State Highway Officials Avoid Vote on Cellphone Bans

The Governors Highway Safety Association has decided not to endorse complete bans on cellphone use while driving, the Washington Post reported Monday.

Citing difficulties in enforcing current state regulations, a GHSA spokesman told the paper the group did not act on a proposal from California that would have encouraged state legislatures to ban cell phone use while driving.

The proposal would have endorsed a complete ban on all cellphone operation, including text messaging and hands-free use. While 30 states and the District of Columbia ban text messaging while driving, and eight states and the D.C. prohibit handheld phone use, no state has banned all use.

GHSA tabled the proposal Sunday at its annual meeting in Kansas City, Mo., Kansas City-based KCTV reported.

The meeting followed last week’s second annual distracted driving summit in Washington hosted by the U.S. Department of Transportation, which announced a ban on text messaging by drivers carrying hazardous materials. (Click here for previous story.)