Better yet

Florida State Sen. Bill Posey is sponsoring a bill that would prohibit teen drivers from using a cell phone while driving. This would only apply to those with a learner's permit.

Distracted drivers are a menace at any age. Why only go this far? Outlaw anyone from using them.

Open Post- Bright & Early, Freedom Watch, Outside the Beltway,

TALLAHASSEE — Teenagers with learner's permits to drive would not be allowed to talk on cellphones while behind the wheel under a bill approved Monday by a Senate committee.

The proposed law is an effort to reduce the number of deadly traffic accidents involving teens in Florida, said Sen. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, who is sponsoring the bill.

Highway crashes are the leading cause of death in the 15-20 age group, and research shows that distracted drivers contribute to at least a quarter of all crashes nationwide, government officials say.

Under the proposed law, anyone with a learner's license who is caught talking on a cellphone while driving could be cited for a moving violation and fined.

"I think it was kind of a common-sense thing," Posey said. "Anyone would be a liar who said it's not (a distraction)."

The National Transportation Safety Board has been urging states to pass laws banning the use of cellphones by new drivers, according to a Senate staff report. At least eight states — Connecticut, Maine, Delaware, Maryland, Tennessee, Illinois, Minnesota, and New Jersey — have done so.

The bill (SB 2528) was unanimously approved Monday by the Senate Committee on Transportation and now faces consideration by the full Senate.

The cellphone industry appears to support the effort to ban cellphone use by drivers with learner's licenses, which allow new drivers to learn with an adult while preparing to earn their regular licenses.

"If you're learning how to drive, you need to be paying attention," said David Ramba, a lobbyist for Cingular Wireless. "You need to figure out first how to drive, and as a secondary issue figure out if you can do two or three things at once."

Posey said there is no corresponding legislation in the House, which also must approve the measure for it to become law.