Senate committee approves communication device safety bill

Senate committee approves communication device safety bill February 12, 2025

Sen. Donald Douglas, R-Nicholasville, testifies on Senate Bill 99 during Wednesday’s Senate Transportation Committee meeting. The measure would strengthen safety laws related to using personal communication devices in vehicles. A high-resolution photo can be found here.

FRANKFORT — A bill that seeks to improve safety on roads and highways in Kentucky was given the green light Wednesday during a Senate Transportation Committee meeting with an 8-1-1 vote.

Sen. Donald Douglas, R-Nicholasville, is sponsoring Senate Bill 99 with Committee Chair Sen. Jimmy Higdon, R-Lebanon.

“It establishes that a person is not allowed to use that personal communication device to write, to send or to read texts while they are operating a motor vehicle,” Douglas testified.

Douglas said the bill is needed to prevent catastrophic injuries and deaths, and the measure would improve the safety of pedestrians in cities, those running on the side of the road and those out walking with children on two-lane country roads.

“I’m looking to improve the safety of operating motor vehicles in the Commonwealth of Kentucky as well as those who are not distracted. We often forget the other people involved in the accident,” he said.

Higdon said the bill includes provisions that truck drivers and bus drivers are already used to.

“This is a bill that 120,000 Kentuckians already abide by because it’s the exact language that’s included in a CDL national law pertaining to truck drivers and bus drivers. They have to stay off the phone, so this has already been applied in Kentucky,” he said.

The measure would still permit adult drivers to access personal communication devices using hands-free options.

But the bill would prohibit anyone under the age of 18 from using a personal communication device in any manner while operating a motor vehicle, including hands-free operations, Douglas said.

Vehicle operators would still be allowed to use devices to report illegal activity or summon first responders. The measure would also allow those under the age of 18 to use GPS.

Douglas testified that school bus drivers with commercial driver’s licenses are subject to different state laws, and the bill calls for the state transportation cabinet to update some regulations according to advances in technology.

Violations of the proposed law would result in a $100 fine. Those under 18 would receive a 90-day license revocation for a violation.

“Some may look at this and say that’s just entirely too long. Would you say that if it was your mother who was hit by the driver? Would you say that if it was your daughter who was hit by that driver, and you’re never going to see them again? I don’t think so,” Douglas said.

Senate Majority Whip Mike Wilson, R-Bowling Green, voted for the bill, and said its provisions would improve motorcyclists’ safety.

When cyclists are hit by another vehicle, the majority of cases are due to distracted driving,” he said. “And this is a bill that they have wanted for a long time, so I’m very proud to vote for that.”

Sen. Greg Elkins, R-Winchester, also voted for the bill, and said he’s seen statistics showing that hands-free usage makes roads safer and that drivers adapt to the changes.

“While I was in the trucking industry, we went through the transition from talking on your phone the way we all talk on our phone to the hands-free laws that were passed. I remember the reluctance,” he said.

Sen. Cassie Chambers Armstrong, D-Louisville, also cast a vote for the bill and thanked the bill’s sponsors.

“I really do believe that this is going to save lives, and I’m very grateful to the sponsors for bringing it forward,” she said.

The bill now heads to the full Senate for consideration.

---

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/publicservices/pio/release.html#SB99021225