FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - The Kentucky House took aim at distracted motorists Friday, passing a bill that would stiffen fines for texting while driving and restrict on-the-road cellphone use in school and construction zones.
The road safety bill cleared the House on a 62-32 vote and now goes to the Senate.
“What I really want to do here … is save lives and reduce injuries on our roads and make them safer,” said Rep. Terry Mills, the bill’s lead sponsor. “We all know that distracted driving is a problem.”
Mills, D-Lebanon, said distracted driving is a frequent contributor to fatal wrecks in Kentucky as motorists tap on their mobile devices while cruising highways.
In 2012, more than 53,600 crashes in the state were due to distracted driving, resulting in more than 14,700 injuries and 174 fatalities, according to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet’s Office of Highway Safety.
The bill would double the fines for texting while behind the wheel. The fines would increase from $25 to $50 for a first offense and from $50 to $100 for subsequent violations.
The measure also seeks to curtail distracted driving in school and construction zones.
It would prohibit motorists from dialing cellphones while driving through school zones when the caution lights are flashing. The same would apply when driving through highway construction zones where violations result in double fines, Mills said.
The bill was amended to exempt drivers using hands-free devices.
The action followed House passage Thursday of a highway safety bill aimed at large trucks.
That measure would increase the penalty for parking illegally alongside highways and ramps to rest areas. Fines now vary from $20 to $100, and the bill would increase them to a range of $100 to $200.
The bill, which now goes to the Senate, stems from the death of a Kentucky man who crashed into a truck that was parked on an interstate exit ramp last year.
The measure would allow vehicles to pull over alongside highways or ramps for up to 15 minutes for nonemergency situations.
“In other words, you could pull over, answer your cellphone, send a text and safely be there for 15 minutes in a nonemergency situation,” said Democratic Rep. Tom McKee of Cynthiana, the bill’s sponsor.
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The legislation that passed Friday is House Bill 33. The legislation that passed Thursday is House Bill 275.
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