Friday, March 26, 1999
Ohio city restricts car-phone users
BY RANDY McNUTT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
In a simpler time, your father advised: “Keep both hands on the wheel.” Today, he might add: “Especially if you're talking on the phone.”
Cellular phone use is so widespread in vehicles that the city of Brooklyn, Ohio, near Cleveland, this week made it illegal to talk on the phone while driving unless both hands are on the steering wheel. In most cases, that would require “hands-free” cell phones that work like speakerphones.
So far, two motorists have been issued warnings. Officers won't issue citations until signs can be posted in about a month, said Brooklyn Police Chief James Maloney.
“Most of the people who have called us are for it (the ordinance),” he said. “There's no intention of banning cell phones. We want people to know it's dangerous to talk on the phone while driving.”
Lt. Scott Borden, commander of the Lebanon post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol, said there's no state law prohibiting driving and talking on the phone. Local jurisdictions can't cite drivers either unless they pass ordinances like Brooklyn's.
“These people can't be paying attention,” he said of talkers. “It's an ongoing problem. When you're on the phone, it's easier to speed and go out of control. But there aren't any statistics on it.”
Jeffrey Nelson, a spokesman for the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association in Washington, D.C., hasn't heard of any similar laws.
“We're a new technology, an easy target,” he said. “There are laws to go after distracted drivers, whether they misuse a Whopper or a map.”
Nationally, driver inattention contributes to half of all auto accidents, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Although Brooklyn's intentions are good, many drivers would find the city's new law too restrictive, said Mike Helmig, sheriff of Boone County. “A phone is important to me — and to a lot of people,” he said.
But their increasing use has prompted numerous letters to The Cincinnati Enquirer. Dear Abby devoted a column to the subject. One woman suggested this advertising campaign: “There are no phones in coffins.”
That point was brought home tragically in December, when a Fairfield High School drama teacher drove her car into the path of two school buses on Ohio 747. Kathleen Sullivan, 29, of Cincinnati, was killed in the crash. Investigators think she was distracted while making a phone call and drove through a stop sign.
Jeanne Schindler, a cell phone owner from Fairfield, acknowledges that cell phone problems exist, but she doesn't favor legislation.
“They're trying to legislate so much these days,” she said. “It's virtually unenforceable. We need to put our efforts into education. How many people will do it even if it is illegal?”
At the Versailles post of the Indiana State Police, First Sgt. Ray Otter said he hasn't noticed too many drivers talking on the telephone.
He said they are smart; it is not a good idea.
“People get too deep into phone calls,” he said. “We would support the idea of pulling over to use the phone, but there's no state law saying they have to.”
If you drive and talk in Brooklyn, a city of 11,400, remember: The fine is $25, a misdemeanor.
“We're not going to sit on the freeway looking for cell phone users,” Chief Maloney said. “But we'll be watching if you're weaving.”
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