Vermont Business Magazine Governor Peter Shumlin signed the cell phone bill Thursday that would prohibit the use of handheld cell phone use while driving. The bill to make it illegal to use a handheld mobile devices while driving was signedat theVTrans Maintenance Garage in Colchester. The governor initially was not enthusiastic about the bill because he believed it did not go far enough to prevent distracted driving, but he became a late "convert" to the it. Drivers will not be able to talk, text, use social media or even look at a device while holding it.The law will take effect October 1 and requires a public information campaign to inform motorists of the change.
The bill itself, while generating wide popular support in the Legislature and with the public, appeared dead toward the end of the session. But when it was revived, it quickly passed both houses of the Legislature and Shumlin agreed that he would sign the amended bill. A VBM QuickPoll, similar to other polls, found overwhelming support for the handheld ban: 68.91 percent supported a ban and 25.65 percent opposed it. Senator Bill Doyle's Town Meeting poll found that 74 percent supported the ban and 19 percent opposed (in both polls some people were "undecided.")
"It's no secret that I was a late convert to the bill," the governor said at the signing."So, I want to thank the supporters of this bill for appealing to me directly, for telling me their stories and for telling me to change my mind."
Vermont banned texting while driving in 2010, as nearly all states now have. Police here have complained that it is difficult to enforce the texting ban without the laborious effort of confiscating the phone and tracking its use. Police say that drivers who are stopped merely say they were making a phone call. However, the governor has previously said there is a lot more to distracted driving than just talking on a cell phone. Evidence offered by opponents of the law suggest that only talking on a cell phone does not create the dangerous situation lawmakers were trying to discourage, nor does the law address looking down at a device and using it if it is not being held. In the VBM poll, 17.1 percent of voters wanted all use of mobile devices banned, handheld or not.
The Department of Public Safety will launch an informational campaign by August 1, which could include public service announcements and roadside displays. It is already against the law to use a handheld phone in a work zone.
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