Illinois Town May Outlaw Distracted Driving

By
ABC News
November 2, 2007, 12:42 AM ET
2 min read

March 18, 2006 — -- Drinking a latte, talking on the phone or even turning around to discipline the kids while driving could soon be a crime in Winnetka, Ill.

Violators would pay up to $750 in fines.

That size fine for "coffee and looking back at your children?" said Alberto Paracchini, a Winnetka resident. "That sounds a bit extreme to me."

Jenny Cleary, a mother of three, including 2-year-old twins, said avoiding distraction with a car full of kids seems impossible.

"I'm drinking a cup of coffee, yelling to sit down get in your car seat, stop fighting … all those different things at one time," she said. "But I don't really think it distracts from my driving."

The police chief who drew up the proposal would argue otherwise.

"What I'm advocating," Joseph De Lopez said, "is making the public more aware of their responsibility to be attentive drivers -- to minimize the danger they pose to themselves and others when they're driving."

Distracted drivers cause an estimated 1.2 million accidents a year. In fact, 46 percent of drivers surveyed by the American Automobile Association admitted to putting on make up, shaving or doing some sort of personal grooming behind the wheel. Seventy-one percent said they eat or drink and 92 percent said they fiddle with the radio. Yet the cell phone is the main culprit.

Laws Across the Country

At least 17 states have laws that restrict the use of hand-held cell phones behind the wheel, but studies show that has done little to reduce the accidents.

"We try to advocate that motorists use common sense," said Kris Lathan of AAA. "Necessarily having two hands on the wheel doesn't matter if your mind's not on the road."

That is why Connecticut, the District of Columbia and New Hampshire fine drivers for other distractions that lead to a crash.

Town leaders in Winnetka are still talking about whether they could enforce such a law. If nothing else, this proposal gives drivers cause to think about what they're not thinking about when they're on the road.