By Andra Bryan Stefanoni

news@joplinglobe.com

PITTSBURG, Kan. — Ask Pete Bodyk, chief of the Kansas Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Traffic Safety, what he thinks about cell phone use while driving, and you’re likely to hear a story that could be more common than anyone realizes.

As Bodyk drove on an interstate, he glanced at a vehicle on an entrance ramp he just passed and saw a young man with his cell phone on top of his steering wheel using both thumbs to send a text message as he drove.

“When he came onto the interstate he went right across both lanes, and he was drifting,” Bodyk said.

On Jan. 10, a new Kansas law will go into effect restricting cell phone use and texting for young drivers.

But when the Legislature convenes Jan. 11, it may take up the debate over possible additional restrictions involving cell phone use while driving — something supporters say is long overdue but others question the ability to enforce.

The Senate Ways and Means Committee recently agreed to introduce a bill that would make texting by a driver of any age illegal. Chairman Jay Emler, R-Lindsborg, has been quoted as saying it warrants a discussion.

More than 20 states have banned texting while driving. Research by Nationwide suggests the idea has support: Eight in 10 drivers approve of some type of legislation restricting cell phone use.

Those in opposition maintain that such legislation is government interference, while many in support of legislation believe any kind of cell phone use — talking included — ought to be included. They cite both personal experiences and statistics.

By the numbers

Bodyk, who is part of a group that put together a bill banning texting for all ages, said statewide statistics illustrate what can happen when a driver is too distracted by a hand-held device.

In Kansas in 2008, driver inattention was the No. 1 contributing circumstance for crashes — at 26.3 percent. Of all the possible driver distractions (applying makeup, changing a CD, eating food, etc.) leading to accidents, cell phone use ranked highest.

In 2008, there were 394 motor vehicle accidents in which cell phone use was listed as the cause. Of those, four were fatal, 140 resulted in injury, and 250 resulted in damaged vehicles only. That’s up more than 50 percent from 2004, when 261 crashes were reported due to cell phone use.

During the past five years (2003 was the first year cell phone use was added to the report) 1,844 accidents were attributed to cell phone distraction, resulting in 18 fatal accidents (23 total deaths), 648 accidents with injuries, and 1,178 in which only vehicles were damaged.

By age group, the highest number of cell phone distraction reported was by those in the 14- to 19-year-old category, followed by the 20- to 24-year-old category.

‘Complicated’

Rep. Julie Menghini, D-Pittsburg, who serves on the House Transportation Committee, doesn’t see any action on cell phone use happening this year. She questions whether it’s enforceable or any worse than other distractions.

“It starts to get complicated when you start to write this and make it enforceable,” she said. “You could be holding (the phone) down low, and they won’t see it, and would only know it if you have an accident and they retrieve your records.”

She said it’s common for many drivers — including herself — to keep one hand on the wheel while reaching for food, changing a CD, or punching numbers into a GPS.

“Until I see studies that prove that it’s any more distracting than a dog sitting on a driver’s lap or a mom reaching back to retrieve a dropped bottle, I’m not prepared to say ban it all — but the texting is a different animal because it requires taking your eyes off the road,” Menghini said.

Rep. Bob Grant, D-Cherokee, who has driven back and forth from Topeka for decades and said he’s “seen it all” when it comes to what people do while driving, said the cell phone issue “has not been on my personal radar.”

“If I’m going to use a cell phone, and I have an area where I can, I’ll pull over and use the cell phone,” he said. “But a lot of people think they’re ambidextrous and don’t worry about being attentive to their driving. I’ve seen them smoking, talking on the phone, drinking a cup of coffee. I think that puts not only them at jeopardy, but the other people on the road.”

Likewise, Crawford County Sandy Horton said there are numerous distractions that result in motor vehicle accidents.

“Do we all use cell phones while we drive? Do I? Yes. We’re all guilty of it, including the sheriff. But as far as texting, if I get one I’ve got to pull off to the side of the road to read it. And if I’m going to get into a conversation I know won’t be brief, I’ll pull off to do that,” Horton said. “In a perfect world, there wouldn’t be cup holders or radios in cars, wouldn’t be things to distract the driver. We should always put 100 percent of what we’re doing into that task.”

Horton has researched remote devices so a deputy can communicate through a speaker while driving, and considers that a “future possibility.” Other options for drivers include a software technology newly available through Drive Assist that automatically detects the onset of driving and informs the caller the person they’re trying to reach is driving and can’t answer the phone or text messages.

Bodyk said Bluetooth shouldn’t be considered an alternative, as it isn’t just about whether a driver has something in his or her hand — it’s being involved in a conversation that takes attention away from driving.

In addition to Kansas, other states are poised to look at legislation this year, too, including Missouri. Whether states adopt any legislation also could be tied to funding: Four U.S. senators are sponsoring the ALERT Act, which would prohibit any driver from sending text or e-mail messages while driving a vehicle. If the bill passes, states that do not enact text-banning laws could lose 25 percent of their federal highway funds.





Texting bans

Text messaging is banned for all drivers in 19 states and the District of Columbia. In addition, novice drivers are banned from texting in nine states (Delaware, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Texas and West Virginia) and schoolbus drivers are banned from text messaging in one state (Texas).

Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety