If the cell phone ban for Florida drivers passes, this picture could soon be as obsolete as the cell phone in it. Credit: Ed Poor at the English Wikipedia [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)]

If the cell phone ban for Florida drivers passes, this picture could soon be as obsolete as the cell phone in it. Credit: Ed Poor at the English Wikipedia [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)]
Lawmakers in Tallahassee could modify Florida Statute 316.305 (passed earlier this year) to include not only texting, but any hands-on phone use while driving, in things it's against the law to do while you're driving.

Modifications to SB 76 — the bill behind FS 316.305 — will ban all but hands-free cell phone use in Florida. What's more, it changes the way law enforcement, er, enforces the law. 

Right now, it's illegal to text while you're driving in Florida, but the only way law enforcement can enforce this law is if they pull you over for something else, like, say, speeding or improper change of lane. These modifications would change that, meaning a police officer could pull over any driver holding a cell phone.

Take a look at how Florida Senator Wilton Simpson, R-Trilby, suggests modifying the existing legislation. Simpson represents Florida's 10th district, comprised of Citrus, Hernando and part of Pasco counties. Here's the existing legislation without modifications. 

This article appears in Nov 22-29, 2018.

Cathy's portfolio includes pieces for Visit Florida, USA Today and regional and local press. In 2016, UPF published Backroads of Paradise, her travel narrative about retracing the WPA-era Florida driving...