After weeks of debate, Bexley may soon ban the usage of handheld devices, such as cell phones, while driving.
The ordinance, first proposed to the city council by Mayor Ben Kessler, is modeled after similar bans in other Ohio towns and within states throughout the country. A vote on the ordinance is scheduled during the city council session on Sept. 13.
“This ordinance is not something I’m interested in being a gotcha thing,” Kessler said. “Bexley is super walkable … we have [Columbus School for Girls], St. Charles, our own school district, and a lot of families. It’s for pedestrian and driver safety.”
Over 650 traffic fatalities were reported across the State of Ohio in 2015, a marked increase from 2014, and many officials are honing in on distracted driving as a leading factor.
“Statistics with accidents in this country are showing an uptick in distracted driving accidents and fatalities,” Kessler said, “and, subjectively speaking, I’m seeing it all over the place when I just look at how drivers are behaving in the city.”
In 2010, Bexley issued a ban on texting while driving, but the city has encountered issues with enforcing this regulation, which has also influenced the development of the proposed ordinance.
“I have been in charge of helping to enforce [the ban on texting] in my position as mayor and safety director, and I am increasingly frustrated with the fact that we can’t enforce it,” Kessler said. “If you are sitting at a light … you could be texting, you could be looking up a number, or dialing a phone, [but] you’re interacting with your phone, and there are no ways to affirmatively prove you were texting … [without] going way overboard [with investigations] for the offence.”
New technology will also be used to aid Bexley police with enforcing the new ordinance provided it passes Sept. 13.
“Use of a smart phone while driving is no longer a simple matter of accusation and denial,” Mary Gottesman, a current member of the Bexley City Council, said. “Police officers now have access to Textalyzer software that allows them to determine if any software programs on the phone were in use at the time of the stop or an accident.”
Gottesman also noted that the Textalyzer software does not violate privacy by showing messages or names. It merely tells whether or not software was being used.
If passed, the law will not go into effect until thirty days after the vote, and, for the first few months, law enforcement officials will be issuing warnings to drivers found in violation. In addition, signs about the new law will be placed alongside major roadways upon entering Bexley.
Unlike bans on handheld devices in other municipalities, the proposed Bexley ordinance constitutes using a handheld device while driving a primary offense. In other words, law enforcement officials will be able to stop drivers solely for using their devices while driving.
Exceptions have been provided in the ordinance for drivers attempting to contact emergency officials and who are using GPS apps in the event that the resolution does take effect. To be in full compliance with the law, however, drivers will have to pull to the side of the road if changing the destination in their GPS or changing the song on apps such as Pandora and Spotify.
Students wishing to offer public comment on the proposed ordinance are invited to attend the next city council meeting from 6-8 p.m. on Sept. 13, where there will be a third reading of the ordinance prior to city council voting on it.
