A local lawmaker is once again taking up the fight to take cellphones out of drivers’ hands.

Spurred on by a relentless effort from state Rep. Rosemary Brown, R-Monroe, the bill would ban the use of hand-held devices by drivers and make violations a primary offense. This means that police could stop an offending motorist after eyeballing the infraction.

Some of you might be surprised that such an activity is not already a law, especially since every state that borders Pennsylvania - New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia and Ohio - already has such a ban on the books, but Brown, who has been pushing the legislation for six years, has found resistance, especially among members of her own party.

She certainly has statistics on her side. The state Department of Transportation reports that there were nearly 14,000 distracted driving crashes in 2019 with 62 deaths. Brown believes these numbers don’t tell the full story since many of these incidents go unreported.

“While cellphones and other interactive communication devices do enable us to keep in touch with our families and work while we’re on the go, it is always important to keep in mind that there are times and places to use them,” Brown said. “The best cellphone use while driving is still no cellphone use; however, House Bill 37 works to balance the use of technology while increasing driver responsibility.”

Brown insists that her bill’s intent is not to penalize drivers but to protect innocent drivers, similar to our driving under the influence laws.

Brown’s bill would fine drivers $100 for holding or propping a cellphone between the shoulder and ear.

With such a minimal fine, I question whether that would be a sufficient deterrent. The proposed legislation wouldn’t even assess points to a driver’s record.

There is a law on the books which bans texting while driving, with a paltry $50 fine upon summary conviction. Brown’s bill would double this fine.

The bill also would contain these provisions:

• Clarify that no person can be cited for both texting while driving and driving while supporting or holding an electronic wireless device at the same time.

• Create a five-year optional sentence enhancement for those guilty of homicide by vehicle, as well as a violation of the hand-held prohibition during the same incident (mirrors the current texting ban).

• Ensure a person under the age of 18 prior to taking a driver’s exam view educational materials provided on PennDOT’s site on the dangers of distracted driving.

• Require the portion of the examination on traffic laws to contain at least one question on distracted driving.

Brown’s bill is getting blowback from some of her Republican House colleagues, including Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon, who previously was successful in having an amendment attached to the bill that would make it a secondary offense, rather than primary. In this case, police would have to stop a motorist for another infraction, then take into account this violation.

He said he will introduce a similar amendment this session when Brown files her bill. “I think people need to be responsible for their own actions while driving,” Heffley told me. “Distractive driving is dangerous; creating a secondary offense will punish bad drivers and allow responsible motorists to continue on with their daily lives,” Heffley said.

When Heffley’s amendment was added last session, Brown said it took some of the air out of the proposal. In the end, the bill did not come up for a vote and died in committee. This time around, Brown is hoping for legislative action in May.

Other pushback is coming from representatives of predominantly black districts who fear that police might use this legislation as a pretext to stop motorists to uncover other violations.

“I have concerns around racial profiling,” said Rep. Donna Bullock, D-Philadelphia, and chair of the Pennsylvania Legislative Black Caucus. “We have to look at how these stops are impacting people of color.”

There is widespread support for the bill, including from the state police, the National Safety Council and AAA. Opponents include the National Motorists Association whose president, Gary Biller, insists, as Heffley does, that most people can manage these types of conversations safely.

Brown is asking residents who believe in her bill to contact their legislators to enlist support. “This legislation is reasonable, realistic and works to cultivate safer driving behaviors,” Brown said.

By Bruce Frassinelli | tneditor@tnonline.com

The foregoing opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board or Times News LLC.