Do you use phone and drive? Bill would make it a costly mistake
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SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The maximum fine for motorists caught talking on their cellphones or texting while driving would increase from $250 to $1,000 under a bill that is being considered by the Oregon Legislature, a move intended to make distracted driving a more serious crime.
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday approved the bill proposed by Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, with two members dissenting.
Albany police Officer Robert Hayes, speaking for the Oregon Association of Chiefs of Police, said there are simply not enough officers to always enforce the law. He told the committee that he often passes drivers on their cellphones as he is responding to a more pressing call.
"If there is no fear of getting a citation, there is no fear of committing the violation," Hayes said.
The current law that went into effect in January 2010 prohibits motorists from texting or talking on their cellphones while driving. Drivers are permitted to use hand-free accessories to talk on the phone, but texting is illegal in any circumstance.
Courtney said he hopes to change the way Oregonians think about texting and talking on the phone while driving.
"If it was my way, we would treat distracted driving the same way we treat drinking and driving in this state," Courtney told the Associated Press. "And I think one day we will."
Sen. Betsy Close, R-Albany, who voted against the bill, said she's worried the fines are too steep — considering many of the violators are young people.
"My concern is that the maximum fine is high, and that we have a law on the books already," she said.
The number of motorists cited for violating the ban increased since the law went into effect in 2010. Between 2010 and 2012, state troopers issued a total of 4,586 citations and 6,752 warnings, according to police statistics. In 2012, state police issued 2,151 citations, more than twice as many as in 2010 when police issued 1,012 citations.
In 2011, the Legislature closed a loophole that allowed drivers to talk on hand-held cellphones for work-related purposes. Now, the exemption is limited to a handful of professionals.
Sen. Jeff Kruse, a Roseburg Republican who opposed the measure, said he would prefer if the bill applied to all forms of distracted driving, including eating or putting on makeup.
"If we're going to pass a bill like this, I'd rather it be more all-encompassing than just focusing on the cellphone," he said.
In the first six months of 2012 there were 155 reported crashes, one of which was fatal, caused by distracted drivers on their cellphones, according to the most recent statistics available from the Oregon Department of Transportation. In 2011, there were 202 reported crashes, four of them fatal, for the entire year.
The bill would allot approximately $123,000 to the Oregon Department of Transportation to put up signs notifying drivers that texting and talking on the phone is illegal.
Rep. Carolyn Tomei, D-Milwaukie, introduced a similar bill in the House that would set the maximum fine even higher, at $2,000.
KATU's Shellie Bailey-Shah will have more on this story tonight at 4 and 5 p.m.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
a law is only as good as the enforcement.  while in slow moving traffic it was easy to find texters,  they were the drivers who were lagging behind with their fingers moving at  a feverous pace while their car was stopped.
the highway patrol needs to police the shoulder of hwy and issue tickets.
If a law is enacted then enforce it at it's full extent. It's as simple as that.
What Sen. Kruse doesn't understand is that talking on a cell phone can be proven to be true while eating or putting on makeup cannot. If a person is talking on a cell phone there is record of it. If their eating they can swallow quickly or just look pretty!
It won't change much. Â People never think they'll get caught, otherwise they'd obey all the laws, including traffic. Â It's just another revenue gathering device.
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It's not that I think I won't get caught...I might. I just think it's a stupid law. The talking part, not the texting part. Driving and texting is dumb.
@UselessOpinion Driving and texting = dumb?  Then you're not doing it right.  Oh...you said 'texting', not 'sexting'.  Never mind.
Too bad it has to be this way. Remember driving is a priviledge, NOT a right. It can be easily taken away from rule breakers who put other people's lives at risk. Never do anything you wouldn't want to see your own kids do. Go for the big fines, it will stop some people, but as your live interview proved, that lady said she will do it again anyway! Until a fatl crash wakes her up? STOP TEXTING & DRIVING PEOPLE< IT CAN BE DEADLY
While I don't particularly care for the idea of increased control and legislation, simply put, some people are just far to mentally inadequate to do both. I can see texting as it requires eyes to be off the road, but it seems a bit harsh for someone actually talking on cell phones. I used to text when I drove with my old Razor, it was easy with the T9. I don't bother with the iPhone, and Siri doesn't work well enough. If it's that important to require a response on the road, I just call.
