Pima County is now the third local jurisdiction to prohibit the use of cellphones and other electronic devices without hands-free technology while driving.
With a 3-2 vote Tuesday, the county joined the city of ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ and Oro Valley in restricting all uses of such devices, with only a handful of exemptions.
Like Oro Valley, the supervisors made violations of the law a primary offense, meaning deputies would not need to first observe another violation to pull drivers over. While similar in other ways, ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s ordinance is a secondary offense.
The county ordinance amends another county ordinance — approved unanimously by the supervisors a year ago — that also prohibited texting, though it had exemptions some officials say made it hard to enforce.
County fines will be fixed at $100, unless an offender is involved in an accident, in which cases fines rise to $250, according to sheriff’s Bureau Chief Karl Woolridge, who addressed the board before the vote. ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ and Oro Valley have tiered fines.
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Woolridge advocated for an “education period†once the ordinance becomes effective 30 days after passage, during which deputies would issue warnings instead of citations, though he clarified that distracted drivers involved in crashes would likely not be afforded that leniency.
Police officers in Oro Valley, whose hands-free ordinance went into effect in January, have a similar policy and have so far issued nearly 800 warnings, fewer than some officials anticipated. ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥â€™s went into effect Monday.
Under the existing county ordinance, which prohibits texting but allows for the dialing and receiving of calls, deputies have issued 24 citations and 17 warnings, according to data requested by the Star.
The approved ordinance does allow drivers to use phones to report emergencies but does not allow for their use when stopped at intersections, as the previous ordinance did.
The county ordinance reads: “A person may not use a handheld electronic device while operating a motor vehicle on a street or highway unless that device is specifically designed or configured to allow hands-free use and is used in that manner.â€
Recently, Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill restricting the use of cellphones among new drivers, the first statewide distracted-driving measure, leaving just Montana as the only state to not have anti-texting statutes on the books.
The two no votes came from Supervisors Steve Christy and Ramon Valadez. Christy, while emphasizing he agrees that distracted driving is a serious public health issue, said more information about distracted driving and different local rules about it was necessary to make an “informed decision.†He also wanted more public input and outreach about the “consequences†of making violations a primary offense.
Mark Spear, one of a handful of people to speak against the ordinance, raised similar concerns, and questioned the ability of laws to reduce distracted driving.
Valadez was concerned that enforcement of the ordinance could fall disproportionately on poorer county residents who may not be able to buy hands-free technology.
“We have people in our community who aren’t going to be able to afford a Bluetooth device,†he said, referring to a common hands-free technology.
Valadez and Christy tried unsuccessfully to modify the ordinance, including making violations a secondary offense, but were twice met with a three-vote wall of opposition.
Before the vote, Supervisor Richard ElÃas said he appreciated some of the concerns raised about the ordinance, and recommended monitoring its potential “unexpected consequences,†but added: “the time is now.â€
“It’s just so disturbing that we haven’t done anything already,†Supervisor Ally Miller said to explain her support.
Before voting, the supervisors heard from a number of speakers, all but a handful of whom spoke in favor of the ordinance. Two of the speakers, Arlene Ozburn and Karen Wilson, shared stories of losing adult children in local distracted-driving-related crashes. Both asked that the ordinance be enforced as a primary offense.
“If it doesn’t have teeth, why pass it?†said Ozburn, whose daughter Barbara Applebaum died last fall after an April 2016 collision.
Wilson, whose son Dan was killed instantly by a distracted driver in 2015, told the supervisors that on March 21 she tied a balloon to the ghost bike memorial at the crash site, marking what would have been his 32nd birthday.
“I don’t want another parent to live through this tragic loss,†she said.
Some organizations have cited distracted driving as a factor in rising annual vehicle fatalities in recent years, and the Centers for Disease Control estimates that eight people are killed and 1,161 injured every day in crashes that are reported to involve a distracted driver.
