Will Virginia enact a bill that okays cell phone use while driving?

srohrstaff — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 14:12:36 +0000

Have you ever seen a teenage driver with her hand up to her ear talking on the cell phone while driving down the highway? How about a “mature” driver? Have you ever done it yourself?

The Virginia Senate passed a bill last week that would ban talking on a cell phone while driving unless the driver was using a hands-free device.

This isn’t the first time such a bill has come before the Virginia General Assembly, so its chances of passing are slim. However, I previously posted about the no-texting-while-driving law passed by the General Assembly that went into effect in July 2009, so maybe there’s a better chance at passage this year or next or the year after that or . . .

Driving while distracted is particularly dangerous when an inexperienced driver is behind the wheel, especially when that inexperienced driver is a teenager who is hard wired to believe she is bullet proof and that nothing can hurt her. The bill that goes to the Virginia House of Delegates won’t solve all the problems of distracted drivers, but it will be one more tool that might have an impact on keeping our teens safe.

Or, will it encourage talking on cell phones while driving — a distraction even if both hands are on the wheel.

Should A School Bus Driver Be Allowed to Use A Cell Phone While Driving?

srohrstaff — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 16:21:06 +0000

I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want my child on a school bus being driven by a driver who is talking on his cell phone — even if he was using a hands-free device. A school bus driver’s job is hard enough. There are plenty of distractions sitting behind him in the bus. Allowing him to voluntarily add another distraction — talking on his cell phone — is just plain unsafe.

A study reported in Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, Winter 2004, found that using a cell phone, regardless of using a hands-free device, is a serious distraction to a driver. (”Human factors” — also called “ergonomics” — is the study of how humans behave physically and psychologically in particular situations.) A later study found that drivers who are distracted by cell phone use have impairments similar to drivers who have an alcohol level of .08 (the level at which a driver in Virginia is presumed to be drunk). Given the fact that drivers using cell phones are more numerous than drivers who are drunk, it is reasonable to conclude that drivers using cell phones are more dangerous than drunk drivers.

And, if so many drivers are on cell phones, I would certainly want my child’s school bus driver to be the most alert one, trained to avoid the dangers of the cell phone users.

What would your child’s school system say if you asked about its policy of allowing school bus drivers to talk on cell phones while driving?

Virginia Child Injury Lawyer » cell phone use while driving

Will Virginia enact a bill that okays cell phone use while driving?

Should A School Bus Driver Be Allowed to Use A Cell Phone While Driving?