{"id":750,"date":"2012-06-23T16:01:07","date_gmt":"2012-06-23T16:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ncjolt.org\/\/?p=750"},"modified":"2020-06-04T20:54:08","modified_gmt":"2020-06-04T20:54:08","slug":"town-of-chapel-hill-passes-blanket-ban-on-cell-phone-use-while-driving-legal-experts-question-validity-enforceability-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/blogs\/town-of-chapel-hill-passes-blanket-ban-on-cell-phone-use-while-driving-legal-experts-question-validity-enforceability-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Town of Chapel Hill Passes Blanket Ban on Cell Phone Use While Driving; Legal Experts Question Validity, Enforceability"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\nMonday, April 9th 2012 by\u00a0Jennifer K. Kanzelberger<\/strong>
\nThe Chapel Hill Town Council\u00a0made history<\/a>\u00a0last week by becoming the first jurisdiction in the nation to\u00a0pass a measure<\/a>creating a blanket ban on all cell phone use while driving.\u00a0 Limitations on permissible uses of cell phones behind the wheel are commonplace.\u00a0 In fact, North Carolina (where Chapel Hill is located) has had a statewide\u00a0ban on texting while driving<\/a>\u00a0since 2009.\u00a0 Other places, such as the state of New York, require that all phone calls be made using a\u00a0hands-free device<\/a>.
\n\"\"
\nWhile the ordinance is set to take effect on June 1, some legal experts doubt the validity of the law based on the principle of preemption.\u00a0 Simply stated, the preemption doctrine holds that a state may not pass a law that is inconsistent with federal law.So too are local governments prohibited from passing a law that is inconsistent with state law.
\nThe Town Attorney wrote to the\u00a0North Carolina Attorney General\u2019s office<\/a>\u00a0last year asking if Chapel Hill had the authority to regulate cell phone use.\u00a0 In November, Assistant Attorney General Jess Mekeel responded that the town did not, because \u201cthe state \u2018has\u00a0preemptive authority<\/a>\u00a0to regulate the use of mobile phones by motorists within the state of North Carolina.\u2019\u201d\u00a0 The basis for Mekeel\u2019s answer is a North Carolina statutory provision that mandates that all local laws must be \u201cconsistent with the Constitution and laws of North Carolina and of the United States.\u201d(N.C. Gen. Stat. \u00a7 160A-174 (2011)<\/a>).
\n <\/p>\n

\u201c[T]he state \u2018has preemptive authority to regulate the use of mobile phones by motorists within the state of North Carolina.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Aside from potential validity issues, experts have noted that enforceability of the ban will be exceptionally challenging.\u00a0 Officers are not able to issue citations for violating the ordinance unless the driver is stopped or arrested for some other reason, and the penalty for a violation is only $25.\u00a0 The statute also contains exceptions, including allowing calls in emergency situations and with parents, spouses and children.\u00a0 Further, educating the public about the ordinance will pose numerous cost and logistical difficulties.\u00a0 Although Chapel Hill has a population of only 57,000, the town is a tourist hub, seeing approximately\u00a0700,000 spectators at football and basketball games<\/a>\u00a0alone each year.\u00a0 That number swells to over\u00a01 million total visitors<\/a>\u00a0to the town annually.
\n 
\nThis ordinance should draw attention to the larger issue of enacting regulations for the use of portable technology devices while driving at the rate with whichtechnological advancements are made.\u00a0 While smartphones and tablets, in particular, have\u00a0boomed in popularity<\/a>\u00a0over the past few years, legislatures have not kept pace with technological progress in regulating their use while driving.\u00a0 There are many jurisdictions that impose\u00a0limitations on the scope of cell phone calls and text messages<\/a>\u00a0that are allowable on the road; however, activities such as using a 3G or 4G enabled tablet to run programs remain unregulated.\u00a0 States must develop a model to keep pace with technological advancements.\u00a0 Otherwise, small governing bodies will be forced to fruitlessly attempt to address the issues independently, while individuals statewide will be subjected to the dangers of sharing the roadways with drivers who are engaged in watching movies, reading blogs, and playing games on portable technology devices.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Monday, April 9th 2012 by\u00a0Jennifer K. Kanzelberger The Chapel Hill Town Council\u00a0made history\u00a0last week by becoming the first jurisdiction in the nation to\u00a0pass a measurecreating a blanket ban on all cell phone use while driving.\u00a0 Limitations on permissible uses of cell phones behind the wheel are commonplace.\u00a0 In fact, North Carolina (where Chapel Hill is …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[51],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/750"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=750"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7722,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/750\/revisions\/7722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.law.unc.edu\/ncjolt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}