bills advanced.”
For much of the legislative session, the bills appeared headed toward passage.
The House and Senate had each passed slightly different versions of HB 1811, sponsored by Del. Chris Collins (R-Frederick), and SB 1341, sponsored by Sen. Richard Stuart (R-King George).
One version said: “It is unlawful for any person, while driving a moving motor vehicle on the highways in the Commonwealth, to hold a handheld personal communications device.”
Another version said it would be unlawful for a driver “to hold in his hand a handheld personal communications device.”
Looking back, Brooking said amending the bill allowed opponents to sabotage the legislation.
“It’s not about the language of the amendment,” she said. “It’s about what happens to bills like this. The amendment was thrown in there to strategically put the bill in harm’s way.”
When a conference committee of House members and senators convened to resolve the matter the day before the session ended, the legislation was changed significantly. The committee recommended that drivers still be allowed to talk on their cellphones – they just couldn’t “view, read, or enter data.”
The conference committee’s report then was rejected in the House – and so the legislation died.
