Bill limiting drivers' use of cell phones gains ground

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- California lawmakers advanced a bill to limit use of cell phones by drivers, requiring headsets or other hands-free devices.

The bill was approved 41-26 by the state assembly on Thursday and now goes to the Senate.

If it becomes law, California will follow New York, which in 2001 became the first state to bar drivers from using hand-held cell phones.

Gov. Gray Davis' office couldn't immediately say Friday whether he had taken a position on the legislation, which would fine violators $50.

A study by the California Highway Patrol found that cell phones were responsible for more distracted-driving accidents than eating, smoking, kids, pets and personal hygiene combined, said the bill's author, Democratic Assemblyman Joe Simitian.

Assemblyman John Benoit opposed the bill, questioning whether drivers who used handsfree devices were less distracted than those who hold their phones to their ears.

Besides New York, at least six other states have some limit on in-vehicle use of cell phones, ranging from a one-hand-on-the-steering-wheel rule to a ban on school bus drivers using a phone.

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On the Net:

Read the bill, AB45, at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov