Texting ban for drivers considered

The Jan. 25 Special Town Meeting will take up a proposed bylaw that would make it illegal to type, text, or read from a wireless communication device on Danvers streets. Violators would be subject to a $100 fine.

The Board of Selectmen last Tuesday voted 4-1 to place an article providing for adoption of the bylaw on the Town Meeting warrant, and to support its passage.

“I want to draw attention to the fact that it’s dangerous for anybody to drive while distracted,’’ said Selectman Dan Bennett, who proposed the bylaw. “The preferred method of communicating today for many young people is text messaging, and they do it while they’re driving. I just think it needs to be recognized that this is a danger.’’

Danvers is among several communities to take up a ban on text messaging while driving.

The Marblehead Board of Selectmen voted unanimously on Dec. 9 to place an article on the warrant for annual Town Meeting in May, a bylaw providing for a ban in the town. The Boston City Council voted Dec. 16 to approve a ban. Boston’s measure needs state legislative approval.

Bennett said from his own experience on the roads, he has noticed people “looking at their PDAs or cellphones while they’re driving.’’

“It just hit me it’s so obvious it should be banned,’’ he said. “Even teenagers admit the number one cause of distraction during driving is texting.’’

His idea to seek a local ban was spurred by the Boston City Council action and by his concern that the Legislature “wasn’t moving fast enough’’ to adopt a statewide ban.

The House adopted a proposed ban in 2008, and the Senate did the same last June as part of its version of the budget for this fiscal year. But both bills failed to win final approval.

The Globe reported Thursday that legislation banning text messaging while driving and proposals to test elderly drivers remain stalled due to differences among lawmakers over their provisions. Nationally, 19 states and Washington, D.C., ban texting while driving, including New Hampshire, whose ban took effect Jan. 1.

Following the advice of the town’s counsel, Bennett said the Danvers proposal will be worded to limit the ban to streets under the town’s jurisdiction. Drivers on routes 1, 114, and 128 and Interstate 95 would not be subject to the provisions.

Bennett said municipalities can legally regulate conduct on their roadways, noting that Danvers previously outlawed motor scooters and skateboards on town streets.

As with all bylaws adopted by towns, the proposed bans in Danvers and Marblehead would need to be reviewed by the state attorney general’s office to ensure they do not conflict with state laws.

Lisa L. Mead, an assistant Marblehead town counsel, said the town believes it has authority to enact the proposed bylaw because the measure - texting while driving - is not covered under state law. She added, though, that the attorney general’s office has yet to address the issue so she cannot predict if it would adhere to the town’s view.

The proposal in Danvers drew some debate among selectmen.

Board member Keith G. Lucy, who cast the dissenting vote Tuesday, said there is no need for a new bylaw on the subject because there is a state law prohibiting driving while distracted that police can use to cite those who text while operating a vehicle.

“There are already about 1,400 reasons police can pull you over. They don’t need another one,’’ he said.

Lucy also said that a driver can text message without necessarily being distracted; for example, if they are caught in a traffic jam.

But Gardner S. Trask III, the board’s chairman, said a ban makes sense.

“The safety of the citizens of Danvers is very important to the Board of Selectmen,’’ he said.

Trask said research he did through a federal website, www.distraction.gov, reinforced his belief that the town needed to take action.

According to the site, in 2008, 5,870 people nationwide were killed in crashes involving driver distractions. The site also said that while all distractions can endanger drivers’ safety, “texting is the most alarming’’ because it involves visual, manual, and cognitive distractions.

Trask said as they do with other laws, he is confident police will use discretion in enforcing a texting while driving ban rather than trying to cite everyone who is in violation of it.

“The intent is to help educate motorists,’’ he said.

Selectman Mike Powers said he is “definitely in favor’’ of the ban.

Powers said that texting “is a very common communications method with younger people, and as these people come to driving age the number of drivers texting will increase.

“I know there are some people who can text without taking their eye off the road,’’ he said. “They might be able to pull it off. But I dare say those people are in the minority.’’