Posted 2:32 am Sunday, March 21, 2010
New Cell Phone Law Has Fuzzy Reception
By CHAD THOMAS
Staff Writer
For Tyler crossing guard Arthur McBride, it's become all too common to see drivers zoom by his crosswalk with cell phones in hand, talking or texting away.
Staff Writer
For Tyler crossing guard Arthur McBride, it's become all too common to see drivers zoom by his crosswalk with cell phones in hand, talking or texting away.
"I'd say probably 50 percent of the time, maybe more than that," said McBride, who has manned a school zone near Bell Elementary for six years.
Voluminous research, including a recent study by the National Transportation Safety Board, suggests the use of a cell phone while driving is a risky, if not hazardous, practice.
But many people, like McBride, say it's becoming a regular sight on Tyler roads, even in school zones, where pedestrian traffic is at its highest and drivers, ideally, should be on highest alert.
And while Texas legislators have passed a law making it illegal to use a handheld cell phone while driving in a school zone, motorists across the state, and in several spots in Tyler, are able to talk and text without having to worry about a ticket.
But it's not a matter of lackadaisical enforcement.
It's a matter of signage.
THE LAW
House Bill 55 -- approved overwhelmingly by the Texas legislature and signed into law in June by Gov. Rick Perry -- allows peace officers to ticket drivers as much as $200 for using a handheld cell phone while passing through a school zone.
THE LAW
House Bill 55 -- approved overwhelmingly by the Texas legislature and signed into law in June by Gov. Rick Perry -- allows peace officers to ticket drivers as much as $200 for using a handheld cell phone while passing through a school zone.
But the law isn't as cut and dry as it would seem at first glance.
The bill stipulates a driver is only in violation of the cell phone law if, and only if, a sign is properly posted at the entryway to the zone, notifying drivers cell phone use is not allowed.
Without such signs posted, drivers can talk and text their way through numerous unmarked school zones across the state without fear of a ticket, regardless of the safety threat such drivers may pose to young pedestrians.
The same can be said for 20 school zones in Tyler, where one or more signs reading "Cell Phone Use Prohibited: Up to $200 Fine," is not posted. But the city of Tyler, by all accounts, has been proactive on the matter since the statewide ban on cell phone use in school zones took effect Sept. 1.
Tyler became the first municipality in the state to order and begin installing the "Cell Phone Use Prohibited" signs throughout its 37 school zones after the law passed, said Peter Eng, the city's traffic engineer. Thus far, Tyler has installed 133 signs in its school zones.
However, 38 signs remain to be posted in 19 locations across town.
The delay in posting all signs, Eng said, boils down to time, money and logistics.
Eng said Tyler installed all free-standing cell phone signs that did not require any electrical wiring adjustments, simply because of the ease and low cost of the process, about $36 for the sign and installation costs combined.
But other signs must be installed on poles that contain flashing lights, including some poles that hang over roadways. Those jobs require a more extensive and expensive installation process that, with sign costs included, can run the city up to $216 each.
It's also a tricky task, Eng said, to install signs in some of Tyler's older school zones, which contain flashing speed-limit signs with up to 30-year-old wiring. In such instances, he said, it's a challenge to avoid spending big bucks on a complete wiring overhaul.
"You have to ask yourself, 'How can I do this without destroying (the wiring) or spending a couple thousand dollars?'" he said. "We certainly don't want to spend any more money than we have to, because we already have to pay for the signs."
Tyler, like all municipalities that enforce the cell phone law, was required to purchase the necessary signage. To date, the estimated cost to purchase and install the "Cell Phone Use Prohibited" signs is just shy of $5,900.
Unfortunately for the city, the revenue from cell phone law violations has been slim. In the law's first four months in effect, September through December, Tyler police issued just eight tickets for cell-phone use in a school zone. With each ticket bringing the city $73.10 of revenue after state taxes, the signs still are far from paying for themselves.
The low number of cell phone-related tickets doesn't mean traffic officers aren't keeping tabs on school zones, said Tyler Police Chief Gary Swindle.
Currently, the police department has 15 traffic officers assigned to monitor school zones across the city in the morning and afternoon. Those officers cited 2,587 speeding violations in school zones in 2009.
Swindle said the cell phone law, much like the seat belt law, has been a challenge to enforce simply because it's difficult for officers to spot. The eight citations for cell phone use, Swindle said, isn't an accurate reflection of the problem.
"That's not to say, by any means, that (that's) all the people that are talking on their cell phones," he said. "The reality is that it's difficult to see and enforce.
"It's probably one of, if not the most, difficult things to enforce because most of the time an officer is very visible," he continued, " and when somebody sees an officer, they can put the phone down or try to hide it. Plus, the phones these days have gotten to be so small."
Swindle, along with Tyler ISD Police Chief Rex Brown, said they have seen a large number of people who act in compliance with the law, pulling over to continue a conversation or using a speakerphone.
Because the cell phone law applies only to handheld items, the use of hands-free devices or speaker phones is allowed in school zones.
Brown, who said he sees cell phone use in school zones on an almost daily basis, still pointed to speeding as the main safety concern in Tyler ISD zones.
"The real big issue is just getting everyone slowed down," he said. "The (zones) that cause the most concern are the schools on the heavily trafficked roads. We have schools on the Loop, Copeland Road and two zones on Front Street."
While the city of Tyler and the police department can only do so much to curb excessive speeding in school zones, the cell phone problem is one the city hopes to take better control of by next school year.
Eng said he plans to have all "Cell Phone Use Prohibited" signs up in every school zone by mid August before the start of the 2010-11 school year.
As for Swindle, a sweeping law altogether banning cell phone use in vehicles isn't the solution, he said.
"I'm not a big anti-using-a-cell-phone-in-your-car person," the chief said. "But the good news is that a lot of the new cars coming out have Bluetooth capability … and it's a pretty amazing technology that's out there. I'm hoping that modern technology helps take care of the problem."
