texting while driving issue and safe streets

[Schiller, Barry]

With "safe streets" becoming part of the broader NUPTA/CTC mission here is an update on bill S204A (Sosnowski) to ban texting while driving, which passed the State Senate unanimously (with support from AAA, RIDOT, insurers, and the Greenway Alliance) but never even had a hearing in House Corporations. However, much has been written about the dangers of distracted drivers (texting worse than driving drunk) since,and indeed the USDOT is holding a "summit" on that issue in DC Sept 30-Oct 1. Yesterday's ProJo had both a Fitzpatrick column on Sosnoswski where he supported this bill, and report noting Larry Berman from the Speaker's Office saying that texting while driving is an issue the Assembly might take up when they reconvene. Also, below is a reply I got from Representative Fox about the issue, and I get a similar reply from Rep. Kennedy, Corporations Chair.
So this seems good, but there are related House bills by McNamara, Kilmartin, and Giannini all also in House Corp. but will require Senate action too. Its always a worry about turf and pride of ownership of an issue there to get things through. Texting while driving is dangerous to other motorists, but especially to relatively vulnerable road users like bicyclists and pedestrians, so if any NUPTA-ite is in contact with legislators, especially if on House Corp, please try to help by indicating support, thanks.
Barry
________________________________________

----- message from rep...@rilin.state.ri.us -----
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:44:27 -0400
From: "Rep. Fox, Gordon D." <rep...@rilin.state.ri.us>
Reply-To: "Rep. Fox, Gordon D." <rep...@rilin.state.ri.us>
Subject: RE:
To: bsch...@localnet.com

Thank you very much for writing to me about legislation to ban text
messaging while driving. I am confident that a resolution of the
various bills that you cited will be reconciled and that a text
messaging ban will be addressed when the General Assembly returns to
session in early September.

I encourage you to contact my office again on any issue, and I will make
certain that your thoughts and comments are seriously considered during
the debate on text messaging.

Thank you again for taking the time to write about this important issue.

Sincerely,

Gordon D. Fox

House Majority Leader

-----Original Message-----
From: bsch...@localnet.com [mailto:bsch...@localnet.com] Sent:

Dear Representative Gordon Fox

Though I realize that when the Assembly reconvenes there will be many
really big and tough issues, I am wring to you in your capacity as
Majority Leader to urge support for a bill to (mostly) ban texting while driving.

You surely have heard about the reports on the dangers of distracted
driving, well-covered by the Journal, the NY Times, and TV. We also all
know of the recent texting-related accident on the MBTA. It is time for
Rhode Island to take this first common sense step.

Though there are related bills sponsored by Representatives Giannini,
Kilmartin, and McNamara, the simplest way to do this at this point would
be to pass S204A (sponsored by Senator Sosnowski) that passed the Senate
unanimously in early May but never even had a hearing in the House
Corporations Committee, even though the bill is supported by RIDOT, the
AAA, and the insurance industry. I also have been supporting the bill
as a spokesperson for the bicycle community, officially the Greenways
Alliance of Rhode Island, as bicyclists are especially vulnerable from
distracted drivers. Indeed Representative Giannini has helped publicize
how a bicyclist was killed by a texting driver in nearby Massachusetts.
Unfortunately, despite talking to the DOT and AAA lobbyists, the
sponsors, and Corporations Committee Chair Brian Patrick Kennedy, no
House action has yet occurred. Thus, in the interests of safety for all
road users, I urge you to use your House leadership position to call
attention to this bill so that it may indeed become law.

Thank you for attention to this matter and best wishes,

Barry Schiller

353-6536

bsch...@localnet.com

----- End forwarded message -----