Senate panel backs crackdown on texting while driving

Texting while driving is against the law in Virginia. Now, a bill passed by a Senate committee would give police the authority to pull over a motorist for doing it.

By a bipartisan 8-5-1 margin, the Senate Transportation Committee on Wednesday approved Senate Bill 219, which would make texting while driving a primary offense. Currently, the act is considered a secondary offense, meaning a police officer must have cause to stop or arrest a driver for another violation in order to issue a texting citation.

By an 11-3 bipartisan vote, the GOP-controlled committee also approved a bill that would make it a primary offense for teens with provisional licenses to use a cellphone while driving.

Similar legislation passed the Senate last year, only to die in the House of Delegates' GOP-controlled Militia, Police and Public Safety subcommittee.

But a year later, the sponsor of the bills said statistics showing the dangers of distracted driving caused by cellphone use are mounting, and momentum may be building for a change in the law.

"People are very concerned," said Sen. George L. Barker, D-Fairfax, the sponsor of Senate Bill 219 and the provisional driver cellphone bill, Senate Bill 210. "They're beginning to understand the risk to them."

Maryland and the District of Columbia prohibit hand-held cellphone use while driving.

Barker offered some statistics to the committee that suggested that drivers who text are 23 times more likely to be involved in a fatal accident than those who do not.

Speaking to his provisional driver cellphone bill, he said teens were 16 times more likely to get into an accident while using a cellphone than adults driving without the distraction.

Making both the laws primary offenses, he said, would have a deterrent effect that does not exist as long as police must have another reason to pull over a texting motorist or talking teen.

"People don't want the risk of getting caught," he said. "It does encourage greater compliance."

Senators on both sides of the aisle expressed support for a change in the laws, which were also supported by the automobile club AAA.

But other lawmakers voiced concern over how officers could determine probable cause to pull over a motorist for a violation like texting or teen cellphone use. For example, how would an officer distinguish a teen talker with a provisional license from a young adult with full driving privileges?

Sen. Charles W. Carrico Sr., R-Grayson, a former state trooper, said problems could ensue for law enforcement officers trying to correctly identify conduct that violates the law from what is legal.

"I think we're opening a door to a huge problem by making it a primary offense," he said.

And Sen. Ryan T. McDougle, R-Hanover, who practices traffic law, said the minimal fine that goes along with the violations — $20 for a first texting offense, $50 for subsequent violations — could dilute the more serious charge of reckless driving that is within an officer's discretion in cases of distracted driving.

But Sen. David W. Marsden, D-Fairfax, said problems with cellphones and driving are growing and warrant action.

"It works and it cuts back on accidents," he said. "The public benefit is worth us working through some of the nitty-gritty on this, in terms of probable cause."

McDougle, Carrico and Sens. Stephen D. Newman, R-Lynchburg, Ralph K. Smith, R-Botetourt, and Jeff McWaters, R-Virginia Beach, voted against making texting a primary offense.

McDougle, Carrico and Newman also opposed the provisional driver cellphone bill.

The legislation now heads to the full Senate.

"I see the issue moving forward," Barker said. "This could be the year."