By DREW BLAIR
WISH-TV | wishtv.com
An effort has launched to change how drivers are allowed to use cell phones while behind the wheel.
Hands Free Indiana, a group spearheaded by Joe Locke of Fishers, is approaching lawmakers to consider banning hand-held phone use.
Locke
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has listed 16 states and Washington D.C. as already passing a law on talking on a hand-held phone while driving. Most of the laws exist on the West and East coasts. Illinois is the only state with the ban in the Midwest.
“We’re getting to a very dangerous activity and a habit and it’s just got to change,” Locke said. “It’s a public safety issue. It’s not infringing on a personal right or anything of that nature. We’re trying to keep people safe.”
Locke has used a hands-on approach to prove his point about hands-free driving.
On several occasions during the month of July, he stationed along streets in Fishers with two tally counters. With one, he took record of the number of vehicles passing, the second counted the drivers who were visibly using a mobile device.
Locke did the math and determined that while on Brooks School Road for 30 minutes, he counted one distracted driver every 50 seconds.
The following day, Locke spent 30 minutes on 126th Street in Fishers counting one distracted driver every 15 seconds.
“It was pretty disturbing,” Locke said. “It’s putting everyone at risk … I see someone on the side of the road whether it’s a jogger, even a family walking on a sidewalk that’s close to the road … just think about a motorcycle or anyone in the car.”
Hands Free Indiana planned to launch a website on Aug. 1 detailing the proposal the group would like to see sponsored by the legislature as well as ways the community can get involved in the campaign.
Before coming to Fishers we lived in California. There drivers are required by law to have a hands-free device (bluetooth or wired connection) to speak on the phone. Indiana should institute a similar law statewide. However, it is not a panacea as studies show that talking on a phone while driving is still a distraction. At least hands-free driving eliminates the silly juggling acts I have seen by people with phones balanced on their shoulders.