Law would allow tickets for careless driving

0 Comments | Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Feb 20, 2007

The House on Monday approved a bill that would allow a motorist to be ticketed for "careless driving," or being distracted by something not related to the operation of a motor vehicle.

Among the distractions listed are: cell phones, searching for an item in a vehicle or attending to personal hygiene. Motorists would have to be stopped for another primary offense in order to be cited for careless driving, which would be a class C misdemeanor.

SB17, which makes other technical changes to transportation laws, was amended last week on the House floor to remove the careless driving provision. It had been amended earlier in committee to removing a provision that would have raised the speed limit on state highways by 5 mph.

The Senate did not want the careless driving provision taken out. A conference committee of House and Senate members was appointed to reach an agreement and place that provision back in the bill. The measure now goes to the Senate for approval.