274 cited in first year of Montgomery distracted driving rule

Montgomery, Al.
During the past 11 months, the Montgomery Police Department has cited 274 drivers for violating the city's distracted driving ordinance.
The Montgomery City Council passed the ordinance in August 2010, and after a 30-day grace period, police began issuing citations.
The violation is a secondary offense, meaning a driver must be committing a traffic violation considered a primary offense, such as running a stop sign, before he or she can be cited for distracted driving.
"We have to know that the person commits a traffic violation first and then at the same time we have to see that the person is actually distracted by using a cell phone or texting or reading an email," Maj. Keith Barnett, the traffic division commander, said of enforcing the ordinance.
District 3 Councilman Tracy Larkin, who sponsored the ordinance, anticipates distracted driving becoming a primary traffic offense in the future.
Larkin said he was "very disappointed" to water down the ordinance to a secondary offense before it was approved by the City Council, but he also said the point of the ordinance is to change behavior, not punish people.
"We think it has accomplished what we want it to accomplish," Larkin said. "It continues to remind people about the dangers of distracted driving."
Councilman Cornelius "C.C." Calhoun of District 5 disagreed with the ordinance when it was first introduced and said his opinion hasn't changed. He said he "would never support" the ordinance being changed to a primary offense.
"Using a cellphone is a way of doing business," Calhoun said.
The penalty for violating the distracted driving ordinance is a fine of up to $50 or imprisonment in the city jail for no more than 10 days for a first offense. The penalty for a second offense within a 12-month period is a fine up to $100 or imprisonment in the city jail for no more than 10 days or a combination fine and imprisonment.
For a third violation within a 12-month period, the punishment is either a fine of up to $500 or imprisonment in the city jail for no more than three months or a combination of fine and imprisonment.
For now, Barnett said the Police Department is focusing on driver behavior and not the number of citations issued.
"The whole goal behind the law is safety," Barnett said. "If we can change driver behavior, it makes the roads safer for everyone."