Don’t tweet and drive.
That’s the message lawmakers sent Tuesday after passing a bill in the state Senate that would ban cellphone use on the roads.
Sen. Ann Rivers, R-La Center, the key lawmaker behind the bill, said in a perfect world people wouldn’t be on Facebook or texting while driving. But in this world, people are logged on and cruising, she said.
“The time is right. We know that Apple is putting out new iPhones all the time, and I don’t want to be on the … [iPhone] 12 before we revisit this,” Rivers said.
The measure passed 35-14 and now heads to the House.
It would prohibit anyone behind the wheel from holding, reading or entering information into a wireless device, including while stopped at traffic lights or a stop sign. In addition to checking social media, glancing at a phone’s navigation system could result in a $209 ticket for the second offense, accompanied with a possible hike in insurance rates.
Sen. Don Benton, R-Vancouver, urged his colleagues to vote against the measure.
He questioned whether it would have the intended effect.
“Making a law does not necessarily stop people from doing these things,” he said.
Current law already prohibits reckless driving, he said, and this measure would not prevent people from driving distracted, rather only “raise the cost of insurance for the middle class.”
Rivers noted the last time the law was changed was in 2008 to ban drivers from holding the phone while driving or texting. That was before the proliferation of smartphones and plethora of apps.
The La Center Republican likened driving while texting to driving while well over the legal limit for alcohol consumption.
“I’ve had people say, ‘you’re impacting my personal liberties’ and I understand that,” Rivers said. “But at what point do we allow the personal liberties and the safeties (that) others enjoy be impacted because there is a text that just can’t wait or because there is something happening on Facebook that we just can’t tear our eyes away from.”
Sen. Cyrus Habib, D-Bellevue, who is blind and said he relies on drivers noticing his white cane, is a proponent of eliminating any possible distractions.
“We aren’t allowed to see the cars, they are supposed to be looking out for us,” he said.
