Proposal would ban 17 and under from using phone while driving

A proposed law that would ban teens under 18 from using their cellphones while driving will be the topic of a special meeting of the Youth Council Serving Fayette County Monday, Jan. 5. at 7 p.m. at City Hall in Peachtree City.

The bill’s sponsor, Matt Ramsey of Peachtree City, will be present to answer questions and he said this week that he also wants to hear the students’ concerns.

“I’m glad they’re interested and I’m looking forward to answering their questions,” Ramsey said.

Ramsey noted it was during his high school years when he started to become interested in government, so he’s looking forward to interacting with the students.

“It’s a good opportunity for them to interact with policymakers,” he said.

The bill would make it illegal for teens under 18 to talk, text, email or use instant messaging on their cellphone while driving. If approved by the Georgia legislature, violators would face up to a $175 fine on the first offense and a $500 fine on the second and subsequent offenses.

The law includes a provision to double the fine for anyone under 18 found to be at fault in an auto crash while using a cellphone. Those offenders would also receive a 90-day license suspension for the first offense and a six-month license suspension for the second offense.

Ramsey said that in 1997 the Georgia Legislature passed a graduated licensing program that was designed to minimize distractions to Georgia’s youngest drivers. Included in the measure was a temporary ban on rookie drivers’ ability to drive friends around, as they are allowed only to drive with family members for the first six months of being licensed to drive.

But that was back before cellphone use became so commonplace among teenagers, he noted.

“If they know that 90 percent of all teens were talking while driving and 40 percent of them were texting while driving, they would have included that too,” Ramsey said.

That 1997 bill was successful in reducing the number of auto fatalities among 16-year-olds by 40 percent, Ramsey said.

Ramsey said he has heard from a number of 16 and 17-year-old drivers who the bill would affect the most, and many of them are supporting the proposed ban on talking and texting.

“They see how their peers are distracted while they drive,” Ramsey said.

Also, Ramsey hasn’t received any comments in opposition from parents of young drivers or soon-to-be young drivers.

“They support the legislation,” Ramsey said.

The bill proposed by Ramsey includes several exceptions under which someone under 18 could use a cell phone while driving, including:

- To report illegal activity;

- To summon medical or emergency help;

- To prevent injury to a person or property; or

- To navigate using a global positioning system.

Ramsey has said previously that he got the idea for the bill after a near-collision he had on Peachtree Parkway just south of Booth Middle School about two months ago. A young driver on a cellphone forced him to drive into the median to avoid a crash.