Erie City Cell Phone Ban Issues and Complaints
Here are a myriad of issues I can see with the new ordinance passed by the City of Erie. I’ll add more as I think of them as comments below. Feel free to add your thoughts one way or the other!
Let me say that I am not against banning the use of cell phones when driving. This does make sense. However, I do feel that the City of Erie would be best to simply leave this type of law to the state or federal government to craft. Local ordinances, in my opinion, will cause a patchwork of confusion amongst drivers as they pass county lines, city streets, and township boundaries.
Cell phones are the most distracting thing to drivers?
This ban focuses entirely on “wireless communication devices”. Let me tell you, my phone is easy to use… I can use it blindfolded. My iPod touch is a giant pain in the ass.
Let’s see who is more distracted while driving: me making a phone call or trying to find that Pixie’s song on my iPod touch.
Things like mp3 players, GPS navigation units, DVD “car entertainment systems”, and even the good ol’ am/fm radio cause just as much distraction as a cell phone. Should we ban them too? Is this a knee jerk reaction to cell phones getting more coverage in the news these days?
Am I in Erie or Millcreek?
Given that this ordinance is only in effect for the City of Erie people have to become so much more aware of their surroundings in order to stay legal. This is one of the main complaints I have….why not just wait for a state law so that there isn’t a question of borders when it comes to enforcing this law. If I’m up on W. Grandview Blvd. am I in the City of Erie or Millcreek? I know the houses on the south side are City of Erie and the north side are Millcreek, what about the road itself? Confusing. Unnecessarily so in my opinion. I believe it was Harborcreek council that decided to pause their efforts for a cell phone ban as they wait for the state to sort it out. Smart folks, looking to avoid a lot of hassle and time wasting.
Emergency personnel will be exempt?
The ordinance as it sits today does not exempt people like police officers and fire fighters but according to WJET, it’s something that has been requested.
Chief Franklin states that sometimes they need to chat “in private” or have more of a conversation while on route. Hmmm… It all sounds good but I really feel like this is a cop-out to let them just chat away on their phones (which I see them doing quite often honestly). Maybe, if and when these cell phones are issued by the city/state/dept. and not personal phones then I’d be OK with it. If you’ve only got your personal phone then it isn’t apparently such a critical tool for your day to day operations or else your dept./state/city would have issued you one. Maybe someone out there knows if cops are issued phones or not?
“There’s a need to be on a cell phone with communications at times, either you don’t want to transmit information over the radio or you need to get on the phone and have some kind of discussion maybe in route to a call, so there are exceptions out there,” said Chief Franklin.
Odd exception to the rules
Along with EMS/Police exemption soon coming, the following also exempts you from the ban:
So I can use my phone (which is “a factor for many traffic accidents nationwide” according to the ordinance) to call in accidents or unsafe driving.
In other words, I can be unsafe as long as I’m reporting other people being unsafe.
Is this a secondary offense like a seatbelt violation or a primary offense?
According to WICU12 it was supposed to be treated like a secondary offense but the way it’s written it is a primary offense. That means an officer could pull you over for talking or texting on the phone. It’s easy to see someone talking but how will an officer know you are texting? Will the glow of an LCD screen in your lap at night be all the probable cause he needs to pull you over for potential texting?
Way to get the word out.
Another good point by WICU. Other cities who’ve done similar ordinances, like Philly, spent time getting the word out through radio and television for months before it went into effect. They also had a month of warnings prior to issuing tickets. In Erie it sounds like it’s up the discretion of the Mayor and police chief as to when to the word has spread enough and to start issuing $150 tickets.
According to WJET, Harrisburg also put signage out around town when they put in a similar ordinance. According to our mayor people don’t listen to singage. Nice… Ya, I typically ignore stop signs with hilarious results.
“It came quickly through council and there wasn’t a lot of preparation time. So we’re trying to get the word out through the media as best as we can. And we’ll try to issue some warnings on minor violations.” Said Erie Mayor Joe Sinnott.
“We want to get people used to the fact that this ordinance is in place, that there is a ban on hand held cell phone use while conversing or texting. Once we’ve giving that adjustment period. I think you’re going to see more enforcement as we move along.” Said Police Chief Steve Franklin.
Quick let’s push this through!
Nice. ”It came through quickly….wasn’t a lot of preperation time.” We all know that things that are rushed and not properly prepared always come out great. Like the Iraq War or the TSA… we know they are just models of efficiency and success.
Summary
In summary, I think the City of Erie has far more pressing issues. If this is a critical issue, let the state handle it so that you have a cohesive message to all drivers in our state.
I do not believe there are enough studies to prove that texting/phone calls warrant the amount of attention they’re getting. In 2008 there were 37,261 car accidents in PA according to favorite TV lawyer Edgar Snyder. Of those only 1,298 were cell phone related or a whopping 3.5%. What is causing the other 96.5% of accidents? If they found “driving while over 80 years old” caused 5% of accidents would the City of Erie impose an age limit on driving on it’s streets? Wouldn’t it make more sense to wait for the state to require retesting of senior citizens when they get their licenses?
