Former police chief, now Representative Doug Barthel (R-10/Sioux Falls) had more luck than David Novstrup in pushing a public safety law yesterday. While Novstrup and his dad attempted to reduce competition for their business with ill-crafted bouncy-house rules, Representative Barthel got House Transportation to advance legislation tackling a real public hazard, idiots behind the wheel paying attention to their phones rather than the road.
House Bill 1088 makes it a Class 2 misdemeanor (max 30 days in jail, $500 fine) to drive while using a mobile electronic device. HB 1088 makes texting, gaming, watching videos, and shooting pictures with your phone while driving as bad as driving on the wrong side of the road, failing to signal your turn, and failing to yield to emergency vehicles.
Barthel’s bill exempts emergency responders, 911 calls, or hands-free operations. HB 1088 also lets people check and answer incoming calls and place calls. That latter exception still cuts folks too much slack: calling is as dangerous as other mobile device use behind the wheel and as dangerous as driving drunk.
Legislators are finally overcoming the nanny-state whining of local Republican propagandists and acknowledging the public danger caused by irresponsible phoning behind the wheel:
Representative Roger Chase, a Huron Republican, said he voted against similar legislation the past two years but was switching sides this time. Chase said his realization came when a semi driver went past him and all he saw was the top of the driver’s hat because he was looking down rather than watching the road.
Representative Oren Lesmeister, a Parade Democrat, said 61 photos showed up on his Facebook page in recent days from motorists urging caution on icy roads. He realized drivers took the photos while heading down those highways.
“That really hit home. I never thought of it that way before,” Lesmeister said [Bob Mercer, “Broader Texting Ban Clears First Hurdle in South Dakota Legislature,” KELO-TV, 2019.02.05].
No one testified against HB 1088 yesterday; only Rep. Steve Livermont (R-27/Martin) dissented in the 12–1 vote to send HB 1088 to the House floor for debate.
As a motorcyclist, I’m A-OK with this big government legislation. The number of people I see using their phones is exceptionally disconcerting.
Unfortunately, the law isn’t going to stop people. Auto & phone manufacturers need to craft a solution to prevent phones from being used while driving.
What’s the strongest argument against this law?
Hopefully this will pass this year. though we know people will violate the law, the number of people using mobile devices while driving should continue to decrease over time as the law is enforced and people get used to driving without using their phones.
The seatbelt law saves lives, though it’s not universally obeyed. Just a few days ago an idiot rolled his pickup west of Sioux Falls and his kids got thrown out of the truck because they weren’t belted in.
This will require businesses with people on the road (nurses, route drivers, sales people) to get them hands free devices for work communications, instead of saying, “Just don’t get in a wreck.” Their business insurance will demand it.
Or it will require people to go back to the ore-cell-phone practice of not taking calls while driving. It’s not that hard, people: when you’re driving, you’re incommunicado. Your calls will wait.
Really want to make sure your kids learn not to take calls in the car? Get them a car with manual transmission.
Does the ban apply if you’re driving a driverless car? i.e. Just sitting… but in the front-left seat
Kind regards,
David
That, David, is an interesting question. the key term is “operate”, defined by HB 1088 thus: “to drive or assume physical control of a motor vehicle upon a highway, including operation while temporarily stationary because of traffic, road conditions, a traffic light, or a stop sign. The term does not include a motor vehicle that is lawfully parked.”
I would think that definition means that if your car is on auto-pilot, you’re not operating and thus can check your Twitter. from the driver’s seat or anywhere else in the car.