Report Title:

Cellular Phones; Use While Driving Prohibited

Description:

Prohibits hand-held cellular phone use while driving a motor vehicle; requires use of hands-free operation or speaker phone system while driving.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

733

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that Hawaii is widely regarded as having the highest number of cellular phones per capita in the nation. As equipment and airtime costs have decreased since the introduction of cellular phones in 1983, the number of hand-held cellular phones in the State has increased dramatically.

The use of a cellular phone while driving poses great risk to the health and safety of both motorists and pedestrians. Despite continued efforts by the cellular phone industry to educate drivers of the danger of operating a motor vehicle while talking on the phone, the number of accidents, injuries, and deaths attributed to the use of cellular phones while driving continues to increase. Multiple medical studies, including a 1997 report by the New England Journal of Medicine, have concluded that the risk of collision is four times greater for a motorist using a cellular phone. This risk is equivalent to operation of a motor vehicle while legally intoxicated.

Prohibiting the use of hand-held cellular phones while driving would decrease the risk of collision and provide for the safety of the general public. The use of a cellular phone used with an ear-bud, headset, or speaker phone capability eliminates the need for drivers to take their eyes off the road, which is cited by drivers, in police reports, as a leading cause of accidents. Continued advances in technology by the cellular phone industry make hands-free cellular phones widely available to the general public.

The purpose of this Act is to prohibit the use of hand-held cellular phones while operating a motor vehicle, to decrease the number of collisions, injuries, and deaths directly related to cellular phone use.

SECTION 2. Chapter 291, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§291- Using a hand-held cellular phone while operating a motor vehicle, motorcycle, or moped. (a) No person shall operate a hand-held cellular phone while operating a motor vehicle, motorcycle, or moped upon any public street, road, or highway.

(b) It shall be a defense to a violation of subsection (a) that the driver using a hand-held cellular phone had:

(1) Reason to fear for the driver's life or safety; or

(2) Good cause to make a "911" emergency call.

(c) This section shall not apply to persons using:

(1) An ear-bud or headset in conjunction with a hands-free capable cellular phone; or

(2) A voice-activated speaker phone system in conjunction with a hands-free capable cellular phone.

(d) Any person who violates this section shall be subject to a fine of $45 for each violation."

SECTION 3. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on December 31, 2003.

INTRODUCED BY:

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