Hands-free ordinance heads to full council

SANDPOINT — A proposal that would require motorists to use hands-free devices while using their cell phones in the city will be taken up by the City Council.

The proposed legislation cleared the Administrative Committee Wednesday, although it moves to the council without a recommendation one way or another.

“This is a public safety issue, pure and simple,” said Councilwoman Helen Newton, who proposed the rule.

The measure, as currently proposed, would be tacked onto the city’s careless driving law. It would be a primary offense, which means an officer would not need any other reasons to conduct a traffic stop.

If adopted, motorists within the city would have to use a speakerphone or hands-free device while driving. The rule would also apply to cyclists and skateboard riders.

It would ban the sending and receiving of text messages under any circumstance and teens under the age of 18 would be prohibited from taking or making cell phone call while driving.

Violators would be subject to a $100 fine. Law officers, emergency workers and tow truck drivers would be exempt from the ordinance if they’re on official business.

Councilman John O’Hara seconded Newton’s motion to shift the matter on to the council, but not without some reservations.

“It’s more intricate than simply a public safety issue,” he said.

O’Hara questioned whether distracted driving induced by cell phone use could be enforced with the existing language in the careless driving law and whether it was an infringement on personal rights.

Additionally, ample studies have shown that drivers who use hands-free devices are just as distracted as driver’s who don’t while talking on the phone because their attention is not entirely devoted to the road and their surroundings.

O’Hara said the legislation “looks good and feels good, “but ultimately does not solve the base issue.”

Neither Police Chief Mark Lockwood nor City Attorney Will Herrington were supportive of the proposal before the committee. Lockwood said the city’s existing law effectively enables officers to stop motorists for cell phone-related buffoonery, while Herrington said if a rule is imposed it should be done by the state.

Councilman John Reuter was not at Wednesday’s meeting, but said he has mixed feelings about the proposal and would prefer to see the matter taken up once new council members are sworn into office.

“I’m not for pushing anything through that’s dramatic until we get a chance for those new council members to be seated and hear what their thoughts and what their approaches are to it,” he said.

Reuter pledged in a public meeting earlier this month that he would no longer use his cell phone while driving, but was seen doing just that in downtown Sandpoint on Thursday.

Reuter admitted that he should have pulled over, but said some habits die hard.

“It’s a tough one to break, but at the end of the day we need to wean ourselves off of it, myself included,” Reuter said.