ST PAUL, Minn. — A bill to require motorists to use hands-free devices when talking on the phone while driving has passed its first committee stop in the Minnesota Legislature.
A House transportation committee approved the bill on a unanimous voice vote Tuesday after hearing emotional testimony from several people who lost loved ones in crashes caused by drivers who were distracted by their cellphones.
One of those people was Wisconsin resident Tom Goeltz. In fact, the Minnesota State Capitol has become a pretty frequent stop for Goeltz.
"Too many times to count," he said. "The first one this year, but probably a half a dozen stops last year."
As a safety consultant, Goeltz has spent 30 years discouraging employees from distracted driving on the job.
"Making sure that when they're driving for work they're being safe," Goeltz said.
But his recent visits to the Minnesota legislature, speaking in support of a hands-free cell phone law, aren't work-related.
"It's mainly because I'm the father of Megan, and her unborn child, who were killed by a distracted driver," Goeltz said.
Because his daughter's crash happened in Minnesota, Tom and his wife, Melissa, have joined with other families of distracted driving victims at the capitol during the past two years. Despite never seeing the effort lead to a floor vote, the families, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, seem to believe this year will be different.
"I really think it's time," said Representative Peggy Bennett, a Republican representing District 27A. "It's time for us to catch up with technology."
As Goeltz testified yet again on Tuesday, he said the law will make a difference.
"It won't completely eliminate the problem, but it will help and maybe if we save some people's lives then it's all worth it in the end," he said.
According to the Minnesota Safety Council, hands-free laws have saved lives in the 16 states where they've already passed. The state group says those states have averaged a 16 percent drop in traffic fatalities within two years.
"And if we can get a 16 percent decrease in the year that follows implementing hands-free, that will be about 55 people, whose deaths would have been prevented," said Paul Aasen, President of the MN Safety Council.
The bill has passed its first hurdle in the House, but the families of victims know there are many more to go.
"We're trying to save people's lives in the state of Minnesota," Goeltz said. "It's already too late for our families. We're trying to save you."
Committee chairman and sponsor Frank Hornstein says the experience of other states with similar laws shows that enacting the hands-free requirement will save many lives.
Legislative leaders have said they expect hands-free legislation will be enacted this year, and with bipartisan support. The bill has at least one more committee stop before it reaches the House floor. A Senate committee has a hearing scheduled on a similar bill Wednesday.