By Susan Dickson
Staff Writer
CHAPEL HILL – A ban on cell phone use while driving is still a possibility in Chapel Hill.
The Chapel Hill Town Council voted 6-2 on Monday to set a public hearing on a draft ordinance for such a regulation. Council members Laurin Easthom and Gene Pease voted against the measure, citing concerns regarding enforceability and preemption. Council member Matt Czajkowski was not present at the meeting.
Town Attorney Ralph Karpinos presented a draft of a possible ordinance, which would prohibit the use of cell phones or any additional technology, like cameras or music players, while operating a car. The ordinance proposes a $25 fine for violation.
The ordinance would not apply to drivers using a phone to communicate with emergency officials in an emergency situation or to drivers communicating with their parents, children, legal guardians or spouses.
In addition, a driver could not be cited for violating the ordinance unless an officer had cause to stop the driver for a violation of another law. For example, a driver could not be stopped simply for using a cell phone while driving, but a driver who ran a stop sign while using a cell phone could be cited for both the traffic violation and using a phone while driving.
Karpinos said he included the exceptions in the proposed ordinance because he felt that would give it a better chance of being upheld if challenged. At issue is whether the ordinance could be preempted by state law, Karpinos said, adding that he felt he could make a reasonable argument against preemption.
Several council members questioned the inclusion of exceptions for drivers to use phones to speak with family members.
“I don’t know that I want to make that an exception for someone to be on the phone … if that conversation is going to impact their safety in driving,†council member Donna Bell said.
“If we take the teeth out of it, I’m not really interested in doing it,†she added. “We have people who put other people’s lives in danger by distracted driving.â€
Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt said he would like for the exceptions in the ordinance to use more inclusive language, “since I might not have a spouse, but I might have an equivalent that I might want to talk to one day.â€
Pease said he felt that while it was important to educate the public on the dangers of cell phone use while driving, regulating it is a state issue, and that such an ordinance would be virtually unenforceable.
“If this is about education, I’m not convinced this is the right forum to do it,†he said.
Easthom agreed.
“I don’t want to be first in the state on something that the assistant attorney general has said … is preempted by state law and therefore unenforceable,†she said. Earlier this fall, Karpinos requested an opinion from the state attorney general’s office, and an assistant attorney general reported back that he felt such an ordinance would be preempted by state law.
Other council members said they felt it was important to continue the conversation and the education of the public.
“This may be an opportunity for this to happen again where Chapel Hill pulls the state along in some things,†Mayor Pro Tem Jim Ward said.
In June, Krista Slough, a UNC student who was seriously injured in a car accident last year, and Joe Capowski, a resident who witnessed the accident, petitioned the council to consider the ban. Capowski alleged that the driver of the car that hit the victim was talking on her cell phone at the time of the accident.
Texting while driving and the use of cell phones by drivers under 18 are both already illegal in North Carolina.
A public hearing on the proposed ordinance will be held Feb. 20.