Danny Norng, 20, and Jonathan Sarit, 23, have their cell phones in hand while sitting in the library at North Shore Community College in Lynn Friday. (Item Photo / Angela Owens)

 

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State committee OK's bill limiting drivers to hands-free phones

It’s not hard to find students at North Shore Community College tapping, texting and talking on their cell phones.

But about a half-dozen students interviewed by The Daily Item say their level of cell-phone activity doesn’t go down when they’re driving.

“I can’t even lie about it. I text [while driving],” said 20-year-old Danny Norng as he studied in the library with his iPhone in his hand.

“If I’m not texting, I’m updating my Twitter account,” said his study partner, 23-year-old Jonathan Sarit, a psychology major from Lynn.

Texting while driving is already illegal in Massachusetts, but a bill making its way through the state Legislature would prohibit all handheld cell-phone uses by drivers.

Under the bill, which the Committee on Transportation approved unanimously Thursday, drivers who talk on their phones without a hands-free device would be breaking the law.

It’s a bill with realistic expectations, Sarit and Norng agreed. In theory, at least.

“I think that’s fair,” Sarit said. “You’re saving lives.”

But whether they themselves would follow the law is not clear.

“I’ll compromise,” Sarit said. “I’ll text and make calls at a stoplight.”

Peabody student Marcos Martinez said he already institutes a self-imposed cell-phone ban when he’s driving, because he said he’d never put his phone down if he didn’t.

“I’d be concentrating too much on it,” he said. “It’s really a big problem for me.”

But he admits he’s in the minority among people his age.

“Everybody else uses their phone [while driving],” he said.

Like 21-year-old Miguel Ozuna of Lynn, whose cell phone sat by his side while he studied in the college’s cafeteria.

“I’m guilty of using a phone,” he said of his driving habits.

Ozuna said the problem is that most of his conversations happen through his phone, and they don’t stop just because he’s driving.

“You hear that notification and you kind of really want to know what that’s about,” he said.

His classmate, 20-year-old Amber Perez of Salem, said she keeps a hands-free device in her car for those occasions. She said she’s seen too many other careless drivers on the road, cell phones in hand.

“I just think it’s annoying when you try to pass someone and they’re going so slow and they’re on their phone,” she said.

Dyango Herrera, a liberal arts student, agreed. He said he doesn’t drive, but when he’s in the car with friends who use their phones, he reminds them of the ban on texting.

“I feel uncomfortable if somebody else is driving and they’re on their phone.”

All three students said they’d at least try to abide by the law if the Legislature passed it. In 2010, the Senate narrowly voted down a similar bill.

“It’s for the better,” Ozuna said. “It’s not a big deal to be able to use your [hands-free device].”

Amber Parcher can be reached at aparcher@itemlive.com.

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