Cell phones are one step closer to being banned for drivers in Chapel Hill
The council voted 7-2 Monday night to continue discussing a ban on talking on cell phones while driving in Chapel Hill.
Council members Gene Pease and Matt Czajkowski dissented. Pease said the issue should be regulated by the state, and Czajkowski questioned whether the town has the legal authority to enact a ban.
The ban would prohibit hand-held phone calls or both hand-held and hands-free calls while driving. The ordinance would apply to all streets town-wide, including state-owned roads. Drivers would be allowed to make emergency calls, and calls with a spouse, parent or child. Violators would be fined $25.
Last year the state attorney general said the town did not have the authority to enact a cell phone ban. Town Attorney Ralph Karpinos disagrees. In a memo Karpinos wrote that there is no statutory or case law that directly prohibits a local ban.
See newsobserver.com, tomorrow's N&O and Wednesday's Chapel Hill News for more on what the council members and public said about the proposed rules.
Katelyn Ferral covers Orange County for The News & Observer and The Chapel Hill News.
