Finally, at around 8 p.m., on Wednesday, Aug. 2, the first session of the 128th Maine Legislature adjoined sine die, Latin for without day, meaning we are done! This was the longest legislative session in Maine’s history, including the last time state government shut down for 17 days back in 1991.

We ended the session last Wednesday with what is referred to as veto day, when the Legislature returns to deal with bills the governor vetoed after our last official work day back in July. We had some 25 bills vetoed by the governor. Several have generated much public scrutiny, while others simply got dealt with and we moved on.

One of these more controversial bills was the banning of the use of handheld devices or cell phones while driving. While Maine does have a distracted driving law on the books already, many in law enforcement testified that it is difficult to prosecute under the current law as there are many loop holes that deter the enforcement of the current law.

Most of us have observed a driver in front of us, or approached by a driver coming in the other direction, that is weaving between the lines. Most often you will see the driver’s head down, looking at their phone, or busily typing away. There is no question that these devices have become a necessary burden in our lives today, but the Legislature cannot ignore a public safety issue whose statistics indicate a growing, negative trend.

With head-on collisions up by over 25 percent, and fatalities from these incidents increasing, it was felt by many that tightening up this law by being specific about the particular devices that cannot be used while driving would help. The bill did provide several exceptions in the cases of emergencies and other essential uses.

The State of Maine Department of Transportation has spend hundreds of thousands of dollars annually putting rumble strips along edges of highways and center lines in an attempt to curb these dangerous driving habits. While this has helped in many major thoroughfares, many of our back, rural roads have not had this same treatment.

I supported the bill, and the override, after hearing on the news this past spring of the young man in Texas that was texting while driving and ran head on into a church school bus, killing 13 innocent victims. Also one of my constituents was recently seriously injured when a vehicle coming in the opposite direction crossed the center line and hit her head on. The other driver was checking her face book page on her phone while driving. Somehow this practice must be stopped.

This past winter I arranged for a presentation by AT&T to the Wells High School junior and senior classes on the dangers of distractive driving called, “It Can Wait!” A powerful message presented by real victims and perpetrators of accidents involving texting while driving. I believed it was a powerful message that I hope many who attended have adhered to.

Many will say we have become the nanny state, trying to control people’s lives. While that may be the cursory view, government has an obligation to protect innocent lives from those who present a possible threat to the public’s safety. 

Ultimately the veto was sustained, falling 9 votes short of the override, and the bill did not become law. 

I suspect this is not the last opportunity we will have to address this issue. But hopefully through this debate and the public scrutiny of the bill, the message will be heard and the cell phones will be put on silence while driving. After all, it truly can wait!

— State Rep. Robert Foley, R-Wells, represents House District 7, which includes most of Wells.