Thursday, September 02, 1999
Cleveland suburb starts writing tickets for phoning while driving
The Associated Press
BROOKLYN, Ohio — Police started ticketing drivers for using hand-held phones in this Cleveland suburb Wednesday under a law thought to be the first of its kind in the country.
Since the ordinance was passed in March, police had warned about 150 chatty drivers.
On Wednesday, police handed out six tickets by 4 p.m. Fines for the misdemeanor start at $3 for first-time offenders, but can shoot up to $100 for a second offense or if the driver is involved in an accident.
The new law prohibits using a portable phone while driving unless both hands are on the steering wheel. Exceptions are made for emergency calls, using a phone in a parked car, or using a speaker phone.
One of the initiators of the law was Brooklyn Mayor John M. Coyne.
“What we're telling people is that if you're going to give the gift of gab, get to the side of the road,” Mr. Coyne said.
The idea for the ordinance began when the mayor learned that an accident near a city recreation center was caused by an inattentive driver talking on a portable phone.
Patrolman Richard Hovan, the primary officer in charge of enforcing the new law, said the ordinance will make city streets safer.
“You might save a couple minutes with a cell phone, but is it really worth it if you get into an accident?” Patrolman Hovan said.
David Cleary, 35, of Arlington Heights, Ill., was one of the first drivers to be ticketed under the new law. He said he was surprised when pulled over, but understands the logic behind the law.
“I see people swerve and not pay attention when they're talking on the phone,” he said. “If it makes the road safer, that's good.”
Mr. Cleary also said he wasn't deterred by being handed a ticket for driving while talking on the phone. He said he would continue to do so in the future — just not in Brooklyn.
A 1997 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that talking on a phone while driving quadrupled the risk of an accident and was almost as dangerous as being drunk behind the wheel.
According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics, cell phones were a contributing factor in 57 fatal crashes in 1997, the last year for which figures are available.
Several countries have banned the use of cell phones while driving.
But Jeffrey Nelson, a spokesman for the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, said he thinks Brooklyn's law is the first of its kind in the United States.
Brooklyn has a history of leading the way in traffic safety. Mr. Coyne, 82, who has been mayor since 1948, helped to enact a seat-belt requirement in 1966. He said that law was also the first of its type.
Mr. Coyne said he's fielded more than 60 requests for copies of Brooklyn's legislation from municipalities around the country. The mayor said he hopes the portable-phone law will soon be as widespread as seat-belt laws are today.
Even though Mr. Coyne thinks he can stop people from talking while driving, he acknowledged that the habit might be hard to break.
“A friend of mine called me up and told me the guy ahead of him had been talking on his cell phone for about six miles,” Mr. Coyne said.
“So I asked my friend where he was calling me from,” the mayor said. “He hung up.”
Riverfront designers may take cue from Louisville
Sheriff filed dozens of lawsuits
Sheriff Leis no stranger to political controversy
Whose fault is it when we lose doctors?
Ex-Miami students found not guilty
Riverfest solution may be the bus
Labor Day is summer's final 'full party time'
Study links gene with blood clots
Subpoenas issued over Booth residence
Insurers win in legal opinion
Mahoney case puts focus on DUI law
Teacher union wants to recruit for CPS
Emissions tests start after 5-year delay
Second hidden pregnancy causes family new anguish
Slices of not-so-ordinary life in Northern Ky.
Airport operators plead guilty
Arrest no solace to victim's family
Cincinnati SAT verbal score rises
City officials woo Chabot
Clogged Ky. 16 defies easy fixes
Orange barrels demand a polka
Sculpture takes viewers online
Naked Cowboy gets even more exposure
GET TO IT
Governor's race prime political entertainment
Acclaim for Middletown 'dynamo'
Arlington mayor race heating up
Boone development: Draw a line?
Burglary call leads to marijuana drug bust
Cleveland suburb starts writing tickets for phoning while driving
College math hard for grads
Deters: Turn tobacco pact into cash
Fairfield to conduct citizens police course
Ludlow mayor denied his say
School cafeteria's gone; cafe is in
TRISTATE DIGEST
Upcoming: updated uptown Oxford
Volunteers labor to finish park
