Bill Text: VA HB461 | 2016 | Regular Session | Prefiled

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Bill Title: Handheld personal communications devices; use while driving, penalty.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-02-11 - Continued to 2017 in Transportation by voice vote [HB461 Detail]

Download: Virginia-2016-HB461-Prefiled.html

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16100911D
HOUSE BILL NO. 461 Offered January 13, 2016 Prefiled January 8, 2016 A BILL to amend and reenact §46.2-1078.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to use of handheld personal communication devices while driving; penalty. ---------- Patron-- Anderson ---------- Committee Referral Pending ----------

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §46.2-1078.1 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:

§46.2-1078.1. Use of handheld personal communications devices in certain motor vehicles; exceptions; penalty.

A. It is unlawful for any person to operate a moving motor vehicle on the highways in the Commonwealth while using any handheld personal communications device to:

1. Manually select multiple icons or enter multiple letters or text in the device as a means of communicating with another person; or

2. Read any email or text message transmitted to the device or stored within information displayed on the device, provided that this prohibition shall not apply to any name or number stored within the device nor to, any information displayed through the use of a global positioning system (GPS) for the purpose of navigation, or any caller identification information.

B. The provisions of this section shall not apply to:

1. The operator of any emergency vehicle while he is engaged in the performance of his official duties;

2. An operator who is lawfully parked or stopped;

3. The use of factory-installed or aftermarket global positioning systems (GPS) GPS or wireless communications devices used to transmit or receive data as part of a digital dispatch system; or

4. Any person using a handheld personal communications device to report an emergency.

C. A violation of this section is a traffic infraction punishable, for a first offense, by a fine of $125 and, for a second or subsequent offense, by a fine of $250.

For the purposes of this section, "emergency vehicle" means:

1. Any law-enforcement vehicle operated by or under the direction of a federal, state, or local law-enforcement officer;

2. Any regional detention center vehicle operated by or under the direction of a correctional officer responding to an emergency call or operating in an emergency situation;

3. Any vehicle used to fight fire, including publicly owned state forest warden vehicles, when traveling in response to a fire alarm or emergency call;

4. Any emergency medical services vehicle designed or used for the principal purpose of emergency medical services where human life is endangered;

5. Any Department of Emergency Management vehicle or Office of Emergency Medical Services vehicle, when responding to an emergency call or operating in an emergency situation;

6. Any Department of Corrections vehicle designated by the Director of the Department of Corrections, when (i) responding to an emergency call at a correctional facility, (ii) participating in a drug-related investigation, (iii) pursuing escapees from a correctional facility, or (iv) responding to a request for assistance from a law-enforcement officer; and

7. Any vehicle authorized to be equipped with alternating, blinking, or flashing red or red and white secondary warning lights pursuant to § 46.2-1029.2.

D. Distracted driving shall be included as a part of the driver's license knowledge examination.