HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1581 FILED ON: 1/12/2009
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3354
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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PRESENTED BY:
Joseph F. Wagner
_______________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives
of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the passage of the accompanying bill:
An Act further regulating the use of certain communication devices while operati
ng a motor vehicle.
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PETITION OF:
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Name:
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District/Address:
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Joseph F. Wagner
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8th Hampden
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Katherine Clark
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32nd Middlesex
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[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 4477 OF 2007-2008.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the Year Two Thousand and Nine
_______________
An Act further regulating the use of certain communication devices while operating a motor vehicle.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court
assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 1 of chapter 90 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following definitions:-
“Mobile telephone”, a cellular, analog, w
ireless, satellite or digital telephone, including a telephone with two-way radio functionality, capable of sending or receiving telephone communications and with which a user initiates, terminates or engages in a call using at least one hand.
“Hands-free
accessory”, an attachment, add-on, built-in feature or addition to a mobile telephone, whether or not permanently installed in a motor vehicle, that, when used, allows the operator of a motor vehicle to maintain both hands on the steering wheel at all tim
es.
“Hands-free mobile telephone”, a hand-held mobile telephone that has an internal feature or function, or that is equipped with a hands-free accessory, whether or not permanently part of such hand-held mobile telephone, by which a user engages in a cal
l without the use of either hand, whether or not the use of either hand is necessary to activate, deactivate or initiate a telephone call.
“Mobile electronic device”, any hand-held or other portable electronic equipment capable of providing data communica
tion between two or more persons, including a text messaging device, a paging device, a personal digital assistant, a laptop computer, equipment that is capable of playing a video game or digital video disk, or equipment on which digital photographs are ta
ken or transmitted, or any combination thereof, or equipment that is capable of visually receiving a television broadcast, but shall not include any audio equipment or any equipment installed in a motor vehicle for the purpose of providing navigation or
em
ergency assistance to the operator of such motor vehicle or video entertainment to the passengers in the rear seats of such motor vehicle.
SECTION 2.
Section 8 of
said
chapter 90
, as so appearing,
is hereby amended by inserting after the sixth paragraph t
he following
two
paragraph
s
:-
No person under 18 years of age shall use a mobile telephone
, a hands-free mobile telephone
or a mobile electronic device while operating a mo
tor vehicle on any public way.
For the purposes of this
paragraph
, a junior operator
shall not be considered to be operating a motor vehicle if the vehicle is stationary and not located in a part of the roadway intended for travel.
A junior operator who violates the preceding paragraph shall be punished by a fine of $100 and shall have hi
s license or permit suspended for 60 days for a first offense, by a fine of $250 and shall have his license or permit suspended for 180 days for a second offense, and by a fine of $500 and shall have his license or permit suspended for 1 year for a third o
r subsequent offense.
It shall be an affirmative defense for a junior operator to produce documentary or other evidence that the
use of a mobile telephone
that is the basis of the alleged violation was made for emergency
purposes, including, but not limit
ed to, an emergency call to a law enforcement agency, health care provider, fire department or other emergency services agency or entity.
SECTION 3. Section 13 of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 6, the words “o
r mobile telephone” and inserting in place thereof the following words:-- or amateur radio.
SECTION 4. Said section 13 of said chapter 90, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out the fifth sentence, in lines 25 to 29 inclusive.
SECTI
ON
5
. Said chapter 90
, as so appearing,
is hereby amende
d by inserting after section 24X
the following section:-
Section 24Y.
No person shall operate
a motor vehicle on a public way while using a mobile electronic device or a mobile telephone, unless said tel
ephone is a hands-free mobile telephone.
For the purposes of this section, a
n
operator shall not be considered to be operating a motor vehicle if the vehicle is stationary and not located in a part of the roadway intended for travel.
A violation of this
section s
hall be punishable by a fine of
$
100
for a first offense
, by a fine of $250 for a second offense and by a fine of
$500 for a
third
or subsequent offense.
It shall be an affirmative defense for an operator to produce documentary or other evidence
that the use of a mobile telephone that is the basis of the alleged violation was made for emergency purposes, including, but not limited to, an emergency call to a law enforcement agency, health care provider, fire department or other emerg
ency services a
gency or entity.
This
section shall not apply to the following persons operating motor vehicles in the execution of their duties:
(1) the driver of a fire-fighting vehicle;
(2) the driver of a rescue vehicle or an ambulance
; or
(3) a state, county, or local public safety official, if operating the vehicle with due regard to the sa
fety of others.
A violation of the seventh paragraph of section 8 and this section shall not be considered a surchargeable motor v
ehicle offense pursuant to section 113B of chapter 175.
SECTION 6. The last paragraph of section 24Y of chapter 90 of the General Laws shall become inoperative on July 1, 2010.
SECTION 7.
The registrar of motor vehicles, in cooperation with the governor’s highway safety bureau, shall develop and implement a public awareness campaign for both junior and adult drivers which shall include, but not be limited to, information on the restriction
s of mobile telephone and mobile electronic device use while operating a motor vehicle under section 8 and section 24Y of chapter 90 of the General Laws, information on the fines and punishments which may be imposed for violations of said chapter 90, and f
or adult drivers, information on the types of hands-free accessories or hands-free mobile telephones permitted for use while operating a motor vehicle. Said campaign shall commence no later than September 1, 2009.
