LITTLE ROCK -- A dashboard video showing a state trooper narrowly avoiding a head-on collision with a driver who was using a cellphone wasn't enough to sway an Arkansas House committee that tougher laws are needed.
The Public Transportation Committee voted 11-7 on Tuesday against a bill that would have prohibited people from using cellphones without hands-free devices to dial a phone number, use social media or utilize a map application while driving. It would also allow officers to pull over people suspected of using their phones while driving.
Arkansas already bans texting while driving and some cellphone use. The bill would not have applied to law enforcement or people making emergency calls. Other drivers would have had to use a hands free device or pull their car over to legally use their phone.
Democratic Rep. David Fielding of Magnolia called the current law unenforceable and said roadways would be safer if drivers weren't staring at electronic screens. Both the Arkansas State Police and the Arkansas Association of Chiefs of Police endorsed the change.
"The bottom line is it's about safety," Fielding said.
State police Director William Bryant presented the video to lawmakers that showed the trooper narrowly avoiding a distracted driver on a windy wooded highway. He said 17 people died in 2012 after crashes involving all forms of distracted drivers.
"This could be me or you that could be meeting that car head-on while that lady is on her cellphone," Bryant told the committee.
Opponents said the law could force drivers into less safe habits through trying to use their phone and avoid police detection. Others worried about government overreach and said the current law was sufficient.
"There are other unintended consequences of this," said Rep. Jana Della Rosa, R-Rogers, following the vote. "I think the problem is there's no good solution to it in general."
Fielding said after the vote that he wants to run the bill again.
State Desk on 02/25/2015