House bill dials right number

House Editorial

Samantha, age 21, is driving down Interstate 81, chatting on the cell phone with her mom. Cruise control is set at the speed limit, 65 miles per hour. All of her stickers are updated. Samantha only has one thing against her — she looks young.

Soon, Samantha sees a pair of red and blue flashing lights behind her. She pulls over. When the officer approaches her window, she says to him, "Officer, why have you pulled me over? I am not violating any laws." The officer replies, "You look like you’re 17 years old, and it’s illegal for you to be that young and talk on the cell phone while driving."

When Samantha hands over her driver’s license and registration, the officer realizes he made a big mistake. Samantha is 21.

While this scenario is just hypothetical, it could happen if the Virginia House of Delegates goes along with two senators, James K. O’Brien, Jr., R-Fairfax and William C. Mims, R-Loudon, who just succeeded in passing a bill in the state Senate that would bar drivers under the age of 18 from using cell phones while operating vehicles.

The bill itself is understandable, and it should be well supported. Young drivers, who are also more than likely avid cell phone users, are more susceptible to distractions because of fewer years of driving experience.

But here’s the catch with O’Brien and Mims — the senators are also trying to get this no-cell-phone-under-18 bill passed as a primary — rather than secondary — offense. That means that police officer can look in someone’s car, guess their age and pull them over. Officers already do that if a driver looks under age 16 and is driving without a parent, but something about the proposed law just doesn’t seem quite right.

It is unfair to give police officers the ability to judge the ages of cell phone users, but we have a solution for them. Change the law to ban all individuals, despite their ages, from using cell phones while driving.

Yes, we believe younger drivers are more dangerous on the road, but that doesn’t mean older drivers aren’t dangerous. It’s important that this law is made a primary offense. Officers no longer will have to judge ages; they just have to see someone talking on a cell phone.