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Nolanville hopes to implement cell phone ban

Posted at 10:28 AM, Jan 04, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-02 17:38:10-05

The city of Nolanville hopes to become another Texas city that bans cell phone usage while driving.

According to Texas Department of Transportation numbers, more than 90 cities across the state have some form of a cell phone ban for drivers. TxDOT lists three different types of cell phone usage while driving bans in the state:

  • Ban on all uses of wireless communications devices while driving.
  • Ban on texting while driving.
  • Ban on texting and other manual uses of wireless communication devices while driving

Nolanville's newest city council member, George French III said he hopes the city will soon implement a ban of their own. He said their proposed ordinance would cover all three types of bans on cell phone usage while driving.

"You can still talk on your phone but it needs to be hands-free," French said. "Hopefully it gets people to be a little smarter when they're driving."

The Councilman said the ban would include both city streets and Highway 190 through Nolanville. French said he hopes making Nolanville a hands-free zone betters the entire community.

"Once you make a mistake in a vehicle you can't take that back," French said. "This is something that we can do to make the city a safer place for our citizens," he added.

Alonzo Staggers and Liz Miranda both live in Nolanville, and they said they agree with the proposed ordinance.

"I think that's an excellent idea... I'm an over-the-road truck driver and I see a lot of scenarios where there are a lot of people distracted because the use of cell phones," Staggers said. "With all the hands-free devices out there, you know, if there's something important that you need to talk to you know you have the resources to do it."

"It seems like a lot of teenagers, and even people my own age are caught up with talking on the phone and it's just not safe," Miranda said. "I think it's a good idea for us to just put the phones away and concentrate on driving... too many times accidents are caused by talking on the cell phone or texting," she added.

The Nolanville City Council plans to host a public hearing on Jan. 5th, at the Nolanville City Hall to consider the ordinance. The hearing starts at 6:00 p.m.

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