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A bill that doubles the fines levied against motorists using hand-held cell phones while driving cleared the Delaware House of Representatives on a unanimous vote, the House Republican Caucus reported.
House Bill 302 would raise the civil penalty for a first offense from $50 to $100. The fine for additional violations would jump from the current $100 to an assessment of between $200 and $300.
State Rep. Deborah Hudson, R-Greenville, the lead sponsor of the measure, said Delaware police issued about 12,000 violations last year. She said that while the law applies to any hand-held cellphone use by a driver, the main intent of the legislation is to curtail texting by motorists.
Delaware has long banned driving while using a handset. More recently, there been controversy over distractions caused by using hands-free technology to make and receive calls and the accompanying video display screens in newer vehicles. Driving while using a handset to take phone calls may not be much more dangerous than hands-free use.
“It seemed necessary to raise the fines for this offense because people do not seem to be paying attention,” Hudson said. “This [bill] is an effort to try to make people realize this is a serious distraction.”
Hudson said state legislators throughout the country are characterizing texting while driving as the “new DUI,” because the offense is increasingly perceived as posing as great a risk to public safety as drunk driving.
Under federal rules, the use of hand-held mobile phones by commercial truck and bus drivers while operating their vehicles can result in driver disqualification. Penalties can increase to $2,750 for drivers and up to $11,000 for employers who allow or require drivers to use a hand-held communications device for texting while driving.
Research commissioned by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration shows the odds of being involved in a “crash, near-crash, or unintentional lane deviation” are 23 times greater for drivers who text while driving than for those that do not.
As amended, the bill would earmark 20 percent of the fine revenue to support the Volunteer Ambulance Company Fund.
The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration. Wilmington-based AAA Mid-Atlantic is lobbying on behalf of the bill.
