State Rep. John Carson, chairman of the House Study Committee on Distracted Driving, said Wednesday he is holding a press conference a week from now, on Jan. 10, to detail Georgia distracted driving legislation for the upcoming session of the legislature.
Carson, a Republican from Northeast Cobb, will also discuss the committee’s final report, which was issued in December and includes legislative recommendations (full report is here).
On Tuesday, the City of Smyrna became the first municipality in the state to pass a hands-free driving ordinance (report here via the Cobb County Courier), but only after Mayor Max Bacon voted to break a tie on the city council.
A poll cited by Carson’s study committee found that two-thirds of Georgians favor a hands-free driving law in Georgia (66.4 percent), with nearly 22 percent undecided.
“I’m encouraged to see that the majority of Georgia voters are supportive of a hands-free driving law in our state,” Carson said in a statement in December. “Last year alone, over 1,500 people died in automobile accidents on Georgia roads, and according to a recent poll, over 82 percent of Georgia voters believe that texting while driving is a major contributing factor to the increased number of auto accidents. Distracted diving is an extremely serious public safety concern, and it is absolutely essential that this issue is addressed in the 2018 General Assembly session to prevent further distracted driving-related car crashes and fatalities.”
The poll was conducted by in October by Landmark Communications, Inc. of Alpharetta, and surveyed 700 randomly selected active Georgia voters.
The study committee also is recommending an increase in the current $150 fine for distract driving on a staggering scale, up to $1,000 for serious, repeat offenders, and to boost the driver’s license penalty by 2 to 4 points on a staggering scale, from the current 1-point penalty for a distracted driving offense.
The committee recommended against a total ban on use of mobile devices in vehicles, saying it’s not realistic. No other state has such a law.
Carson’s study committee found that 13 of the 15 states with hands-free laws have seen an average decrease of 17.5 percent in traffic fatalities two years after passing and enforcing those laws.
The panel also noted that Georgia’s anti-texting law, which went into effect in 2010, has been difficult to enforce because law enforcement officers are unable to determine whether motorists are using their phones to text or for other purposes.
The 2018 legislative session begins on Monday. Carson’s press conference is Wednesday, Jan. 10, at 2 p.m on the second floor of the rotunda of the Georgia State Capitol, 206 Washington St. SW, Atlanta.
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