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Renewed Effort to Ban Holding Cellphones While Driving

carinsurance.org

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A proposal to ban Virginia motorists from holding cellphones while driving may get a second chance.

One bill died during this year's legislative session. But AAA has asked Gov. Ralph Northam to amend another bill to include the ban.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that AAA is calling on Northam to amend a bill that would bar drivers from holding a cellphone while driving in a highway work zone. That bill cleared the legislature. AAA wants the legislation to apply to driving on any road.

Northam has a midnight Tuesday deadline to sign, veto or seek to amend the bill. The legislature will return April 3 to take up Northam's vetoes and amendments.

State law already makes it illegal to text or email on a cellphone while driving.

Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.