Drivers will not be able to use a handheld electronic device while stopped in traffic as the result of legislation passed in the waning hours of the 2015 session.
Senate lawmakers inserted language aimed at clearing up a gray area left in a law passed last year that banned the use of handheld devices, such as a cellphone or iPod, while driving. House negotiators opposed the change, which was contained in a miscellaneous motor vehicle bill, S.122.
The original law banned the use of handheld devices in a moving vehicle. The new language specifies that drivers may not use their handheld electronics while operating on a public road, whether the vehicle is moving or not.
Sen. Dick Mazza, D-Chittenden/Grand Isle, proposed the change, saying he believes stoplights, stop signs and intersections are dangerous and worried that drivers, for example, might not notice the light had changed or might continue to use the handheld device when traffic resumed.
House negotiators, including Rep. Tim Corcoran, D-Bennington, wanted drivers to be allowed to look up an address or check email, for example, while stopped in traffic.
“There was no data to justify a change (in the existing law),” Corcoran said.
A conference committee impasse threatened to derail the motor vehicle bill, but Mazza said, “I wasn’t going to budge.”
Corcoran said negotiators decided not to continue the fight when it became clear the changes would permit the use of handheld devices while vehicles were stopped in an off-road location, such as a fast-food drive-through or parking lot.
Vermont State Police Lt. Garry Scott, commander of the traffic safety unit, said police did not request the change but were pleased with it.
“It cleans it up a bit,” Scott said. “Basically, it’s let’s use common sense and move on.”
Mazza and Scott said they believed the intent of last year’s ban was to prohibit the use of handheld devices while driving on a public thoroughfare, including when stopped in traffic.
The use of hand-free devices, such as a Bluetooth, is permitted under last year’s bill. No further tweaks are expected next session, Mazza said Friday.