Bill would ban handheld device use while driving
Sam Doran/State House News Service
A senate bill on Beacon Hill
Massachusetts drivers would be banned from using handheld devices behind the wheel under legislation approved by the Senate on Thursday.
Bill supporters said it would make roads safer and force behavioral changes in an era when people have become addicted to using cellphones, email and social media, even while driving vehicles at often high rates of speed.
"We know people are still texting even though we passed a texting ban a number of years ago," Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Thomas McGee said. "This morning as I was heading into the Sumner Tunnel, three or four different drivers were driving like this as they headed towards the Sumner Tunnel, looking at their phones, holding them up to their faces. That was on my way in this morning. We'll all be seeing it as we leave the State House today."
The bill (S 2092) lays out fines - $100 for first offense, $250 for second offense and $500 for third and subsequent offenses - and calls for insurance surcharges to kick in upon a third offense. It bans drivers from touching or holding a mobile device in either hand, except for a "single tap or swipe" to activate hands-free mode. Drivers would be prohibited from using a phone's camera function; writing, sending or reading messages; accessing social media; manually inputting information into a navigation system; or making video calls. Calls and GPS navigation would be allowed using hands-free technology.
The sponsor, Sen. Mark Montigny, said he has been filing a handheld devices ban for over a decade, and in that time technology has become more pervasive and more lives have been lost.
"Thousands of people die every year in the country, including many here in Massachusetts because of distracted drivers," the New Bedford Democrat said. "I can remember early on in the debate somebody coining the phrase, 'You can't legislate against stupidity,' and I've heard it a lot -- I think we all define stupidity differently -- and although I agree with that, I do think you can and should legislate...against dangerousness."
The bill expands the 2010 law that banned texting while driving but allowed most drivers to continue to use phones for calls. It also prohibited handheld device use by 16- and 17-year-olds. Supporters of the broader handheld device ban say the existing law say it has been difficult for police to enforce.
The Senate passed the bill on a non-recorded voice vote after more than three hours of debate on amendments.
Sen. Michael Barrett of Lexington had proposed lowering the fines to $50 for a first offense, $100 for a second offense and $150 for subsequent offenses, an amendment that was ultimately shot down on a 12-26 vote.
Senate President Stanley Rosenberg, who does not vote on most legislation, joined 21 other Democrats and four Republicans in opposing the lower fines, while 10 Democrats and two Republicans supported them.
Backers of the amendment said the existence of a fine, not its amount, is enough to serve as a deterrent and raised concerns over how steep fines and related consequences -- like a license suspension for failure to pay -- would affect lower-income people.
"We in the Legislature have a chronic habit of setting fines and penalties at a level that is much greater than what is necessary to get people's attention, and in fact is high enough to have a crushing impact on people of limited means," said Sen. William Brownsberger, who co-chairs the Judiciary Committee. "We've made that mistake in our earlier laws, and we're about to perpetuate it in this law."
Montigny argued the fines send a message about the seriousness of the offense, and said people can avoid needing to pay them if they comply with the ban.
The Senate passed a handheld devices ban last session, also on a voice vote, and a similar House bill received initial approval before sputtering out.
Fourteen states, including New Hampshire, New York and Connecticut, have "hands-free" laws in place.
Sen. Kathleen O'Connor-Ives, a Newburyport Democrat whose district borders the Granite State, said the New Hampshire law implemented in 2015 has saved lives.
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