Georgia Senate votes down proposed changes to hands-free law

ATLANTA - The Georgia Senate voted down a bill Wednesday that would have carved out new exceptions to the state's hands-free driving law.

Under the bill, drivers would have been able to touch their cell phones when at a complete stop at a traffic control device, like a stop light, but only if the device was secured in a windshield or dashboard mount.

"What I'm asking for us to do is to revisit the hands-free law to make sure that what we do does not make criminals out of law-abiding citizens," state Sen. Frank Ginn, R-Danielsville, said to his colleagues during the debate.

Sen. Ginn argued that it is easier for law enforcement officers to use the current law to target drivers who are stopped than those who he believes pose the bigger safety threat.

"I'd really much rather our law enforcement community go after those that are moving and distracted," said Sen. Ginn.

The majority of the Senate members, however, disagreed.

"I do care about my colleague. This is terrible legislation. This is unnecessary legislation. This is dangerous legislation," said state Sen. Randy Robertson, R-Cataula, a retired sheriff's deputy. "I promise you the men and women that go through [the Georgia Public Safety Training Center], that go through regional police academies, that go through [Emergency Vehicle Operate Course] training, they are well aware of where their attention needs to be on the roads and many times they do stop people who are manipulating their phones while traveling down the road."

The bill failed by a vote of 35 to 14.

"The message was clear," said Sen. Ginn. "Until the public weighs and says, 'Hey, we're tired of being preyed upon while we're at a complete and full stop.' And that's one thing that's painful for me is that I do see people that are--they're actually being penalized maybe a full day's wages for violating the law when they're sitting still."

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