By Emma Bouthillette 

Staff Writer

Have you tested your talent at text messaging in the driver’s seat? Have you chatted on your cell phone while cruising down the road? Have you applied lipstick using the review mirror? What about reading your favorite book or newspaper on the road?

For drivers who multitask behind the wheel, those days could be limited. 

With the newly elected legislature convening in Augusta, representatives and senators are sponsoring nearly a dozen bills to address the ever increasing competition for driver’s attention.

One of the bills sponsored by Rep. George Hogan (D–Old Orchard Beach) would prohibit the use of handheld cell phones or other electronic devices.

“I’ve had some close calls and near misses with people distracted by calls,” Hogan said. “It’s on the minds of every state, and almost every state is more aggressive than Maine.”

Currently, California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Washington prohibit handheld cell phone use while driving, and along with Alaska, Louisiana, Minnesota and Washington D.C., prohibit text messaging while behind the wheel. 

“There’s been enough major accidents to take a hard look at these things,” Hogan said. 

Hogan said while this bill identifies the prohibition of handheld cell phone use, a University of Utah study proved there was no distinction between handheld or hand free. 

University of Utah Psychology Professor David Strayer and study co-author Frank Drews have published multiple studies involving cell phone use while driving, including the 2001 study showing that hands-free cell phones are just as distracting as handheld cell phones, a 2003 study indicating  drivers distracted by cell phone conversation are looking directly at road conditions but are not fully aware of the road and a 2005 study comparing the reaction time of teenagers and young adults talking on cell phones while driving to those of elderly drivers. 

Another study by Strayer and Drews published June 2006 found that people talking on a cell phone while driving are as impaired as a driver intoxicated at the legal blood-alcohol limit of 0.08 percent, which is the minimum level that defines illegal drunk driving in most states.

Sanford Police Chief Thomas Connolly said if legislators enact a law to prohibit use of handheld cell phones, it would provide law enforcement officers at local and state levels a tool to use when encountering distracted drivers who may not be committing other violations.

“There are already enough distractions while driving, to add in other things and when you are going 50 miles per hour, you’re covering a lot of distance and it doesn’t take long before there’s a pedestrian in front of you,” Connolly said.

Democratic Sen. Bill Diamond, representing Casco, Frye Island, Raymond Standish, Windham and Hollis is sponsoring an act to establish a distracted driver law, which would encompass use of electronic devices, applying cosmetics, performing personal grooming or any other distractions as determined by local law enforcement. The law would prohibit anyone from driving while distracted, and by keeping the definition general, Diamond said the law allows local law enforcement to use their own judgment.

Diamond, who serves as the senate chairman of the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and is a member of the Transportation Committee, said he is sponsoring the distracted driver law after hearing from a state trooper who witnessed a woman watching an episode of the television show “Gilmore Girls” on her laptop computer while driving. According to Diamond, the state trooper expressed frustration he was unable to cite her for any type of motor vehicle violation. 

Diamond said conversations with state police have indicated they think it is a good idea to have an established law in regard to distracted driving. 

While Maine State Police Public Information Officer Steve McCausland declined to comment on specific bills being presented in Augusta, he said, “Maine motorists should have their attention on driving and not the dozens of other things.”

“This would allow a law enforcement officer to use his or her judgment about what is distracted,” Diamond said. “We’ve made it illegal for anyone under 18 to use a cell phone, why make it legal for someone over 19?”

In the past, Connolly said he has seen drivers watching television or trying to eat a full rack of ribs, but said laws targeting distracted drivers need to be specific because a general law targeting distracted driving would not hold up if  challenged in court. 

While Connolly said he doesn’t anticipate laws will completely stop people from multitasking while driving, it would enable law enforcement to educate drivers and enforce infractions of the law. 

“Some people consider laws like this an intrusion, but is the benefit of the intrusion more than the intrusion? Does the lives saved because of the law out weigh the intrusion?” Hogan asked.