The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Today's Front Page

January 8, 2012

Texting and driving bill expected early

By Mannix Porterfield Register-Herald Reporter

CHARLESTON — Modern technology and a tax incentive thrown in for good measure could be the key to resolving the controversy over cell phone texting while driving in West Virginia.

As lawmakers prepare to gather for the 2012 legislative session, Delegate Margaret Staggers, D-Fayette, plans to hit the ground running as the new chair of the House Roads and Transportation Committee to deal with the issue.

A bill is expected early on that would outlaw the practice of texting with a hand-held telephone.

“There’s no reason to text,” Staggers said Friday. “There really isn’t.”

In emergency situations, such as a physician called to the delivery room of a hospital, however, Staggers said a newer, so-called “smart phone” can notify the owner verbally of an incoming message and vocal response can be given without posing a driving distraction.

“You even have the option of answering that without touching your phone,” Staggers said.

“That type of technology is already here. I don’t think that type of technology is any more distracting than a 2-year-old in the backseat having a tantrum, and we can’t make that illegal. Most of our smart phones are voice-activated, and you can just say, ‘on my way.’”

Staggers said she would consider some form of tax incentive or credit for motorists who install voice- activated technology that aren’t included in some older model vehicles.

As for outlawing the use of hand-held cell phones for conversations, Staggers isn’t inclined to pursue such legislation — an idea that has been sought in recent years without success.

“I don’t know if you can outlaw stupidity,” she said.

“I think everyone of us has done that. It’s very easy to jump in a car and think, ‘Well, I have nothing to do here, so I’ll make all my calls I need to.’ Once again, I think maybe if we had the tax incentives, so that you could place the phone in your car and speak to the car. That way, it’s not against the law. And I think police probably have enough to do without riding up and down the highway to see if anyone is talking on their cell phone.”

Republicans have promoted a different tack, so that if cell phone usage is involved in some form of reckless driving, such as suddenly switching lanes, and police noticed the driver talking on a phone, “that could be an additional charge, and that makes sense,” Staggers said.

“That would be a good compromise in terms of not only doing that but doing some reckless driving,” the delegate said.

“Which would sort of go along with maybe outlawing putting on your makeup and eating breakfast and reading The Register-Herald.”

Last year, Senate Judiciary Chairman Corey Palumbo, D-Kanawha, was irate when the House let die his two-fold bill that would have outlawed texting in traffic and making the failure to hook up a seatbelt a primary offense.

“It tells me there’s very little concern for all the deaths on our roads in the House,” Palumbo said on the final night of the 2011 session.

Palumbo pointed out that, as of a year ago, texting was disallowed in 30 states, and in all but four such laws are considered primary offenses, while 30 or more states regard failure to use a seatbelt a primary violation.

One bill likely to originate in Staggers’ committee would open the door for “one stop shopping” when businesses apply for multiple vehicle registrations, rather than pass through a number of agencies, such as the Division of Motor Vehicles and the Public Service Commission.

In mind are such firms as ambulance companies, transport firms with large fleets of trucks, and newspapers with multiple carriers, she said.

A bill Staggers hopes to see early on would mandate a study to gauge the feasibility of putting registrations under one umbrella.

“This has been resisted over the years because agencies didn’t want one group to be dominant,” she added.

— E-mail: mannix@register-herald.com

Text Only
Today's Front Page
  • FvilleVigil1 Fayetteville candlelight vigil

    Community members and local chuch leaders gathered Sunday evening for a Memorial Day candlelight vigil at Huse Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Fayetteville.

    May 28, 2012 2 Photos

  • 52nd season for Outdoor Dramas to begin June 12

    Theatre West Virginia’s 52nd season will be “Where Legends Live,” focusing on bringing to life West Virginia’s history and local legends.

    May 28, 2012

  • W.Va. political leaders honor nation’s veterans

    From snow-laden Valley Forge to the battered walls of the Alamo, on the blood-stained beaches of the French coastline, in the frigid mountains of Korea and the steamy jungles of Vietnam, and the blistering sands of Iraq and Afghanistan, there is one constant: American heroism.

    May 28, 2012

  • Bodies believed to be missing family found in woods

    Four bodies recovered from a wooded area in Nicholas County near Carl, off Brushy Meadow Creek Road, Saturday are believed to be a missing family from Rainelle, reported First Sgt. Michael Baylous, public information officer for the West Virginia State Police.

    May 27, 2012

  • founder1 Founder’s Day celebrates city’s history

    Coordinators were pleased with the number of people who attended the fourth annual Founder’s Day at Beckley’s founding father’s estate, now the Wildwood Museum.

    May 27, 2012 2 Photos

  • auction NIE Auction and Flea Market coming Saturday

    With more than 200 items to be auctioned off and more than 100 flea market vendors, no one will have to go home empty-handed at Saturday’s 17th annual Newspapers in Education Auction.

    May 27, 2012 1 Photo

  • wvsom WVSOM holds 35th commencement

    More than 170 freshly minted physicians walked across the stage Saturday morning during the 35th annual commencement ceremony at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine.

    May 27, 2012 1 Photo

  • Beckley’s Founder’s Day a success

    Coordinators were pleased with the number of people who attended the fourth annual Founder’s Day at Beckley’s founding father’s estate, now the Wildwood Museum.

    May 26, 2012

  • WVSOM has 35th annual commencement ceremony

    More than 170 freshly minted physicians walked across the stage Saturday morning during the 35th annual commencement ceremony at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine.

    May 26, 2012

  • school A fun day at school

    Students who participated in a school fundraiser at Cranberry-Prosperity Elementary School sprayed their principal Becky Smith during a hot Friday. Smith was decked out in flippers, goggles and floaties during the fun. Smith paraded past students as they drenched her with water guns.

    May 26, 2012 1 Photo