Cell phone ban coming

Chad Bryan, Gleaner Writer

Texting and calling while driving will soon to be banned, as the new Road Traffic Act should later this year be brought before Parliament, having gone through all the drafting phases.

This was confirmed recently by vice-chairman/convener of the National Road Safety Council, Dr Lucien Jones. "The legislation is part of the proposed new Road Traffic Act which the Minister of Transport, Works and Housing Dr Omar Davies promised would be brought before the Parliament this year," Jones said.

Once the legislation has been passed, motorists found in violation would be subject to fines. Last year, the transport minister said the passing of the act would modernise Jamaica's road traffic laws and that road safety issues would be addressed based on 21st-century requirements.

The minister had also pointed to studies that showed motorists have only 90 per cent control of the vehicle when driving and texting.

An article written by Robert Roy Britt entitled 'Drivers on Cell Phones Kill Thousands, Snarl Traffic', in Live Science (2005), claimed that cell phone distraction causes 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries in the United States every year.

Jones anticipates that with the introduction of this new law there will be a significant impact on motorists and their phone usage while driving. He could not say, however, if the banning of cell phones would have a direct effect on traffic accidents or if cell phone usage while driving is related to traffic accidents, as there is no hard data to suggest this.

Still, Jones said, "we anticipate a significant effect as many persons are now driving and are being distracted. No hard data is available, as until the law is passed, the police are not empowered to access the call records. Until then, it is generally speculative and therefore not objective or not data-driven that persons are being distracted"