What laws did the Georgia State Assembly pass in their new Hands-Free Device Act that helped State Law Enforcement to Identify and cite distracted drivers?

The General Assembly in Georgia passed a bill that would make "it against the law to text and drive as well as manipulate the phone to check social media accounts or send and check emails. That law applies when a motorist is stopped at a red light."  "The law, as written now, requires police to make a distinction between using the phone and texting or scrolling on social media sites."  "If you are holding the device, you are violating the law (Williams, 2018)," plain and simple. 

Georgia Hands Free Device Act

Effective July 1, 2018, pursuant to 40-6-241(c), all drivers operating a motor vehicle on any highway of this state are prohibited from:

·         Holding or supporting, with any part of the body, a wireless telecommunications device or stand-alone electronic device.

·         Writing, sending or reading any text-based communication, including a text message, instant message, e-mail or internet data.

·         Watching, recording, or broadcasting a video or movie (Georgia, 2018).

  

Recent Supreme Court decisions on law enforcement using or retrieving cellphone data while stopping a motorist for distracted driving says that they need a warrant to retrieve the data from the phone.  But because of "undercover spotters," there might be an exception to the rule of retrieval as "undercover spotters who look for offenders detail of violation and radio motorcycle officers who execute stops (Williams, 2018);" if the phone call, text message, app usage, etc. are recent, so they can use this information in court.  As a result, "a conviction for distracted driving in Columbus Recorder's Court carries a fine and court costs of $200.63.  The Senate version of the distracted driving bill, which is called "The Hands Free Georgia Act," would set the fines at $50 for the first offense, $100 for the second offense and $150 for the third time a motorist is convicted. The House version set a flat fine of $300 per violation (Williams, 2018)."  "And that is what Columbus police have been doing since June 1 when it did its first of four distracted driving undercover details. They wrote 389 citations for a number of traffic violations during those operations, the most recent of which was Wednesday morning at Bradley Park Drive and Veterans Parkway at 13th Street (Williams, 2018)."   The Hands Free Device Act focuses on manipulation of devices like the cellphone, but not other forms of distraction that motorist is guilty of on a daily basis. Other forms of distracted driving include Cognitive Distractions like, Highway Hypnosis or Velocitation.  Cognitive Distractions cause the driver’s mind to not be focused on the task of driving.  Visual Distractions, like a naked man or woman in public, a lion in the middle of the street, a person being murdered or beat by another person, etc.;  and third is Manual Distractions.  “Manual distraction is when the driver takes one or both hands off the wheel for any reason. Some common examples include eating and drinking in the car, adjusting the GPS, or trying to get something from a purse, wallet, or briefcase.  And the last here is what the Hands Free Device Act focuses.  The length of porosity in these laws will be grounded-out and re-worked in future court decisions as violations of the Hands Free Device Act are challenged. 

Alternatives to Manipulating the Phone with hands or body while driving

Jupiter Jack came out in 2009 when laws for texting while driving became a problem.  The Hands Free Device Act make old texting and driving laws look “overly vague” and do not make a relation to warrantless searches of cellphone data upon being detained for violation of distracted driving.  Alternatives to holding the phone without hands or any part of  the body while driving can be solved through voice commands and other hands-free devices, like Jupiter Jack.  Other devices include Bluetooth headsets, Hands-Free Car Kits (HFCK), and Personal Navigation Devices (PND).  Most, if not all, are already in use by everyday commuters, they just are not ‘household items,' and this is what the Hands Free Device Act plans on making them.  Hands Free apps can be used by parents or themselves to "monitor teens’ cell phone use while driving by using apps like Drive Safe Mode and Lifesaver. Other apps like AT&T's DriveMode blocks notifications and can send automatic replies to incoming texts.  The Mojo app is another option. Mojo tracks your driving and rewards you for going long periods of time without using your phone (Lewis, 2015)."   "Using voice commands to send texts would be allowed under HB 673.  Apps like Drivesafe.ly read text messages aloud, so you don't have to check them manually.  Many cars also have built-in Bluetooth capabilities that allow drivers to play music on their phones and make phone calls hands-free.  You can also connect your phone to Bluetooth devices that can be plugged into your car's cigarette lighter. Many of these devices are sold online (Lewis, 2015)."

Talking on the phone as his load shifted and his truck overturned!

