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Senate rejects cell phone bill that would target juvenile drivers
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Virginia (Map, News) - After heated debate, the Senate rejected a bill that would have made cell phone use while driving by someone under 18 years old a primary traffic offense.
Mobile phone use by teen drivers is a secondary offense that can only be charged if they are stopped by police for another violation.
But opponents in both parties dubbed the offense "Driving While Young," allowing police to stop anyone who simply looked young and appeared to be using a cell phone - even if they were just talking to themselves.
Sen. Thomas Mac Middleton introduced the measure to try to thwart the kind of fatal auto crashes involving teenage drivers that have occurred in his home district of Charles County and in other jurisdictions. "This [bill] is what the young people themselves think will make a difference" in reducing the distractions of driving, Middleton said.
But Sen. Bobby Zirkin, a Baltimore County Democrat, called the bill "profiling" of young drivers. The Senate already had taken the "dramatic step" of prohibiting drivers under 18 from driving with others teens in the car.
Sen. Verna Jones, a Baltimore City Democrat, said there are now "disproportionate numbers of minorities being stopped" by police. "This [legislation] expands the net where more people in this state will be profiled," Jones said.
Sen. Rona Kramer, a Montgomery County Democrat, noted that her 19-year-old daughter looks very young and is likely to be pulled over by police. "It's a scary thing" to be stopped by police, Kramer said. "She is going to be harassed by this."
Twenty-two senators voted in favor of the bill, two votes shy of the constitutional majority of 24 needed to pass it, and 21 were opposed.
llazarick@baltimoreexaminer.com
