Senate Bill No. 367
(By Senators Minard, Barnes and Foster)
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[Introduced January 27, 2010; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §17C-14-15, relating
to the unlawfulness of using additional technology associated
with a wireless communication device while operating a vehicle
on a public street, highway or public vehicular area; and
providing penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §17C-14-15, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 14. MISCELLANEOUS RULES.
§17C-14-15. Use of additional technology while operating a motor
vehicle.
(a) For the purposes of this section:
(1) "Additional technology" means any technology that provides access to digital media including, but not limited to, a camera,
electronic mail, music, the Internet, text messaging or games.
(2) "Wireless communication device" means a handheld device
used to access a wireless telephone service or a text message
service.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, it
is unlawful for any person to use additional technology while
operating a motor vehicle on a public street, highway or public
vehicular area.
(c) This section does not apply to:
(1) Any law-enforcement officer or operator of an emergency
vehicle while performing his or her official duties.
(2) A driver using a wireless communication device for the
sole purpose of reporting an emergency situation, including, but
not limited to criminal activity, a fire, a traffic accident, a
serious road hazard, a medical emergency or a hazardous materials
emergency, and the continued communication with emergency personnel
during the emergency.
(d) Any person violating the provisions of this section is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined not more than $100; upon a second conviction shall be fined
not more than $250; and upon a third or subsequent conviction shall
be fined not more than $500.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to make it unlawful to use
additional technology associated with a mobile phone while
operating a vehicle on a public street, highway or public vehicular
area.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.
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