Last Updated on March 27, 2012 11:34 am
In a move that has now made it the first of it's kind in the nation, Chapel Hill will ban cell phone use while driving.
In a 5-4 vote on Monday night the town council passed the new ordinance, which will take effect on June 1. Published reports say The ordinance applies to all streets in town, including state-owned roads. Drivers would be allowed to make emergency calls, and calls to a spouse, parent or child. Violators will be fined $25.
Even though the ordinance has been passed by the town, the state attorney general's office told the town last year that they did not have the authority to regulate cellphone use and the law would be “unenforceable”.
North Carolina already has ban on cellphone use by drivers under 18 years of age and school bus drivers. That ban also includes texting while driving for any motorist.
