Area residents could soon have their phone privileges revoked –
while driving.

A piece of legislation floating around Harrisburg would ban the
use of handheld phones by drivers – including cell phones – except
for safety reasons and by emergency personnel.

The measure passed the Senate by a 33-16 vote last week, but
never made it out of the House, where the language was stripped
from the bill and never formally voted on. Lawmakers believe the
legislation will be brought up again when the new Legislature
returns to session in January.

“I have voted against the ban numerous times,” incoming
President Pro Tempore Sen. Joe Scarnati, R-Brockway, said
Wednesday. “State police and insurance companies have shown that
more people are killed by eating food in the car or changing the
radio station.

“If we really want to improve safety on the roads, I don’t think
Sheetz will be very happy where we’re headed.”

If eventually enacted, the legislation – which is being backed
by Gov. Ed Rendell – would allow the use of equipment enabling the
driver to talk without using their hands to hold the phone.

Similar bans have already been implemented in neighboring New
York state, New Jersey and Connecticut. California will join those
states in 2008. Pennsylvania, however, does allow for
municipalities to enact their own bans on cell phone use.

State Rep. Martin Causer, R-Turtlepoint, said House members
never had a chance to view the legislation because it came over to
the chamber late at night.

According to Causer, the bill was sent over to the Senate, where
the cell phone language was inserted. Since the original
legislation was altered, it was returned to the House for
concurrence. Once there, the House Rules Committee stripped the
cell phone language from the bill before passing the other elements
of it.

“It was never actually put to a vote before all of us in the
House,” Causer said, adding “it was kind of a surprise. The bill
came to us close to 11 p.m. We had no idea it was even coming over.
To tack an amendment onto a bill that does so much at the last
minute, I think it deserves further consideration and review.”

Causer said he has “some concerns” about the potential ban,
noting he supported the Rules Committee’s removal of the
language.

“I’m all for safety, but I also understand there are two sides
to every issue,” Causer said. “We want to make sure we are safe on
the highway, but I don’t like government running every aspect of
our life either. We have to be careful how we look at these
issues.

“This is an issue that deserves more public debate and obviously
effects a lot of people.”

Since its introduction, the dynamics of the Legislature have
changed, with the Democrats seizing control of the House for the
first time in 12 years.

How that affects any such legislation, however, remains to be
seen.

“I imagine the House will continue to move on this,” Scarnati
said. “The dynamics have changed. There are plenty of new members
and we’ll see what happens when the bills start being
introduced.”

In regards to the Democratic takeover, Scarnati said “our job
just got tougher there’s no doubt about that.”

“We have a charge of governing and that requires working across
the aisle,” Scarnati said. “That doesn’t mean we compromise on our
core values, but we won’t have equal partners in the House. Senate
Republicans are the last bastion of Republicanism in the state and
will continue to provide the leadership for the party.”

According to a copy of the proposed legislation, a driver could
be fined $250 for the use of a cell phone, representing a summary
offense. But, the fine would only be enacted on a drivers’ second
offense.

Meanwhile, a provision in the proposed measure would allow a
driver to defend his phone use if it was for safety reasons, such
as reporting an accident or contacting 911 in the case of an
emergency.

Information released by the state Department of Transportation
indicated that 1,170 accidents occurred statewide in 2004 due to
drivers talking on handheld cell phones. Other organizations say
there is no correlation between the use of cell phones and
accidents, although other studies indicate that drivers are just as
distracted from the road while using the handless devices.