Is Using Your Cell Phone While Driving Illegal In MD?

Maybe not quite yet, but we may be heading there. The Sun reported today on a new bill pending in the MD General Assembly that would make using your cell phone while driving illegal in Maryland. In fact, the bill, HB 30, not only outlaws cell phone use while driving but outlaws any distractive activity while driving, including reading, writing, personal grooming, ect. This bill has been introduced before but has died every time. A similar law was enacted in 2004 in DC (enacted at 50 DC Code 1731; online but not linkable--see this site under heading "DC Official Code"), but that law defined "distracted activity" more narrowly, as applying solely to using your cell phone. See this article for more on that law.