Published 2011-09-13T18:24:00Z”/>
Griffin Rogers
Drivers who continue to illegally use a cell phone while driving caught a break Sept. 6 when Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill that would have significantly increased fines for both drivers and bicyclists.
Senate Bill 28 would have raised the base fine for first offense hand-held cell phone use while driving from $159 to $280. Second offense fines would increase from $279 to $480, and offenders would receive a point on their record.
In addition, using a hand-held phone on a bike would have set the rider back $20 for a first offense and $50 for the second.
Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, authored the bill to provide additional deterrents for distracted driving with hopes of reducing the number of fatalities and collisions, according to a press release from Simitian’s office.
However, Brown sent a letter back to the state Senate upon vetoing the bill saying he discouraged distracted driving, but not by “ratcheting up” penalties.
“For people of ordinary means, current fines and penalty assessments should be sufficient deterrent,” he said.
Simitian said the governor’s veto was “a lost opportunity to save more lives,” and improving compliance of the law comes from education and enforcement.
“I’m disappointed, but the governor gets the last word,” Simitian said.
Increasing fines wouldn’t necessarily deter people from texting or using their phone while driving, said Chico Police Sgt. Rob Merrifield.
There are two kinds of people – the ones that follow the law and the ones that don’t, he said. He cited the example of increased fines for running traffic lights that hardly cut down violations.
People will ultimately choose which laws they deem are important enough to follow, he said.
In 2010, Chico police wrote 372 tickets for using a hand-held cell phone while driving and 18 tickets for texting while driving. In the last 12 months, they’ve written 516 tickets for talking on a phone and 20 for texting.
Chico police held a zero tolerance operation on distracted driving April 4 and 5, which consisted of using officers to specifically target drivers on their phones. During the two-day period, officers cited 91 drivers for using a hand-held phone.
Although Merrifield disagrees with an increased cell phone fine, he does think that the existing fine has helped prevent traffic accidents.
During the first year of the hands-free laws, California Highway Patrol data showed nearly 700 fewer fatalities and 75,000 to 100,000 fewer collisions than the previous three to five years.
As for the proposed bicycle-related fines, Merrifield was satisfied with the Governor’s decision.
“Good,” he said. “I think we have enough laws already.”
Ken Gelatti, owner of Cyclesport, thinks there should be a law that keeps cyclists off their phones, he said. Using a phone while biking is dangerous for cyclists and others around them.
Furthermore, if a bicyclist was to fall as a result of being on the phone and was hit by a driver, the driver would be at fault for the cyclist’s neglect, he said.
But not all cyclists feel the same way.
Taking a hand off the handlebars to answer the phone isn’t any different than using a hand to eat a hot dog, said Michael Nielsen, a sophomore philosophy major who rides his bike to school.
Nielsen rarely uses his phone when riding, but it doesn’t make sense to apply the hands-free laws to bicycles, he said.
“I think you’d be more likely to cause harm to yourself than other people,” he said. “Being in a car is a lot different.”
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<strong>Griffin Rogers can be reached at</strong>
<em>[email protected]</em>
