Starting on the first of next year, Oregonians will be a call away from a $90 traffic ticket.
After a drawn-out debate regarding the policy, the Senate passed a bill June 23 banning all Oregon motorists from talking or texting on a hand-held mobile phone while driving any type of motorized vehicle. Governor Ted Kulongoski signed the bill on July 9 and come Jan. 1, 2010, drivers will have to abide by the law or risk getting ticketed.
Originally a bill targeted at drivers under the age of 18, the ban applies to drivers of all ages, with exception to truckers, emergency situations or drivers with a hands-free device.
In enacting this bill, Oregon will become the seventh state, including neighbors Washington and California to welcome this law.
Sen. Ginny Burdick, who carried this bill on the Senate floor, said this legislation has been a long time in the making.
“I have always been very interested in the issue,” Burdick said, who attempted to pass the law in the 2007 Senate session. “I think that the conduction of scientific studies and tests over the past years have made this legislation more accepted.”
However, the bill passed by a narrow 16 to 13 vote.
Republican Sen. Jeff Kruse deemed the bill as “stupid,” saying that the state government has a problem with overregulation.
“Someone could have swerved because they dropped a piece of paper next to them, someone could have swerved because they went to pick up a McDonald’s fry and couldn’t find the ketchup,” Kruse said when the bill was brought to the Senate in June.
University sophomore Greg Kirby is in complete support of the bill, finding drivers talking on cell phone inconsiderate and dangerous.
“One of the few times I used my cell phone while driving I realized I had completely forgotten the part of the road I traveled when I was talking,” Kirby said, “It’s scary how preoccupied a driver can get while on their phone.”
An Oregon Department of Transportation study showed an increase of 140 cell phone-related traffic accidents in Oregon from 2003 to 2007, totaling to 362. A Virginia Tech study also showed that 80 percent of all traffic accidents are a result of inattentive drivers.
The delay and reaction times found in drivers on their phones are comparable to driving drunk,” Burdick said.
Like many University students, senior Chris Pollard’s main form of transportation is his bicycle.
“I find people text messaging while driving the most dangerous of all,” Pollard said. “I personally find it distracting to talk on the phone, even when I’m walking somewhere.”
Although it isn’t predicted to take place in the near future, Burdick said that a ban on bicyclists using their cell phones could very well be seriously considered now that HB 2377 passed. Burdick compared the policy to the law that bans bikers from being
intoxicated while bike riding.
“Talking on the phone while riding a bike is more a danger to yourself than those around you,” Burdick said, “but it remains extremely dangerous.”
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