This week, a proposal to ban the use of handheld mobile devices while driving passed the Idaho Senate Transportation Committee overwhelmingly.
The proposed legislation that passed the Senate committee 8 to 1 would ban any kind of operation of a handheld device while driving. That means no talking on the phone and no texting.
“Being able to drive with Bluetooth or a speaker phone – those things are still acceptable,” says Matthew Conde, a spokesperson with AAA Idaho. “We’re just trying to keep people from having their hands occupied while they’re driving.”
AAA Idaho is among several supporters of the bill, including insurance companies and wireless service provider Verizon.
Conde says the push for restrictions on cell phones while driving comes amid an uptick in fatal cases of distracted driving in Idaho and across the nation.
“The National Highway Traffic Administration says almost 3,500 people were killed, and 391,000 injured in 2015 due to a crash that involved distracted drivers,” according to Conde.
Figures from the Idaho Transportation Department show 65 people died in 2016 due to collisions where using an electronic device was a factor.
The lone dissenting vote to the bill came from Republican Senator Mark Harris of Soda Springs who said the ban could snowball into more regulation.
Neighboring Oregon and Washington are among 15 states nationwide that ban the use of handheld devices while driving.
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