Legislature revisits curbing chatty drivers CELL PHONES: Restricting use gains favor as research points to dangers.

JUNEAU -- A hot button issue from the last legislative session is back: whether to ban drivers from talking on their cell phones.

Traffic safety advocates want a ban. So do police organizations. Republicans and Democrats alike seem to like the idea of restricting cell phone use by drivers even though they know it's sure to rile up some constituents. It's an idea that's gaining acceptance across the country.

More than 60 percent of Alaska drivers say they at least occasionally talk on their cell phones on the road, according to an August 2010 survey by the Alaska Injury Prevention Center. Nearly one in five said they do so every second or third time they drive.

Research suggests that cell phones are a serious distraction for drivers. A study of drivers in Australia that relied on call records found that cell phone users were four times more likely to get in a crash as other drivers. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that close to 1,000 traffic deaths in 2009 were related to cell phone distractions and suggests the real size of the problem could be masked by inadequate records.

Several bills affecting cell phone use by drivers are before the House Transportation Committee, which held a hearing Tuesday that focused mainly on one measure, House Bill 22, which would restrict drivers to hands-free devices like a Bluetooth headset.

Only two Alaskans, other than agency representatives, testified, and both supported the bill.

Mitch Falk, owner of Bullwinkle's Pizza Parlor in Juneau, phoned in to the hearing.

"It's kind of ironic because I'm driving down Egan Drive here," Falk said from his cell phone, drawing laughs. But he said he sees too many truckers driving, shifting, talking -- and not paying attention.

"I've done that myself and I know how you steer," Falk said. "You steer with your knees and that can't be a good thing."

Teens especially could use one less distraction, he said.

Alfred McKinley Sr., a Juneau resident who is on the executive committee of the Alaska Native Brotherhood, told the committee his brother-in-law was killed and his sister was hurt in a crash years ago caused by a driver on a cell phone.

He urged the committee to consider applying any ban to cyclists and pedestrians as well. He said he's had to brake suddenly to avoid hitting a someone walking and talking on the phone who stepped suddenly into the street. He pulled out his cell phone to mimic a distracted walker.

"It's a good thing that was developed, but it's also an enemy for the people," McKinley said.

Rep. Max Gruenberg, an Anchorage Democrat, was intrigued with the idea of including bicyclists in any ban. "As far as pedestrians, I am not going to go there. People can walk, and I'm not going to deal with that," Gruenberg said. But considering cyclists' need for balance, they may need to stay off the phone, he said. If they are chatting while riding, he said, "I think that's extremely risky."

He had proposed his own cell bill but said it was similar to House Bill 22, by Republican Cathy Muñoz of Juneau. So he's joined that one as a co-sponsor.

House Bill 22 would ban cell phone use by drivers except in emergencies or when using a hands-free device, which can be answered with a quick tap to the earpiece. The offense would be a violation, like a traffic ticket.

Under the bill, police and troopers could pull over drivers for using cell phones even if the driver wasn't doing anything else wrong.

CLOSE CALLS

That's as it should be -- otherwise, why change the law, said state Rep. Peggy Wilson, R-Wrangell and chairwoman of the Transportation Committee.

She said she has caught herself swerving a bit after answering her cell phone in the car.

It's clear the legislation is needed, she said.

Some senators are supportive too.

Asked about the effort to restrict drivers on cell phones Tuesday during a session with reporters, Sen. Johnny Ellis, D-Anchorage, gave two thumbs up. He mentioned he had a close call with a phone-distracted driver.

"It was a person in a Suburban chatting on a cell phone," said Ellis, recalling the near miss walking in downtown Anchorage. "I was crossing the street, assuming they would stop at the four-way stop. This distracted driver kept barreling through the four-way stop, and I jumped back on the sidewalk to avoid being hit."

The experience, he said, crystallized the need for legislation. He said he no longer talks on his own cell phone while driving.

Neither does state Rep. Mike Doogan. The Democrat from Anchorage has proposed the most restrictive cell phone law in the nation. His House Bill 35 would outright ban drivers from using cell phones except in an emergency.

Research shows there's not much difference in crash numbers between using hand-held phones and hands-free accessories, Doogan said. It's not like talking to a passenger in the car because it uses a different thought process, he said. Plus, a passenger also may be looking out for dangers on the road.

But he hasn't asked for a hearing on his bill, which mirrors what he proposed last year. He said he was told it wouldn't get through.

He said he'll support whatever cell phone measure can pass.

"Any version of this bill that makes it even marginally less likely for people to being to be driving down the street talking on the cell phone is a good thing," Doogan said.

A fourth bill would limit a ban to drivers under 18. But committee members said adults needed to be included too.

Some of the key research comes from a yearlong study of some 100 cars and their drivers sponsored by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said Cindy Cashen, administrator of the Alaska Highway Safety Office.

The study found that manually punching in a phone number was about as distracting for a driver as grooming or eating in the car but less distracting than reading or changing a CD, she told the committee.

Nearly a quarter of the crashes in the study were attributed to drivers doing tasks unrelated to driving, including talking on their cell phones, she said later.

Without much testimony Tuesday, Wilson said she'd hold House Bill 22 for another week.

"I think that we'll have a lot of people out there that are not going to be happy about this," Wilson said. "I don't want them to think we railroaded this through without giving them a chance to testify."

The House GOP-led majority hasn't taken a position on the bill. State Rep. Steve Thompson, a Republican from Fairbanks, told reporters Monday that it continues to be controversial.

"There's a lot of people who don't want to see it happen. They're saying well, you're going to outlaw breathing and hamburgers."

But it will probably pass, he said. Drivers need to pay attention to what is going on around them, not their phone.