HUNTSVILLE, Ala — UPDATE (10/12): Following another delay, on Thursday the Huntsville City Council approved an amended version of a tougher hands-free ordinance within city limits.
As passed by the council with four in favor and one dissenting, there will be fines and penalties for those who are seen by police holding a mobile device while driving in city limits:
- 1st offense - $50 fine
- 2nd offense (within 24 months) - $100 fine
- 3rd offense (within 24 months) - $150 fine and/or a term of community service, to be levied by judge
Previous language regarding jail time for a third offense was removed from the ordinance after continued concerns from some council members. The amended ordinance also clarified exceptions to the rule, including being stopped at a stop sign.
The law will go into effect Jan. 1, 2024; a six-month "education and warning" period would follow; the city will educate the public about the new ordinance, and police officers would issue warnings to drivers found in violation through June 30 before levying fines.
“Nearly 15 years since I was seriously hurt in a crash caused by a distracted driver, I’m grateful to be here today and will continue to be an advocate for safer roads," said ordinance sponsor David Little.
UPDATE (9/14): After nearly an hour of discussion and debate at Thursday's city council meeting, Huntsville council members postponed a vote on upgrading the city's hands-free driving ordinance. The matter will be taken up once again at the September 28 city council meeting.
At issue with some members of the council is the enforceability of a strengthened ordinance by police officers and a potential burden by citizens charged with violating the ordinance should the matter be taken to court.
Our original reporting continues below.
Distracted driving, particularly with cell phones, is so dangerous that holding one while driving in Alabama is now illegal. About 3,000 people die in car accidents due to distracted driving. A new proposed ordinance in Huntsville is pushing to strengthen the laws around distracted driving.
Huntsville District 2 Councilman David Little is asking the city to pass an ordinance to strengthen the rules against using a cell phone while driving. The issue is personal for him. "Well, my family was in a car crash caused by a distracted driver in 2008, put me in the hospital for a couple of weeks in a wheelchair for several months."
Right now in the state of Alabama, the cell phone law bans holding, texting, watching a video, or otherwise physically using the phone while driving. And there are exceptions. But it's a secondary offense, meaning a person must be breaking another traffic law to also get a citation for distracted driving.
Little's ordinance would make distracted driving a primary offense in the city. Little says, "It's also a secondary offense the way it's written now. So the police have to witness some other behavior along with your cell phone use in order to pull you over. This new ordinance gives a little teeth to that existing one. So it's now a primary offense and you can't have your phone in your hand. And it's a hard, hard to enforce because of the advances in technology over the last 12, 13 years since it was enacted, there's a lot more going on on cell phone than just texting."
Little believes the hands-free law that was passed by the state in the Spring wasn't very strong. "They call it hands-free, but it's not. At the city level, we can make a law that's tougher than a state law. If it is voted on later on [September]the 14th, it would be enacted on January 1st of next year."
The community's input is also encouraged on September 14 at the Huntsville City Council meeting happening at 5:30 p.m. Little says, "They can get 3 minutes to come and speak about it because it's an agenda item. So I would encourage anybody that maybe has been affected by distracted driving."