Cellular phone ban rejected

Adrienne Packer

Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2001 | 9:27 a.m.

Driving while gripping a cellular telephone is dangerous, but trying to navigate valley roads while eating a hamburger or changing a compact disc is similarly hazardous, according to Metro Police.

Despite a half-hour speech from Clark County Commissioner Erin Kenny, who reported cell phone-related statistics, and a phoned-in appeal from a New York assemblyman, commissioners decided against trying to police cell phone usage.

"I don't think the government should seek to solve every perceived concern through police enforcement and judicial sanctions," Commissioner Bruce Woodbury said.

Kenny said that, initially, she was mildly concerned that drivers become distracted when using hand-held cell phones. But, after some in-depth research, she became passionate about the subject.

Kenny rejected critics of her proposed ordinance, which would have allowed hands-free cell phones, but not hand-held equipment.

Perhaps the most frequent question regarding Kenny's proposal was how Metro would enforce a law that exists in the county, although not cities such as Las Vegas and Henderson.

Kenny said she didn't expect motorists to know when they crossed into city limits and could pick up their phones legally, but said she believes that, eventually, enforcement would be a non-issue, as motorists would get into the habit of using headphones.

Kenny also said the proposed ordinance would not infringe on motorists' rights because banning hand-held cell phones is in the same arena as requiring seat belts and child safety seats.

And even though other distractions such as eating, changing music and talking to a passenger do exist, it doesn't hurt to have a law that targets at least one action in which, statistics show, causes accidents, Kenny said.

"If there were five causes of cancer and we could eliminate one cause, wouldn't we do that?" Kenny asked board members.

But her argument and passion were diluted by Metro Sgt. Stan Olson, who told commissioners that traffic officers are already equipped with laws to punish drivers who aren't paying attention.

In 1999 Metro officers wrote 6,500 tickets to motorists for failing to pay attention. Olson said the figure isn't broken down, and there is no way to determine how many drivers were on the phone, though Olson doubted that more accidents are caused by cell phones than other distracting factors.

Olson didn't mince words when commissioners asked if the existing ordinance allows police to target cell phone users and cite them.

"We already do and we already can," Olson said.

Dan Miller, a driving school instructor at Community College of Southern Nevada, also doubted that drivers holding a cell phone in one hand while guiding their vehicles with the other was not a serious problem in Las Vegas.

"The problem is distractions, not dexterity," he said.

Limousine driver Scott Hozman said there are plenty of other causes of traffic accidents, including the poorly synchronized traffic lights on the Strip, out-of-town drivers pointing video cameras out car windows and billboards displaying scantily clad women.

Kenny, the only commissioner to vote for the ordinance, is confident the issue will be discussed during the next legislative session.