Brian White
Associated Press Wed Sep 29, 2010, 07:56 AM EDT
— ANNAPOLIS — Maryland will become the eighth state to ban drivers from talking on a handheld cell phone under a new law that takes effect this week, a change cheered by safe driving advocates and insurers who say it will prevent distracted driving accidents and save lives.
Advocates describe the law as an important tool in changing bad driving habits.
Robert McKinney, president and CEO of the Maryland Highway Safety Foundation, compares the benefits of the handheld ban to laws requiring seat belts, which raised their usage significantly over the years.
“What we hope that the law accomplishes is that it begins the process of changing the culture, so that people focus when they drive and aren’t worried about who’s calling or calling someone,” McKinney said.
Other states have restricted cell phone use for young drivers or people driving in construction or school zones. Only eight states and the District of Columbia have banned handheld cell use for all drivers. California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Washington state currently ban handheld cell phone use while driving. Delaware also has approved a ban, but it doesn’t take effect until January.
In Maryland, drivers could be fined $40 for first violations and $100 for subsequent ones under the law that takes effect Friday. It’s a secondary offense, so drivers can only be pulled over if they are committing another offense as well, such as running a stop light. Phone calls to 911, ambulance, hospital, fire or law enforcement agencies are allowed. Like Washington, D.C., Maryland will allow courts to waive a penalty on a first offense, if a driver can provide proof that he or she has purchased a handsfree accessory or device for the handheld telephone.
Maryland banned sending text messages while driving last year.
The National Safety Council, an organization that focuses on workplace and highway safety, estimates that talking or texting on a cell phone is responsible for 1.6 million crashes in the United States a year, about 28 percent of all crashes.
More than 380 people have died from distracted driving crashes in Maryland in the last five years, according to the Maryland State Highway Administration.
At a Tuesday news conference at a rest stop near Savage, state transportation and law enforcement officials unveiled a new road sign that will inform drivers about the law. The state will also include a message on digital road signs to let drivers know about the change in law.
Beverley K. Swaim-Staley, Maryland’s transportation secretary, said cars and trucks need to become “no phone zones.”
“We are out here today to remind everybody that those calls can wait,” she said. “That phone call could mean someone’s life, so really think twice whether or not you really need to make that phone call if you are driving.”
Maryland State Police Superintendent Col. Terrence Sheridan said even though police can’t pull drivers over just for making a cell phone call with a handheld phone, he’s confident the public will become more aware of the dangers of distracted driving and obey the law.
