The New Jersey Senate in the USA has voted to pass a law that bans the use of a cell phone while driving in the state. The bill has been passed to the Assembly for final clearance before being sent to the Governor to be passed into law. The bill will result in fines of between US$100 and US$250 per offence.
The wording of the bill however, says that the fines would be applicable only when a driver is stopped for another motor vehicle violation or other offense. Basically - it would not be possible to stop a driver purely for driving while using a cell phone.
The bill also requires that reports about motor vehicle accidents note whether the operator of vehicle involved in the accident was using a cellular telephone at the time of the accident. The bill cited a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that driving while using a cell phone quadrupled the chance of the driver having an accident, even when the driver was using a hands-free telephone."
Posted to the site on 4th November 2002
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/7829.php