Report Title:

Safety

Description:

Prohibits the use of a mobile telephone while driving unless equipped with a hands-free accessory.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

778

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to safety.

 

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

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that over the span of a decade, the cellular phone has gone from novelty to convenience to a fixture of modern life. It is difficult to travel the state and not meet someone who is using or carrying a cellular phone. A great part of the allure of cellular phones is the convenience of using a phone nearly anywhere, including while driving.

The legislature also finds that driving with two hands on the steering wheel and full attention to traffic and road conditions increases driving safety. Cellular phone usage while driving takes away from driving safety due to the need to use at least one hand to program the phone to make a call, receive a call, or any number of things. The legislature further finds that as a result of the safety hazard posed by cellular phone use when driving, cellular phone manufacturers have started to manufacture devices that allow a driver to use their cellular phone without the use of hands. These creation of "hands-free" devices represents an affirmative action to stave off the logical legislative response to the danger posed by cellular phone use while driving – a ban on the use of cellular phones while driving. The purpose of this Act is to allow cellular phone use while operating a motor vehicle only when equipped with a hands-free accessory.

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

"§291C- Mobile telephone use; prohibited. (a) No person shall use a mobile telephone while operating a moving motor vehicle in the State unless the mobile telephone is equipped with a hands-free accessory.

(b) No person shall use a mobile telephone, including those with hands-free accessories, while operating a moving school bus that is carrying passengers.

(c) The provisions of this section shall not apply to the following:

(1) Emergency use of a mobile telephone, including calls to 911, a hospital, an ambulance service provider, a fire department, or a law enforcement agency;

(2) Use of a mobile telephone by law enforcement or emergency personnel or by a driver of an authorized emergency vehicle, acting within the scope of official duties; or

(3) Initiating or terminating a telephone call, or turning the telephone on or off.

(d) Violation of this section shall be a violation, and courts shall impose a fine of not more than $100 for each violation.

For purposes of this section:

"Hands-free accessory" means an attachment, add-on, built-in feature, or addition to a mobile telephone, whether or not permanently installed in a motor vehicle, that when used, allows the vehicle operator to maintain both hands on the steering wheel.

"Mobile telephone" means a cellular, analog, wireless, or digital telephone capable of sending or receiving telephone messages without an access line for service.

"Use" means talking, placing, or receiving a call, or attempting to place or receive a call, on a mobile telephone."

SECTION 3. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on September 1, 2005.

 

INTRODUCED BY:

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