As we talked about a few weeks ago, the movement among city council members to ban cell phone use in Dallas school zones during official school zone hours continues toward a full council vote in the next few weeks.
Member of the council’s public safety committee reportedly agreed on a ban recently, according to the DMN, and now about all that’s left is final hashing-out of the wording and a vote of the full council. The DMN article listed some exceptions, though: talking with a hands-free device; communicating with a 911 dispatcher, fire department, law enforcement agency, physician’s office or health clinic "regarding a medical or other emergency situation;" and attempting to "prevent injury to a person or property."
I’m not exactly sure how much time the police are going to realistically spend stopping potential violators, shaking them down about whether they were talking with their doctor about a medical emergency situation and then handing out the ticket, which can include a fine of up to $200. But I suppose the proposed ordinance is a good idea, so we just shouldn’t worry about the additional administrative burden on police, who aren’t likely to be all that aggressive about enforcing it anyway.
A word to the wise, though: The News story quoted councilman Dave Neumann as asking "rhetorically" whether people should now be allowed to eat, smoke or apply makeup while driving. Oh-oh.
