If Personal Injury Protection (PIP) reform legislation does not pass both Florida chambers and get signed into law next year, it won't be for lack of trying. A variety of organizations have signed on to promote the much-needed legislation—I must get a couple of emails a day from groups and individuals campaigning for the issue. Frankly, I thought the reforms proposed during the 2011 session would breeze through the Legislature, but the trial lawyers and PIP medical clinic owners drove them into the ditch. Supporters seem even more aggressive and better organized now, so perhaps their new strategies and renewed resolve will carry the day. (For one person's opinion on how to handle the problem, see Richard Parrillo, Sr.'s article, "A Solution to PIP Fraud," on page 16.)
And if the numerous PIP bills in the pipeline for 2012 are not enough to get people's engines running, there are several other driving-related bills that are guaranteed to rev them up. Here's a look at some of them, along with my very personal views of what lawmakers should do.
SB 416 HB 299—The legislation prohibits operation of a motor vehicle while using a wireless communications device for certain purposes (with some exceptions). It also specifies information that is admissible as evidence of a violation; provides for enforcement as a secondary action; and provides that points be assessed against a driver's license for unlawful use of a wireless communications device resulting in a crash.
HB 187—The bill bans the use of handheld cellular telephones and related electronic communications devices by drivers 18 years old and younger. School bus drivers also are prohibited from texting and talking while behind the wheel.
HB 39—The bill requires a person cited for moving violation while using a handheld mobile telecommunications device to appear before a designated official; it also provides additional penalties.
My view: It's about time we pass some laws to rein in the growing tendency to treat the driver's seat like a barcalounger. Florida is one of only a few states with no limits on text messaging and talking on mobile phones while driving. Despite the growing data on the dangers—in Broward County, distracted driving was the leading cause of fatal traffic accidents in 2010—the 2011 Legislature rejected or ignored all bills that sought to limit drivers' use of cell phones and text messaging devices. Perhaps supporters will fare better in 2012.
SB 244 HB 159—Often referred to as "The Road Rage Bill," the legislation creates a Highway Safety Act that requires a driver to yield the left lane when being overtaken on a multilane highway; revises a number of specified acts necessary to qualify as an aggressive careless driver; and requires the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to provide information about the Highway Safety Act in driver's license educational materials.
My view: Supporters have been trying for years to get a version of this passed and signed. In 2005, Gov. Jeb Bush vetoed SB 732, saying that drivers blocking the left lane are "cautious and careful." I guess if you are riding in a limo with tinted windows…. (Personally, I favor the proposal put forth by the late great George Carlin: Give everyone a dart gun with those suction cup darts that they can shoot at offensive drivers. When a car has a certain number of darts stuck to it, police get to pull it over and ticket the driver for being a jerk.)
Lawmakers convene on Jan. 10, 2012. Start your engines!
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