At the meeting on January 7, 2025, the Town Council discussed an ongoing grassroots effort by advocates against distracted driving to ban the handheld use of cellphones while driving in the State of Florida. Part of that effort includes getting municipalities across Florida to support passage of a new state law requiring that cellphone use while driving always be hands-free. Many Orchid residents may be unaware that such a complete ban is not already in place in Florida, as many other states across the country have enacted so-called "hands free" laws.
This is not the first time the Town Council considered the combined subjects of cellphones and driving. On December 7, 2011, the Town Council unanimously adopted Resolution No. 2011-05 in support of a statewide ban on manually texting, emailing and instant messaging while driving and in 2013 the Florida Legislature did enact the "Ban on Texting While Driving Law” (emphasis added), which sought to:
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Improve roadway safety for all vehicle operators, vehicle passengers, bicyclists, pedestrians, and other road users; and
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Prevent crashes related to the act of text messaging while driving a motor vehicle; and
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Reduce injuries, deaths, property damage, health care costs, health insurance rates, and automobile insurance rates related to motor vehicle crashes; and
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Authorize law enforcement officers to stop motor vehicles and issue citations to persons who are texting while driving; and
This new act imposed that a person may not operate a motor vehicle while manually typing or entering multiple letters, numbers, symbols, or other characters into a wireless communications device or while sending or reading data on such a device for the purpose of nonvoice interpersonal communication, including, but not limited to, communication methods known as texting, e-mailing, and instant messaging. It was amended in 2019 when state lawmakers removed the requirement that enforcement for be accomplished as a secondary action. Also added was that a person may not operate a motor vehicle while using a wireless communications device in a handheld manner in a designated school crossing, school zone, or work zone area if construction personnel are present or are operating equipment on the road or immediately adjacent to the work zone area. This appeared an acknowledgment from the Florida Legislature that the handheld use of a phone while driving is inherently risky behavior.
Indeed, a majority of states have successfully enacted “hands-free laws” on a statewide basis and follow-up studies indicate that these laws resulted in a measurable decrease in accidents and crashes related to distracted driving in those states. The Town Council for that reason unanimously adopted Resolution No. 2025-01 in support of legislation permitting only hands-free cell phone use while operating a vehicle anywhere in the State of Florida in order to promote safer roadways for all. Copies of the resolution will be provided to local advocates, as well as the Offices of the Florida Governor, the President of the Florida Senate, and the Speaker of the Florida House.