By Live 5 Web Staff|March 10, 2020 at 6:49 AM EDT - Updated March 10 at 7:11 AM
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A Charleston City Council member wants to ban the use of all handheld devices while driving.
Councilman Harry Griffin is calling for the ban.
City Council is set to discuss with the city’s legal team how much they are able to tighten up the law, which currently allows drivers to use mobile phones while they’re behind the wheel.
The only current statewide regulation bans texting while driving. But law enforcement cannot prove someone they pulled over was actually doing so without ordering a subpoena for their phone records.
State law pre-empts city law on such matters, making the kind of law Griffin is calling for difficult to enforce.
So City Council wants to write up a resolution to send to state lawmakers in Columbia who they hope will then use that to make the ban on handheld devices while driving a statewide ban.
Nearly half of the states already have such bans. Business Insider reported that distracted driving is the number one cause of accidents in the nation.
Depending on what Charleston’s legal team decides, council members could create the resolution by their next meeting.
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