Bills to improve on our streets appear to be gaining some traction in the Arizona Legislature. In this year's session, the House voted to ban motorists from having children riding in the back of pickup trucks. In 35-24 vote, a bill requiring kids under age 18 to have seatbelts while riding in open bed vehicles now passes to the state senate for ratification. It closes a loophole in the current law meant to curb the hazards posed by unsecured loads. Furniture, refrigerators and other loads required some type of restraint to protect other drivers. However, the law did not apply to people riding in open bed trucks.
The bill was not without compromises, as it allows unrestrained children to ride while wearing approved helmets. It is also limited to secondary enforcement, meaning that officers cannot stop and cite drivers for these offenses unless there is another citable violation.
Another bill voted on by the Senate takes on distracted driving by prohibiting drivers from sending or receiving text messages or emails while behind the wheel. While texting bans have been proposed and defeated before, this version gained passage because it allows drivers to send messages when the car is not in motion; for example at red lights, or when stuck in traffic.
The bill's opponents believe that a specific texting ban is unnecessary, since there are laws that punish drivers for other forms of distracted driving. Currently, officers may cite drivers for reckless driving if they act in "reckless disregard for the safety of persons or property" This can conceivably occur when drivers put on makeup behind the wheel or correct children in the back seat. Reckless driving is a class 2 misdemeanor where the court could also suspend the driver's license.
Drivers violating the texting ban face a $50 fine, which can increase to $200 if texting caused an accident.
