D.C. will ban drivers from using cell phones

The D.C. Council yesterday approved a bill that will ban motorists from using hand-held cellular telephones while driving and will make the District’s distracted-driving laws among the toughest in the nation.

“I think most people realize its time has come,” said Carol Schwartz, at-large Republican and the principal sponsor of the bill, which still needs the signature of Mayor Anthony A. Williams.

Mr. Williams has indicated that he will sign the bill into law, a spokesman said.

The bill will take effect in July.

Violators of the law will draw a flat fine of $100 for each infraction, but no points will be assessed to the driver’s license. The bill does not cover dialing or hanging up a cell phone or turning a cell phone on or off.

“We did not want to ban cell phones out and out, and that would have,” Mrs. Schwartz said. Emergency use of a cell phone for making a 911 call, for example, is exempted.

Also, persons cited for a first offense could have their citations voided if they show proof that they purchased hands-free cell-phone equipment between the time of the citation and the time the fine is due. The cost of such equipment for most phones is $20 or less.

Only New York has a statewide law banning hand-held cell-phone use while driving. The law passed there in 2001 punishes violators with a $100 fine. A similar measure is pending in New Jersey.

The first locality to enact a cell-phone ban is Brooklyn, Ohio, which passed the law in 1999. Drivers there face a $3 fine for an initial infraction and $100 for each subsequent offense.

Several other states have laws that restrict use for bus drivers, and still others are considering measures banning cell-phone use while driving.

Versions of the bill have been introduced — and have failed — in the District since 1999.

Mrs. Schwartz said, in developing her bill, she discovered that only the District and six states across the country had no laws dealing with distracted driving.

She said she broadened the scope of the bill that passed yesterday to be consistent with existing laws in Maryland and Virginia so drivers also could be fined for other distracting activities, such as putting on makeup, fumbling with music collections or interacting with children or pets.

The only council member to vote against the bill, which passed on a 12-1 vote, was Jim Graham, who expressed concern about the resources it would take to enforce such a ban.

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