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Chatting On Cell Phone While Driving? That'll Cost You Under Proposed Bill

LANSING (WWJ) - A new bill introduced Tuesday would force Michigan drivers to put down their phones or face a hefty fine.

The ban would include any phone that is not mounted in the car and voice activated with a single swipe reports WWJ's Sandra McNeill. The ban would apply even at stop lights.

"It's common sense," says the bill's sponsor Martin Howrylac, "don't drive and attempt to do something other than driving at the same time. You can't do it."

The proposed ban is getting the support of Sterling Heights Lieutenant Aaron Burgess: "We've had a few fatalities -- where we start looking into it and we find that the person was on the phone just prior to the crash."

People are under pressure to be available in this 24/7 driven connected society.

"Absolutely, I'm a supervisor, I have children of my own and I have a wife, everybody wants something from me and everybody wants it right now. The single most important thing that we can try to stress is that you are now in charge of a 3 - 4,000 pound bomb," says Burgess.

"I think everyone out here has seen someone driving a car, talking on the phone, eating a sandwich, steering with their knees -- I see it everyday myself and officers see it every single day and regrettably we are the ones who have to clean it up."

The proposed fine is $250 for the first offense, and $500 and one point on your license for the second time you are caught.

The bill's sponsor says it has about a 50 percent chance of passing by the end of this term.

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