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News Release
TEEN DRIVERS WOULD
BE BANNED FROM CELL PHONE USE UNDER PROVISION APPROVED BY SENATE
Teen drivers will not be allowed to talk on
their cell phones while driving under provision added to the Junior
Operators Bill by the Senate today. The amendment, which was sponsored
by Senator Jarrett T. Barrios would only ban cell phone use for drivers
under the age of 18 and allows cell phone calls to be made for emergency
purposes only.
“Young drivers should be focused more on the road and less on their
phones,” said Barrios, who serves as the Senate Chairman of the Joint
Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security. “By banning cell phone
use for drivers under the age of 18, we can make the roads safer for all
of us by reducing distractions and preventing the possibility of future
tragedies from occurring.”
A dozen states, including New York, Connecticut, and Maine, have already
passed legislation restricting the use of cell phones by teenagers. In
2003, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended that states
prohibit cell phone use by young drivers. The Harvard Center for Risk
Analysis (HCRA) estimates that the use of cell phones by drivers may
result in approximately 2,600 deaths, 330,000 injuries and 1.5 million
instances of property damage in America per year.
Under the amendment, a driver holding a junior operators license who is
talking on their cell phone would face suspension of their license for
one year and a fine of $100. The Junior Operators Bill prohibits teens
from driving between 12:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m., unless accompanied by
parent or guardian. It also requires six additional hours of behind the
wheel training, as well as parental participation in two hours of the
required 30 hours of classroom time.
The bill as amended by the Senate to include the teen cell ban now heads
to the House of Representatives for their reconsideration.
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