ALDERMAN WANTS TO BAN CELL PHONE CHATS WHILE DRIVING
Friday, February 15th, 2008 -- 11:47 AM
A Marshfield alderman wants to ban cell phone use while driving through the city.John Spiros? proposed ordinance was discussed at a meeting earlier this week and is expected to get a vote on Tuesday, February 26.
"We had a good discussion. I actually had some of the audience members come up afterwards and say ?this is long overdue?," Spiros recalls.
Spiros has read of accidents caused by talking on handheld cell phones, and "texting" while driving, including one in New York state that killed 4 teenage girls this summer.
"It came back that the driver was actually texting. There was a text message, and six seconds after that text message went out there was a 9-1-1 call," Spiros says.
Plus, Spiros sees plenty of inattentive drivers in his everyday travels.
The ordinance is pretty strict: it would ban drivers from dialing, answering, talking, listening or "otherwise manipulating controls of a mobile telephone" while on Marshfield?s streets or highways.
It does allow for emergency use and "hands-free" operation.
A penalty of $75 could be levied, but Spiros would prefer law enforcement use the rule as a teaching tool?at first.
"There would be somewhat of a soft enforcement, is what we?d direct the police department," Spiros notes. "That would be to educate the public about that and the dangers before they ticket. But, that would be up to the officer?s discretion."
Spiros is Vice President of Safety at Roehl Transport in Marshfield.
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