Verizon Wireless Inc. became the first wireless carrier in the nation to say it would support statewide legislation to ban cellular handset use by drivers.
In testimony before the Chicago City Council, Annette Jacobs, president of Verizon Wireless for the Great Lakes Area said the company will work to enact legislation to require drivers to use hands-free devices.
Verizon Wireless, based in Bedminster, New Jersey, made the stipulation that it will not propose such laws but "where there is public will and legislation desire to enact this kind of law, we will support it," said Jeffrey Nelson, a Verizon spokesperson reading from a Verizon statement.
A conflict between a current Illinois state law and proposed legislation by Chicago appears to have prompted the Verizon reaction. While Illinois banned the use of headsets as too distracting while driving when the Sony Walkman devices first appeared, a Chicago alderman is now proposing that headsets should be required for cell phone use.
According to a Verizon Wireless spokesperson the company will support, through media and lobbying efforts, the requirement that only headsets or hands-free cellular devices be used by drivers as long as a number of other conditions are met.
Verizon is calling on Illinois in particular to lift the ban on headsets in the state. In general, Verizon will support hands-free legislation only on a statewide level, rather than local. In addition Verizon will ask that any headset requirements be phased in over three years to give manufacturers time to adapt their handsets as well as consumers time to buy them and that there be an exception to the ban in case of a 911 emergency.
Verizon will also ask that any laws passed not be discriminatory against wireless in relation to other laws against driving while distracted. In other words, the Verizon spokesperson said the fines for driving while shaving, for example, must be the same as driving while using a handset.
Verizon may be in a better position to support hands-free legislation due to the recent agreement it signed with OnStar, a General Motors subsidiary, to be the wireless network carrier for OnStar's cellular services that will be integrated in to almost all models of GM vehicles over the next five years.