Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Legislation would focus on phone use while driving

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 06 Jan 2003 13:37:25 -0500

Legislation would focus on phone use while driving

By Cory Chandler
Midland Reporter-Telegram  01/03/2003

Midland Police Sgt. Bernie Kraft said accidents caused by cell phone use were once written
off as being "driver inattention," but he said the category changed when cell phones
became a noticeable factor in accidents.
"You see it all the time," Kraft said "People say they drove off the road while they were
on their cell phone."
The sight of a driver using one hand to guide their steering wheel while pressing a cell
phone to their ear with the other has become a common sight, but Midland drivers could
find themselves paying up to $100 for placing a call from behind the wheel.
A bill authored by State Rep. Paul Moreno, D-El Paso, would prohibit cell phone use by
drivers unless the vehicle is stopped or the driver is using a hands-free device. Talking
on the phone while driving would become a misdemeanor punishable with a fine between $25
and $100.
The most recent information provided by the Texas Department of Public Safety shows 716
accidents caused by cell phone use in the state of Texas in 2000, but Brandon Rackley,
district sales manager for Nextel Partners, said consumers are too attached to cell phones
to give them up completely.
Rackley said his sales have been booming due to a shift in the cell phone market and he
noted buyers have begun to view their phones as a commodity.
"I do not think we would see a drop in the use of cell phones," said Phyllis Marshall,
retail channel manager for Cellular One. "I think it would prompt the use of hands-free
devices."
Ms. Marshall said hands-free devices include speaker phones with voice activation, which
allows drivers to accept or decline calls with vocal commands, ear pieces that can be
plugged into the phone, and installation kits with phone cradles and external speakers.
"Of course, the safest thing, as always, is to stop the vehicle when entering into a
conversation," she said.
Rackley said the bill would make people more aware of the products available to them.
"It would make the average customer a little more educated when they walk through the
door," he said.
But critics question whether handsfree devices would actually contribute to driver safety.

"At least (drivers) are able to keep both hands on the wheel," McAdoo said. "But at the
same time, their attention is still divided between trying to listen through a small
earpiece and watching what is on the road."
Kraft said he has seen an improvement in drivers who choose to go to hands-free devices.
"Yeah, (drivers) attention is still somewhat inhibited, but hands-free devices may be the
way to go right now."

http://www.mywesttexas.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=6593755&BRD=2288&PAG=461&dept_id=475626&rfi=6

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