May 1, 2009 3 min read

Morgan Pena might well be a young lady today had she not been killed in Hilltown Township in 1999 – killed when she was just 2 years old in a traffic accident involving a driver who was too busy dialing his cell phone to heed a stop sign. That senseless tragedy prompted Hilltown officials to enact a ban on cell phone use while driving, a ban that subsequently was ruled invalid by the courts. Since that accident, there have been any number of futile efforts in Pennsylvania to restrict the use of hand-held phones by drivers. Former Bucks County state Sen. Joe Conti introduced such legislation not once but twice in 2002; it met resounding defeat both times. More recently, Montgomery County state Rep. Josh Shapiro has championed the cause for common-sense cell phone use, but earlier this month, the House again defeated a measure that would have prohibited the use of hand-held cell phones (and sending text messages) from behind the wheel. In addition, Shapiro’s bill would have authorized primary enforcement, meaning police could stop and cite anyone seen violating the law without having to charge them with a different violation first.

You get the idea that the Legislature wants to do something to curb the use of cell phones by drivers. Shortly after defeating Shapiro’s bill, the House voted overwhelmingly to impose an additional $50 fine on motorists caught driving carelessly if they are seen using a hand-held phone. The lawmakers said their intent is to focus attention on all practices that can distract drivers: not only talking, dialing and texting, but also eating, reading and grooming.

And this week, the state Senate Transportation Committee unanimously approved a bill that would make it illegal to write, send or read text messages while driving. While it is something, the bill is deficient in two primary areas. First, it calls only for secondary enforcement: You can’t be ticketed unless you’ve been pulled over for another more serious violation. Second, the bill would void any local ordinances that deal with the use of wireless devices while driving, including, we presume, a ban on hand-held cell phone use recently passed by Philadelphia City Council.

The arguments against any regulation of cell phone use while driving run the gamut from constitutional to the fact that cell phones represent only one of myriad distractions for drivers, and why penalize talking and texting when it’s OK to munch on a cheeseburger, apply mascara or whack the kids in the back seat?

We suppose there might be a grain of legitimate debate about personal rights, although cell phones are nowhere mentioned in the Constitution, and no one has a right to endanger another by inattentive driving. As for all those other distractions, indeed they do exist and are not regulated except by the state’s “careless driving” statutes. But why virtually ignore (by passing weak secondary laws) the very real, very common hazard presented by the irresponsible use of cell phones. We would put in that category much or most of the talking and texting drivers do. It is unnecessary. If talking on the phone is that important, drivers should pull off the road and park. Then they can talk or text without putting other drivers in danger.

Any law that draws attention to cell phone use by drivers and helps limit at least one highway distraction is welcome. We just wish lawmakers would really tackle the problem instead of dancing around it.