About 6-7 years ago, as I walked down 5th Avenue, past the Greyhound bus station and Ma Rainey's house, I saw a tractor-trailer carrying lumber, which had overturned on Veterans Parkway and 8th Street here in Columbus, Georgia.  From my understanding, the driver was talking on the phone, with a phone in hand; and as he turned the corner, his load shifted and his truck overturned.   "In 2012, a federal law went into effect banning the use of handheld cellphones while operating a commercial truck. The law includes interstate truck drivers and bus drivers as well as drivers who transport "placardable quantities of hazardous materials" (Queener, 2014)." The paragraph in Distracted Driving still a problem for Truckers brought to mind the memory of this incident, as well as a video I saw on Youtube of two semis colliding on the highway at full speed as they skewed the same curve of road.  "Reading Maps or GPS devices are common, since truckers often travel in areas that they are unfamiliar with, it is a prevalent practice for them to take their eyes off of the road to look at directions (Queener, 2014)."https://queenerlaw.com/blog/distracted-driving-still-problem-truckers/ 

"Nobody should text and drive, but perhaps adults just might, at least most of the time, have the capacity to act like adults without the government dictating their every move, down to whether or not they can take a sip of coffee or change the song playing on their stereo (Morefield, 2017)." Lastly, "even though devices, voice commands, and notification-blocking apps may help curb dangerous driving habits, they don't eliminate all risks (Lewis, 2015)."  Hands Free doesn't mean that it is 100% accident safe.

References

Georgia. (2018, 06 06). Press Releases (HB673). Retrieved from Georgia: https://dds.georgia.gov/press-releases/2018-06-06/hands-free-georgia-law-hb673

Lewis, K. (2015, April 4). FM WABE. Retrieved from https://www.wabe.org/devices-apps-driving-hands-free-georgia/

Morefield, S. (2017, April 6). Politics and Policy. Retrieved from National Review: https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/04/distracted-driving-bans-slippery-slope/

Queener, L. O. (2014). Queener Law firm. Retrieved from Queener Law.com: https://queenerlaw.com/blog/distracted-driving-still-problem-truckers/

Williams, C. (2018, March 28). Proposed Georgia law would take cellphone out of your hands while driving. Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. Retrieved from https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/crime/article207177889.html

Columbus Consolidated Government!

 Columbus Consolidated Government views African-American males, like me, as young thugs who are inexperienced in life.  In short, we do not know how to act as a Plaintiff, only as the Defendant.  At 41 years-of-age, shocking the universal sense of justice is something that I thought I would never see until I filed a small claims case in the Muscogee County Municipal Court against a local grocer. 



One particular day in August, after I had purchased about eight or 10 cases of sodas, I proceeded to push the grocery cart off the premises to my residence two blocks around the corner.  One of the female store clerks had already told the operators of Cash and Carry store, not to allow me to use the cart to take my sodas home.  In spite of all the fuss, they usually did not make a fuss about us pushing the buggy off the premises, as long as we brought them back.  I pleaded with the operator who had come out the store telling me that I could not take the cart off the premises, to take all the cases of soda home at once; nor could I leave them on the sidewalk, for fear that someone might steal them.  Despite the unimportance of a shopping cart, that I knew I was wrong for taking off the premises after the operator specifically told me could not.  Under the circumstances of more than I could carry sodas, I proceeded to push the cart to my residence, unloaded my goods, and immediately took the shopping cart back to the store.  I expected to be greeted by the police when I brought the shopping cart back, but I walked back home, locked the door, sold one soda, and set down to watch television.  As soon as I got comfortable, the police knocked on my door and arrested me for criminal trespassing. Feeling belittled by the incident of the store owner and clerk, who were trying to humiliate me, by forcing me to carry all those sodas home by hand; Furious, I saw an opportunity to ‘legally’ throw the first punch, and make some money.


On August 15, 2013, I filed a small claim in the Muscogee County Municipal Court.  Case number:  MC-2013-CV-8726.
With dress slacks, dress shirt, and tie, the respondents’ lawyer and I were the only two in the courtroom.  The bailiff spoke to the judge concerning me, and his mentioning me added fuel to my already furious disposition.  I knew I could not allow the good pressure that had always provoked me to do something physical or verbally curse people, to do something stupid in my time and what I must do.  So, I channeled my energies, focusing on how I would present my evidence; starting with my opening statement.  The Judge, Lawyer, Clerks, and Respondents, all thought what I was doing was a joke.  Nevertheless, to me, it was a chance to dispel or change the view that Columbus Consolidated Government has of me, Mosi Wells.  When the Respondents arrived, and things began to proceed, the Judge saw that I would not crack under the pressure of a local Defense Attorney Stacey Jackson.  He came with his final and third tactic of pushing the procedural limits on a matter.  The Solicitor General office would not close out the matter of criminal trespassing until after January 1, 2014, even though a judge had already ruled on the matter. Therefore, the small claims Judge would not hear my case until the Solicitor General’s office closed the matter of the criminal trespassing.  Given all these facts, the Judge had appointed me a lawyer that I never knew I had and dismissed the case without prejudice due to lack of evidence.

I am not a lawyer, not even a jailhouse lawyer, and I have dealt with the system since I was 14.  Like little Mac in Mike Tyson’s Punch Out, Columbus Consolidated Government is not the enemy, but they are my opponent, a much larger opponent that is not afraid of me, Mosi Wells.  But it troubles them when my ability to demonstrate evidence in a courtroom defies their liberal views of young African-American men like myself if I am not in that courtroom for drugs, murder, or robbery.