Are penalties stiff enough for teen drivers using cellphones?

By Ric Anderson

Friday, March 10, 2017 | 2 a.m.

CARSON CITY — Faced with an increase in traffic fatalities involving distracted teen drivers in Nevada, a group of state lawmakers is seeking to broaden and strengthen a law barring young motorists from using cellphones.

A bill discussed Thursday in the Senate Transportation Committee would extend the current restriction on drivers 17 and younger to include hands-free devices and boost the fine from $50 to $100 for a first offense. The measure, introduced by four Democratic state senators, received general support during the hearing but prompted some wheel-spinning about whether it went far enough to make teens recognize the dangers of distracted driving.

Suggestions included stiffening penalties even further, adopting “Scared Straight”-type education programs in which teens are shown the blood-soaked aftermath of fatal accidents caused by distracted drivers, and increasing the use of simulators showing the dangers of driving while using a cellphone.

Among the questions: Would stiffening the penalties merely prompt young drivers to get craftier about hiding their cellphones while at the wheel?

“Teenagers have a way of outsmarting us,” said Sen. Kelvin Atkinson, D-North Las Vegas.

Traffic safety specialists, lobbyists from insurance companies and a law enforcement officer spoke in support of the measure. Erin Breen, coordinator at the Traffic Safety Coalition at UNLV, told committee members that 39 accidents involving distracted drivers ages 19 and younger occurred in 2015, up from 23 in 2010.

One group, however, was noticeably absent from the conversation — teens.

To get a perspective from teen drivers, the Sun reached out to some of the Las Vegas Valley’s best and brightest high school students — leading participants in the annual Sun Youth Forum. The annual forum draws together hundreds of students from every Clark County high school to discuss topical issues, with participants who distinguish themselves in the conversations being offered an opportunity to write an essay for the Sun.

Two essayists — Irshad Tabani, a senior at Arbor View High School, and Peter Grema, a junior at West Career and Technical Academy — offered their perspectives.

Does the existing law deter teens from using cellphones while driving?

Grema: I’m pretty sure that most of my friends are aware of the driving while using a cellphone law. Their parents most likely remind them and it shows up a lot in the DMV handbook and in driver’s ed classes. I’m almost certain that most teens and all of my friends do know that it’s more dangerous driving when talking on a handheld or texting.

Tabani: My friends are relatively unaware of any government bill. I will admit that even I did not know about this bill until very recently, but I think it is safe to say that most of my friends know about laws that restrict phone usage while driving.

There was a great deal of discussion among legislators about how best to make teen drivers aware of the dangers and consequences of cellphone use. Do you think teens are already aware of this? And if so, why do they use cellphones anyway?

Grema: I feel as if the new legislation and the higher fine wouldn’t necessarily make teens drive and text (or talk) less because most of them probably don’t know that the initial fine is $50 already. Just getting pulled over and reminded that texting/using a phone while driving is not safe would have the same impact on a teen as a $50 or new $100 fine would have, in my opinion. I don’t think that it’s a good idea for the Legislature to target hands-free devices since the current law allows for that to occur; I feel as if the new adjustment would cause confusion and not allow any alternative if somebody does need to take a call.

Tabani: At first, I was a little hesitant to support SB216 primarily because it restricted hands-free devices, but after doing some research, I can see why the Senate wants to restrict its usage. The proposed bill would exempt activating or deactivating features or functions on the device in question, and I think that is reasonable. As for the increase in fines, I agree, like I said before, with an increase because it would be a further deterrent to using devices while driving.

Among your peers who don’t use cellphones while driving, how much do you think their decision is based on the law versus the trouble they’d get into with their parents?

Grema: I’m fairly certain that almost all teens (and all of my friends that I’ve been in a car with) know that it’s much more dangerous to drive when they are distracted by a cellphone. I feel as if most of them still do it out of habit and because they think that “nothing can happen to them” since they are only using it for a couple of seconds, usually to change a song or to text “coming” than actually have a full-blown conversation. They don’t use the cellphone for that long, so they don’t think that it’s a huge deal.

Tabani: Inherently, most teenagers are scared of their parents and their repercussions if teenagers were caught using their phones while driving. With that being said, I feel as if the law does impose some external “threat” to the teenager apart from the parents. I believe that we all, teenager or not, want to steer clear of any danger, so we do our best to avoid confrontation from police officers and those close to us.

If you were a legislator, what might you recommend to try to reduce cellphone use among teen drivers?

Grema: I would promote a more intensive campaign on shutting off your phone before you put the car in drive and understanding that driving is a big responsibility. I feel that it would be my top priority to educate new drivers that the risk of getting in an accident dramatically rises when they use a cell phone and that all communication can wait until you arrive at your destination. I would keep the law as is since I don’t feel as if a stiffer fine would promote long-term commitment to becoming a safer driver and that the hands-free accessory (assuming that the data shows that it is safe and does not increase the rate of accidents) is an alternative for people who would really need to use a phone, such as for directions or an emergency call (anything within reason).

Tabani: I find this question quite funny because I want to become a politician someday. In my opinion, the bill itself is too narrowly focused on preventing teens from operating cellular devices while driving on highways, and I think that the law should target everyone, not just teenagers. I understand the concept that teenagers are not fully developed as human beings and that we want to target the younger group so that they are socialized later on, but that does not mean that the problems with cellphone usage do not affect older generations as well. The problem with cell phone usage while driving affects everyone. Our attention to the road is severely limited if we "multi-task," and that concept goes for someone who is 35 years old as well as a 17-year-old. In terms of preventing teen phone usage, perhaps more clarification or more attention to phone usage in the drivers education program would be a great way to start preventing usage on the road.