Klamath Falls News - Locally owned news brand, reporting stories affecting citizens of the Klamath Basin.
On June 18, 2019, Mr. Daniel Wessel, working for Rocky Mountain Construction as a flagger, was struck and killed by Ms. Zahra Gonzales who was driving through the construction zone. Ms. Zahra Gonzales pled guilty on January 31, 2020, to Manslaughter in the Second degree, with a stipulated sentence of 100 months in the Oregon Department of Correction.
Read MoreOn June 18, 2019, Mr. Daniel Scott Wessel, while working as a flagger for Rocky Mountain Construction, was struck and killed by a motor vehicle driven by Zahra Gonzales. This crash was investigated by the Oregon State Police. Detective Tom Andreazzi and Trooper Justin Henrick, along with other OSP personnel, documented not only the crash itself, but the events leading up to this tragic death.
Read MorePORTLAND, Ore. — KATU has discovered a potentially major loophole in Oregon's new distracted driving law while looking into concerns from Uber and Lyft drivers.
The measure brings stiffer penalties in the hopes of getting people to focus on driving, not distractions. Right now in Oregon it's illegal to hold your phone while driving only if you're talking or texting at the time. But as of Oct. 1, when the law goes into effect, you won't be allowed to hold your phone or electronic device at all behind the wheel. If you're not holding it, however, and you just touch or swipe it, it's a different story.
"When you're driving there are times that you have to click," Kazzrie Hecahti, who places her phone on a mount attached to her car's air vents while at the wheel, told KATU on Monday.
She started driving for Uber and Lyft in Portland more than two years ago and she sits on the leadership committee for The Drivers Collective PDX, a ride-hailing driver advocacy group.
"In my experience as a driver the police have been very friendly in my direction," Hecahti said.
But after learning about the new distracted driving law, Hecahti and other drivers like her told KATU they had concerns.They were particularly worried about the wording on a "fact sheet" about the law from the state. It says"it is illegal to drive while holding or using an electronic device" that isn't hands-free or "built-in" unless you're deactivating or activating the device. Hecahti said drivers frequently have to touch phones behind the wheel because that's often when they get requests for service.
"If you don't tap it, it's a 'ding' on you," Hecahti explained. "You have 15 seconds (until) it goes to the next driver. ... It counts against you or what they call your 'acceptance rating.'"
After KATU asked Uber and Lyft about it, both companies said they and their drivers will safely follow the rules.
A Lyft spokesman cited a part of the actual text of the new law naming multiple exceptions including one that says it does not apply to a "person who activates or deactivates a mobile electronic device or a function of the device." That allayed Hecahti's professional concerns although she said she still wishes it were clearer.
"If there's a loophole that drivers can get through if you can tap and swipe, anybody can tap and swipe," Hecahti said.
KATU asked Sgt. Michael Berland, an Oregon State Police spokesman, about the loophole. He admitted the term "function of the device" is not defined by the law.
"With that being such a wide and just a general, generic term of just 'function,' I think that would rely on the trooper (or officer) on scene to figure out if the function of the phone is appropriate within the spirit of the bill," Berland said.
Of course with no clear definition of the term "function of the device" in the law it also potentially opens up several ways to get a ticket thrown out in court.
Also hands-free accessories for phones or electronic devices don't just have to be "built in."
The law says, "'Hands-free accessory' means an attachment or built-in feature for or an addition to a mobile (communication) electronic device (, whether or not permanently installed in a motor vehicle,) that when used gives a person the ability to keep both hands on the steering wheel."
News article and video by KATU News
2017 Legislature Updates Oregon’s Distracted Driving Law
Effective October 1, 2017, Oregon law makes it illegal to drive while holding or using an electronic device (e.g. cell phone, tablet, GPS, laptop).
Here are a few cases where the new law does not apply:
• When using hands-free or built-in devices, if you are 18 years of age or older.
• Use of a single touch or swipe to activate or deactivate the device.
