Jim Legans Jr./Creative Commons
Lawmakers are looking to increase fines for people caught using smartphones or other mobile devices while driving.
The House Transportation Committee started hearing testimony on a bill Tuesday that would impose a $500 fine on first-time offenders, up from $100 to $200 in the current law.
Last year, 3,473 drivers were ticketed for using portable electronic devices while driving. Another 235 were fined for texting while driving.
Rep. Brian Smith, R-Derby, sponsored the bill along with Rep. Martin LaLonde, D-South Burlington. Smith said it’s clear that the current fines are not an effective deterrence.
“It may work,” he said of increasing penalties. “It may not, but it might work better than the current deterrence.”
Almost 1,950 crashes were blamed on distracted driving last year, down from about 2,350 in 2017 and almost 3,000 in 2016. Those crashes have caused 14 deaths and more than 1,100 injuries, according to police data.
Lt. John Flannigan, head of safety programs for the Vermont State Police, said those numbers are likely lower than actual crashes due to people filing false reports to avoid admitting that they were using a mobile device.
A hands-free driving law came into effect on Oct. 1, 2014, banning the use of handheld devices on roadways — with a narrow exceptions for devices mounted for GPS purposes or when it’s necessary to communicate with emergency services or law enforcement.
The current law fines first-time offenders no less than $100 and no more than $200, then $500 for second-time offenses. Drivers get four points assessed against them for first offenses and five for the second — accruing 10 points within two years leads to a license suspension.
The new law would impose a $500 fine on all offenses and five points per infraction, meaning people caught using a mobile device twice in two years would have their license suspended.
Lt. John Flannigan in the House Judiciary Committee in 2015. File photo by Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDigger
The trends in drivers being ticketed for using mobile devices while driving are mixed — total infractions have dropped steadily for the past two years, for example, but last year’s number 3,473, is almost the same as in 2015, when 3,482 tickets were issued. The 235 drivers ticketed for texting while driving last year is down slightly from 257 in 2016 but up from 186 in 2015.
Flannigan said he felt that the proposed penalties were too harsh — both because they raised the issue of whether people can afford to pay them and because such stiff penalties might deter police from enforcing the law. He noted that it would also be a higher fine than in any surrounding state for first-time offenders.
Col. Jake Elovirta, director of enforcement and safety at the Department of Motor Vehicles, noted that commercial drivers risk having their commercial license suspended if they violate the current law twice, and that there are relatively few infractions (there was one case of texting while driving a commercial vehicle, for example).
Elovirta noted that it was hard for police to see in the cabs of long-haul trucks or other large commercial vehicles, but that professional drivers were more careful about their conduct on the roads because their livelihoods depended on it.
That led Rep. Curt McCormack, D-Burlington, the transportation committee chair, to ask whether it follows that stricter penalties on citizen drivers would also lead to broader adherence to the law.
Neither Flanagan or Elovirta offered their opinion on where exactly the penalty should be set, but agree that it should not be so high that it becomes unenforceable.
“I don’t know if there’s any magic number,” Flanagan said after the hearing. “That’s certainly a policy decision the Legislature is going to have to figure out.”
Read the story on VTDigger here: Lawmakers consider steep increase to fines for using phones while driving.