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Friday, January 11, 2002
For More Information, Contact:
Kristina Loquist at (650) 688-6384
SACRAMENTO – Assemblymember Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) announced today that Assembly Bill 911, requiring the use of hands free technology by motorists who talk on cell phones while driving, will be reconsidered by the Assembly Transportation Committee on Monday, January 14, 2002. The bill failed to win Committee approval when it was first considered in April 2001, coming up one vote short of the 10 votes required in the 19-member Committee.
“There are 25 million cars and trucks in California, and 11 million cell phones. It’s a potentially deadly mix,” explains Simitian. “But there’s a ready solution if we’d only take it. My hope is that the growing body of evidence accumulated over the past year will bring at least one more Committee member around.”
AB 911 is similar to the measure signed into law by New York’s Republican Governor George Pataki in June 2001. AB 911 does not prohibit cell phone use while driving. It simply requires the use of existing, low-cost, hands-free technology.
Although there was no opposition to the New York legislation, Simitian’s bill (AB911) met stiff opposition last year from some cell phone companies in California. Sprint PCS, AT&T Wireless and Cingular Wireless strongly opposed AB911 when it was heard in the Assembly Transportation Committee, although none of them opposed the New York bill. They continue to oppose AB911. Verizon Wireless, the largest wireless carrier in the State and nation, supports Simitian’s legislation, however.
Simitian said he still thinks he faces “an uphill battle” in committee. “I’m baffled, frankly, by this industry opposition. All three of these companies explicitly advise their customers to keep both hands on the wheel and use a hands-free device while driving and using a cell phone. But, they continue to oppose a bill that’s entirely consistent with their own consumer advisories.”