*too. Ironic I miss that when talking about someone being mentally inadequate...
@StupidSailor .......pull over to the side of the road to make that call and don't endanger the rest of us, just because you can't be out of touch
Actually I tell the phone who to call and put it on speaker or Bluetooth. I have yet to be in an accident, with the exception of the teenage girl in the Corolla that ran a light because she was texting. Hence my statement above.
I've ended up doing a lot of traveling lately, and since each state is different I do it to avoid any potential hassle. The extra hand on the wheel is relatively meaningless, if someone's brain can't process talking and paying attention to the road at the same time it's a moot point. Texting is an entirely different story.
What's the difference between talking with something in your ear and talking with something to your ear?
Start a movement.........see someone on a device.......lay on the horns !!
That's an excellent idea, because people's first instinct when they hear a horn or siren isn't to look around and see where it's coming from. Not only that, but they'll continue to look and try to figure out why the random person is blaring their horn at them in the midst of traffic. You should wave a weapon at them as well and point to them. That's much better.
Good thinking. Let's distract everyone around us by taking their attention off the road with a blaring car horn...flawless plan.
I was in traffic the other day. Next to me was this lady that kept texting rather than concentrating on the road. It made me so made, at the next stop light I rolled my window down and threw my beer at her.
Nice. Excellent use of the limited resources at your disposal. The exact reason I keep my empty Mad Dog's in the passenger seat.
Better add to that bill the name change from "police officer" to "government revenue generation agent" and make it official. But hey, you knew they were going to find the money to balance the budget SOMEWHERE!
there are plenty of devices out there to where you can text and talk on the phone without touching it. i can how with my phone. but it is still a distraction. if people are "talk to text" on their phone, they are going to look at it to see if the phone understood them or not. no matter what the law does, there will always be a distraction in the car!!!
if you are going to make it illegal to talk, text, put on make up or eat while driving because they are distractions, then you need to make it illegal to look at/use ANYTHING in your car. radio, Ipod, drink(if we cant eat while driving then how long tell car companys stop making cup holders? just 1 less thing they have to make to save a buck but still charge the same) turning on your heat or AC. i mean ANYTHING in the car is going to be a distraction. when is the line drawn?? 
sounds more like a scam tax to me.Â
proof that these liberals are getting more corrupt everyday.
There is a phrase going around that says: Â "The best thing you can do for your children, is to say NO to them, once in a while..."
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We've not only been told NO on cell phones while driving....but its the law, if the "Adult children" refuse to obey the law with a simple NO , Â then putting a good fine on them might hurt enough to get them to listen!!! I'm all for it....The rest of us obey the law....why can't you!!! You should be driving and nothing else!! PULL OVER.....
KATU,
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The first paragraph of this AP piece says "...make distracted driving a more serious crime." Â The AP writer fails to understand what a crime is and the piece should be corrected.
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Violating the cell phone driver statute is a violation, not a crime. Â To be a crime jail time must be a possible penalty. Â It isn't because it's a violation, meaning a ticket. Â ORS 811.507(4), like all the traffic code penalties, couldn't be more clear.
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Yours in contempt for the media,
Anahit
The two groups I see most that swerve on the road, drive way to slow, or just seem like they are drunk - people on phone and the elderly. Â
The phones nowadays - what kind of movies they look at
i see people talking and driving all the time, bugs the crap outta me.
But I doubt a higher fine will discourage people from breaking the law.
They will only stop after they cause a car accident, or get VERY close to one.
Hopefully it will just be a fender bender without serious harm.
Worked for me. Â $29 bluetooth adapter for the win. Â :)
Ironic.
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The only people I usually see on their cell phones are the police.
@Improprietous ....then you"re not paying attention.
They don't enforce it at a $250 fine, what makes them think that $1000 will be any different? Â I wish Salem would quite wasting my tax dollars
they did not say they were going to enforce it more if the fine was $1,000. they said that they do not have time to pull over people using their phones so they hope that the thought of a $1,000 fine will make them put the phone down.
If you do not have the skill to drive and talk on the phone safely, you have no business driving in the first place. It is very easy to do. But if you can't do it, you probably should not have passangers talking to you either, or a radio playing, ...actually, you should take the bus or a cab.
Lets start a movement....... See someone on the phone, lay on the horn!
 @Rob C 503 Done.
Cell Phones are hazards, yes. Hand held Cell Phone used in a car to text is too dangerous to do, yes. Appropriate fines are warranted, yes. When these fines are beyond the capacity to pay and the court that should be able to provide relief from exorbitant fines can not when the legislature votes on such things as SB9.... the court's hands are tied. Just say, mom, the kids are fighting in the back seat, and the phone rings... before you have time to hit speaker phone or just say you do hit speaker on your cell... but it is in your hand... and a cop sees it.... $1000.... and you just scraped up enough for rent. Whatcha going to do?... so many of us look at monetary punishment as a means to stop bad behavior... now it is a means to create a criminal....
I'm tired of people on cell phones.I was behind 6 cars going 10 miles an hour this morning,only to find the women driving with her phone to her ear,totally didn't care she was holding up traffic in a 35 .The other one is in Washington it's against the law to have fog lights on when there isn't any fog..When there behind you ,you can't see with their lights hitting you in the rear veiw,an on coming the same,they must be blind.People are so dam inconsiderate.
Once upon a time, there were no cell phones. People drove from place to place without needing constant communication. And, they lived happily ever after.
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It does seem like a fairy tale.
Put it down and drive !! You're not that important.
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 @trololol trolling are you?
Cellphones while driving are against the law for a reason. I really doubt if you can watch where you are driving while using a cell phone.
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And bus riders are the other big whiners.....I say no more subsidies for Tri-met. Â Make the riders pay the true cost.
This is just absurd. Study after study have shown that handsfree v. handheld phone talking are equally dangerous and distracting. So is playing with your radio or putting on makeup. The issue shouldn't be narrowly focussed just on phones. What is up with our short-sighted legislators?? The issue should be on distracted, inattentive driving, which is already illegal. Peter Courtney, we're not in the 90's anymore. Join the 21st century - if you want to help make roads safer, just stiffen the penalties for distracted driving generally and put some money into education.
You really want to save lives and stop the bulk of fatal crashes? Raise the driving age to 19 and impose strict testing on people over the age of 60. That will never happen
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 @Scotty9 So they can go into the military - and fight for our country....but can't drive a car???? Â
 @SomonecaresaboutsomethingÂ
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Just saying that f your reason for enacting a law is to save lives and prevent injuries then you need to address these two age groups. take cell phones away from teenagers and you'll really see an improvement in safety and grades.
 @Scotty9 Only 6% of fatal accidents involve a driver under age 19, about 20% a driver over 60.
 @HuskyKMA Why does it have to be limited to fatal crashes? Colliding with another vehicle or property is just as bad. Those under 19, and especially old people, take up the bulk of accidents like that. How many old people hit the wrong pedal and smash into a building???
 @HuskyKMA http://www.autos.com/driving-and-safety/car-crash-statistics-based-on-age-and-location
I am sick of a law about everything, we can be breaking a law and not even know it. Common sense is what is needed. No one should ever text and drive, but truckers have been talking on CB's for years and still are. I don't see that having the cell to your ear is any worse than having a cigarette, pop or hamburger while driving. And what about the people who drive down the road with their dog in their lap with it's head hanging out the window. That obstructs your view and the dog could easily become entangled in the steering wheel...There needs to be a mandatory drivers class in common sense.
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Perhaps a hefty fine, along with a 6 month license suspension, would 'drive' the point home. People talking on a cell phone while driving are oblivious to what is going on around them because they are concentrating on the phone call.