• When parked safely, i.e., stopped in a designated parking spot. However, it is NOT legal to use the device when stopped at a stop light, stop sign, in traffic, etc.
• While providing or summoning medical help and no one else is available to make the call.
• Tow truck or bus drivers following the federal rules for CDL holders.
• When using a two-way radio if you are a CB user, school bus driver, utility truck driver in scope of employment.
• If you are a HAM radio operator age 18 years or older.
A first offense (that doesn’t contribute to a crash) has a maximum fine of $1,000. The court may suspend the fine if the driver completes an approved distracted driving avoidance class, and shows proof to the court, within four months. Only the fine is suspended – the violation will still be recorded on the offender’s driving record.
A second offense (or if the first offense contributes to a crash) has a maximum fine of $2,500.
A third offense in ten years is a Class may result in a maximum fine of $2,500 fine and possibly 6 months in jail.
For more information visit the following links:
• Hang Up and Drive (KFN) - http://bit.ly/2ftKA5V
• HB 2597 FULL - http://bit.ly/2ft6R3I
• HB 2597 SUMMARY - http://bit.ly/2ft786K
Oregon outlaws touching smartphone behind the wheel effective October 1
September 15, 2017 • KVAL News
SPRINGFIELD, Ore. - Starting next month, it will be illegal to use a phone for any purpose while driving.
And as one officer showed us, the new law will be a big change for Oregonians.
"There's one right there," Springfield Police Officer Tom Speldrich said.
It doesn't take him long to spot distracted drivers.
"He's shifting, looking back and forth, half the time. Right now half the time his eyes are on the road and half the time they're on his phone," Speldrich said as a man holding his phone drove down Gateway Street.
Speldrich knows what he's looking for.
"When you see one set of knuckles and then you see a chin that's down, maybe not looking up at the road," he said, "that keys me in to look a little bit closer."
Under current Oregon law, you can use your phone while driving - just not for texting or calling.
"If it's something that's not two-way communication, it's allowed by law," Speldrich said. "But we know, common sense tells us it's not any safer to check your bank statement than it is to be texting while you're driving down the road."
Under the new law, it will all be illegal.
Starting Oct. 1, drivers cannot use or even hold an electronic device.
"Ultimately it is going to lead to our roadways being safer as drivers change their habits and put their phones away while they are driving," Speldrich said. "Distracted drivers run red lights, they sit through green lights, they speed, they drive too slow, they run the whole gamut of traffic safety code."
"It's like impaired driving. I mean you do enough times, those are only the times you get caught, you do it enough times and you're going to wipe somebody out," Speldrich said.
He knows just as well as anyone it's going to be a tough habit for drivers to break.
But he says hopefully it does the trick.
The Fine Print
Oregon DOT says there are some cases where the new law does NOT apply.
• When using hands-free or built-in devices, if you are 18 years of age or older.
• Use of a single touch or swipe to activate or deactivate the device.
• When parked safely, i.e., stopped in a designated parking spot. However, it is NOT legal to use the device when stopped at a stop light, stop sign, in traffic, etc.
• While providing or summoning medical help and no one else is available to make the call.
• To truck or bus drivers following the federal rules for CDL holders.
• When using a two-way radio if you are a CB user, school bus driver, utility truck driver in scope of employment.
• If you are a HAM radio operator age 18 years or older.
The law also updates violations and fines.
• A first offense that doesn’t contribute to a crash is a Class B violation with a maximum fine of $1,000.
• A second offense, or if the first offense contributes to a crash, is Class A violation with a maximum fine of $2,500.
• A third offense in 10 years is a Class B misdemeanor and could result in a maximum fine of $2,500 fine and could be 6 months in jail.
Beginning January 1, 2018, a court may suspend the fine for first-time offenders if the offense does not contribute to a crash; if the driver completes an approved distracted driving avoidance class; and shows proof to the court, all within four months.
Only the fine can be suspended. The violation will remain on a driver's record.
Video and Story by KVAL News
Oregon House Bill 2597 -> https://www.scribd.com/document/359000922/HB2597
