FABB is asking everyone interested in safer roads and highways to contact their Virginia representatives immediately and ask them to vote next Wednesday (April 3) for SB 1768 on the use of handheld personal communications devices while driving. Governor Northam has amended the bill to include the original language that was changed to allow drivers to hold a phone while talking but not for hand-held input (check out this earlier blog for more detail). The restored language had been widely vetted and endorsed by numerous stakeholders, including AAA, DriveSmart Virginia, and the Virginia Legislative Black Caucus.
According to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles data, there were more than 1,600 car crashes involving a cellphone in 2018. More than 900 people were injured as a result and 10 died. In a AAA poll conducted from March 14-15, 63 percent of Virginians who responded said they supported the governor making an amendment. In the same poll, 73 percent of Virginia drivers “strongly agreed that the dangers of using a Smartphone for texting, emailing and social media can be as serious as drinking and driving.”
Please contact your delegate and state senator today!
