Yesterday brought reports of Atlanta trying to cut down on distracted driving, and now comes a report that another city is trying to curb the dangerous practice.
The city council of Columbia Falls, Montana will soon be meeting to decide whether or not to ban texting while behind the wheel of an automobile. The measure would go even further to encompass a ban on any cellphones that require the user to use their hands to operate.
The council will be meeting next week in a public hearing to consider the proposal, which was pushed forward due to the danger that council members have come to see is posed by texting or talking on a phone. One council member talked about how, being the driver of a motorcycle, he’s faced numerous incidents in which he was nearly hit by a vehicle. He cites high schoolers coming out of a school parking lot but not paying attention to their surroundings. He said the last straw was when the police chief nearly got hit by a passing motorist who was distracted by their cellphone.
If the city council chooses to adopt a ban, they’ve said that police can begin issuing citations as soon as this September. They would also become the second city, after Whitefish, to impose some sort of cellular phone usage ban in Flathead County.