By Regan McCarthy
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wfsu/local-wfsu-997794.mp3
Tallahassee, FL – Lawmakers will soon consider whether to make it illegal to use a cell phone while driving through a school zone. Regan McCarthy reports the bill is aimed at reducing the number of distracted drivers where children are walking to and from school.
Just days after the national Transportation Safety Board recommended that states ban all cell phone use for drivers Democratic Representative Franklin Sands, of Sunrise, filed a bill to block drivers in school zones from using their cell phones. Sands says his bill is a small step that protects some of the state's most vulnerable citizens.
"Would that we actually pass a full blow cell phone ban while driving. Fantastic. The reality is, I don't think its going to happen in Florida anytime soon. Certainly not in this next session. But we do have the opportunity to keep our children safe."
A report by the Governor's Highway Safety Association, a nonprofit organization funded by state governments, finds 25-percent of accidents can be linked to distracted drivers.