It happens every day in this State. Someone, somewhere, gets in a car to drive somewhere.
Before they do so, they connect some form of device from their phone to their ear. This device allows them to use their phone hands-free, thus enabling them to use both hands while driving. A wide variety of people do this. Soccer moms, truckers, business professionals, college students, lawyers, doctors, secretaries, maintenance men… even members of the General Assembly.
And yet, under current Georgia law, use of these hands-free devices is illegal – unless you happen to be driving a motorcycle!
Senate Bill 306, sponsored by Senator Bill Heath (R-Bremen), would remove that prohibition. It would recognizes people’s freedom to choose to make themselves safer or not – not by a government mandate, but by a personal choice.
It had a hearing today in the Senate Public Safety committee, and I hope the Senators on the committee received it well. This is a bill that needs to pass, and it needs to pass soon. Georgians should be allowed to do what they think is best when it comes to their safety, and this is one aspect of that.
[UPDATE]: I’m now told that SB 306 made it out of the Public Safety committee today with a unanimous vote. Now it moves to Rules, and from there to the floor of the Senate.
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[UPDATED] Cell Phones and Cars: Thousands Violated Law Today, Made Themselves Safer
It happens every day in this State. Someone, somewhere, gets in a car to drive somewhere.
Before they do so, they connect some form of device from their phone to their ear. This device allows them to use their phone hands-free, thus enabling them to use both hands while driving. A wide variety of people do this. Soccer moms, truckers, business professionals, college students, lawyers, doctors, secretaries, maintenance men… even members of the General Assembly.
And yet, under current Georgia law, use of these hands-free devices is illegal – unless you happen to be driving a motorcycle!
Senate Bill 306, sponsored by Senator Bill Heath (R-Bremen), would remove that prohibition. It would recognizes people’s freedom to choose to make themselves safer or not – not by a government mandate, but by a personal choice.
It had a hearing today in the Senate Public Safety committee, and I hope the Senators on the committee received it well. This is a bill that needs to pass, and it needs to pass soon. Georgians should be allowed to do what they think is best when it comes to their safety, and this is one aspect of that.
[UPDATE]: I’m now told that SB 306 made it out of the Public Safety committee today with a unanimous vote. Now it moves to Rules, and from there to the floor of the Senate.