CHARLESTON — Sending or reading a text message or merely talking on a cell phone while driving in West Virginia could be outlawed in a fresh bill offered Tuesday.

Provisions of the proposal mirror that of one crafted by Delegate Nancy Guthrie, D-Kanawha, during the pre-session interims meetings.

Under the bill, crafted by Sen. John Unger, D-Berkeley, and due for an airing next Tuesday before his Senate Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, texting would be a primary offense, meaning a police officer needn’t witness any other violation to pull a motorist over.

Talking on a cell phone, except for the hands-free variety, would be a secondary crime. There are exceptions, such as reporting a crime, a fire, traffic accident, serious road hazard or haz-mat or medical emergency.

“There are folks who are advocating the ban of cell phones altogether in use on the roads,” Unger said.

“We’ll see what comes out of committee.”

Unger said he has seen research showing drivers holding cell phones are distracted and that the use of wireless devices inhibits their skills.

“We really have to do something about this,” he said.

“This is becoming a major problem, not just in our state but throughout the country. The federal government is starting to look at this. Even Oprah on television has been pounding on this.”

Unger said citizens have a right to drive, but certain responsibilities go with that, and that includes operating a vehicle in a safe manner.

“Of course, it’s one of those things, ‘How do you legislate common sense?’

“Texting, as well as cell phone use, has been proven by research to distract you from those types of skills to maintain control of a vehicle. I think this (bill) has a pretty good shot at passing.”

Two years ago, when the texting issue surfaced, Gov. Joe Manchin acknowledged he was among the worst violators and pledged his support to outlawing the practice.

One problem Unger sees is that a motorist using a cell phone is visualizing the other person on the phone rather than paying attention to the road.

For Unger, the issue becomes more of a mental issue as opposed to a mechanical one.

“If you have a passenger in a car and are having a conversation, where do you go in banning that?” he asked.

Deputy Motor Vehicles Commissioner Steve Dale sees a major distinction between a passenger and a fellow cell phone talker.

“The person at the other end of the cell phone has no idea what the traffic situations are,” he said.

“Whereas, if I’m talking to my wife Sheila, she’s going to say, ‘Wait, hold on a second.’ There’s going to be some connection between the passenger and the driver. And that passenger is going to be reacting to traffic. And hence, the conversation is going to slow down or stop. We’re going to deal with the oncoming traffic.”

While no figures exist in West Virginia linking cell phone usage to crashes, Dale said many studies show it’s the kind of distraction that is more disruptive to traffic than changing a CD player or radio station.

Moreover, he said, a cell phone’s peripheral vision is limited since the driver is focused on almost the center of the road.

In neither category would points be added to a driver’s record, but even that provision could change.

“It’s a long road,” Unger said of all legislation. “You never know wherever it leads.”

— E-mail: mannix@register-herald.com