Bicycle Austin forum

savanni

Member

From: Austin

Registered: 2011-04-30

Posts: 82

Website

Texting / handheld device ban

Passed today, unanimously: http://www.statesman.com/news/news/hand … ng-/nhBY6/

TL;DR: goes into effect in January, allows the use of hands-free devices, allows the use of a device while completely stopped, and applies to drivers and cyclists alike.  Finally.

chuckthomas

Member

From: North Austin (Rundberg)

Registered: 2008-05-27

Posts: 80

Re: Texting / handheld device ban

....and the police state just keeps a commin'.

savanni

Member

From: Austin

Registered: 2011-04-30

Posts: 82

Website

Re: Texting / handheld device ban

....and the police state just keeps a commin'.

There is no reasonable comparison between a law that requires that people handling dangerous machinery in public give that machinery their full attention... and warrantless wiretaps or unprovoked police beatdowns.

cycling74

Member

Registered: 2008-09-28

Posts: 61

Re: Texting / handheld device ban

As a bicycle commuter I say thank god this passed and i hope it's enforced. I see too many drivers out there looking down at their phones while driving. I've been almost hit by too many drivers talking on their phone while driving. That behavior has got to stop.

chuckthomas

Member

From: North Austin (Rundberg)

Registered: 2008-05-27

Posts: 80

Re: Texting / handheld device ban

I'm not sure if you are aware of this or not Savanni but cops like the one that just killed cyclist Milton Olin are exempted from obeying the law.  This isn't about safety, this is about the expansion of the police state and for profit jails.  It's actually going to be less safe as the devices that are now held in line of sight with the road will start to be held at waist level to avoid detection.

dougmc

Administrator

Registered: 2008-06-01

Posts: 631

Re: Texting / handheld device ban

This should be interesting to see how it all pans out ...

One of the arguments against the ordinance (and the texting ordinance that preceeded it) in general was how hard it would be to enforce -- it's pretty easy to just keep your phone in your lap and nobody can see it.  (And yet keeping it in your lap is arguably even less safe than using it when in front of you.)

... except that cyclists don't have that luxury, whatever they do will be immediately obvious to all around them, so enforcement is likely to be highly lopsided.

On top of that, the ban includes all hand held music players -- but not built-in music players.  Well, bikes almost never have built-in music players -- any music player that a cyclist has is a hand held music player, even if mounted to the bike and not in their hand.

I'm going to assume that "listening to an audio transmission" includes "listening to mp3s (which technically aren't an audio transmission)" so it sounds like they might be allowed, but you definitely won't be allowed to change the song unless the bike is stopped.

Users of hands free devices are allowed to use their phones ... except that such things don't really exist for bicycles at all. 

Also, as written, the ban applies only to the operator of a car ... but to everybody on a bicycle, even the stoker on a tandem.

On the bright side, the ban only covers motor vehicles and bicycles ... so your adult trike or recumbent trike would be exempt from the law as written.  (That said, a cop might still write a ticket, but I'd expect the prosecutor to throw it out rather than take it to court.)

That said, I'm writing this based on the most recent version of the proposed ordinance that I have, the final version has not been released yet that I know of, and I do know it was amended.  (I think the ham radio guys got a full exemption rather than a partial exemption, for example.)