BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana will not be enacting a ban on hand-held cellphone use while driving.
A House-backed proposal stalled in the Senate, and the regular session ended Friday without action on the bill, killing it.
Rep. Mike Huval, a Breaux Bridge Republican, wanted state laws that already prohibit texting or posting to social media sites while driving to be extended to manually using the phone in any way. That includes making or receiving a call.
People could still have made calls through a wireless connection or a headset, under the bill.
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Huval described it as a safety measure, backed by insurance industry organizations. Opponents said speaking hands-free would give drivers a false sense of security, and they argued that’s no different than many types of distracted driving.
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House Bill 619: www.legis.la.gov