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E-mail This StoryRowlett could add its name next week to the growing list of cities that have banned the use of cell phones in school zones.
John Ellison, spokesman for the Rowlett Police Department said the measure is designed to protect children from a potential hazard.
“Any time you have something that distracts a driver in a school zone, you have the potential for a child to get hurt,” he said.
If approved by the city council Tuesday night, the measure would prohibit the use of cell phones and other hand--held communications devices in school zones during times when school zones are in effect.
However, drivers could still talk on the phone provided they used a hands-free feature such as a speaker phone, a head set, an ear bud or a similar device.
In February, the city’s Traffic and Safety Advisory Committee unanimously recommended that the city adopt the measure. In April, the city council sent the ordinance back to the advisory committee with a request that it consider the feasibility of implementing a citywide ban.
The committee rejected the idea noting that the ordinance would be difficult to enforce on a larger scale.
Committee member James Moseley noted that he could not find any city that banned cell phones city wide.
Last year, the Texas State Legislature considered a bill that would ban driving and using cell phones statewide.
The measure would prohibit a driver from using a cell phone unless the car is stopped or the cell phone is used with a hands-free device. The measure initially was introduced in 2006, but the measure has been stalled in the state legislature’s various committees since spring 2007.
The city’s Traffic and Safety Advisory chairman Melvin Warren pointed out that other driver distractions were more hazardous than using a cell phone, but there is no move to ban them.
During the April workshop, Police Chief Matt Walling agreed that drivers with both hands on the wheel and focused on the road are typically safer drivers with distractions in their hands.
Ellison later added that talking on a cell phone has become a more common and visible distraction than for example, someone eating while driving.
“You see maybe one in 300 drivers eating or putting on makeup. You see drivers on cell phones all the time. This is just a safety issue for our kids,” he said.
The wave of cell phone bans began in December when Highland Park became the first Texas city to outlaw talking on a hand-held phone while driving in school zones. University Park followed suit a few weeks later. Dallas passed a similar ordinance in February.
Most ordinances, including the one the Traffic and Safety Advisory Committee proposes, also prohibit text messaging. If passed, violators could face a fine of up to $200. The proposed ordinance does not address hands-free communications devices.
If the ordinance is passed, the city is expected to spend about $7,000 for signs alerting drivers about the new law.
