Bad news for young addicts of today’s mobile electronic gadgets: the state legislature in Maine is considering a bill that would bane the use of electronic devices, including cell phones, for drives under the age of 18. According to Bangor Daily News reporter Tom Groening, the proposed bill won unanimous approval on Thursday by the legislature’s Transportation Committee.

 

In his report Friday, Groening said that the bill, LD 161, would go beyond current laws which prohibit minors’ use of cell phones while driving during their first 180 days holding an intermediate license. This new bill would also ban use of other handheld gadgets, like video games and portable MP3 players, while driving.

 

Groening’s report quoted a deputy with the state’s Office of Policy and Legal Analysis, who advised the Transportation Committee, as saying that the bill was broadened beyond its original address all electronics-related causes of young driver distraction.

 

On a related note, Groening said, the same committee also considered another bill, LD 114, that would have banned use of hand-held cell phones for ALL drivers; that bill was defeated. Meanwhile, a third bill (LD 576) that tasks the Department of Public Safety with studying the role of hand-hand cell phones in crashes, was recently passed in an amended form.

 

What’s my take on all this? I think it’s a positive sign that LD 161 focuses at least partially on “distractions.” That’s what I believe is the real issue here. If the bill passes, youngsters may cry foul, perhaps rightfully so: “If we can’t use cell-phones while driving, neither should anyone else, regardless of age.” It may be true that younger, less experienced drivers are more prone to having accidents when they’re distracted, the truth is that ALL humans have finite abilities to concentrate on multiple stimuli simultaneously.

 

I do think that using hands-free devices like Bluetooth headsets and voice-activated dialing helps cut down on the distraction factor. But, it can’t cut out the distraction completely. Be honest: if you’re talking on the phone, part of your attention is diverted from the task of driving, right? Anytime attention is diverted, whether because of talking on the phone or singing along to a song on the radio, the chance of making a driving error goes up.

 

What do you think?