LIHU‘E — Do cellular phones with push-to-talk technology qualify as two-way radios? That question is being dissected by the Kaua‘i County Council. The answer could go a long way toward helping legislators finish work on a bill that would ban
LIHU‘E — Do cellular phones with push-to-talk technology qualify as two-way radios?
That question is being dissected by the Kaua‘i County Council. The answer could go a long way toward helping legislators finish work on a bill that would ban handheld electronics use by Kaua‘i drivers.
The bill is scheduled for second reading today, according to the agenda.
Public Safety/Energy/Intergovernmental Relations Committee Chair Derek Kawakami, who introduced the legislation at the behest of the Kaua‘i Police Department, said last week that the county is consulting with the Federal Communications Commission and will defer the bill until they can figure it out.
Popular services like Sprint-Nextel’s “Direct Connect” and Boost Mobile’s “Chirp” combine push-to-talk “walkie-talkie” technology with an ordinary cell phone, presenting a potential enforcement nightmare for officers who cite drivers for using cell phones only to have the drivers argue in court that they were using the two-way radio for work purposes.
Kawakami said if the technology is not deemed a two-way radio because it technically sends signals along cell phone frequencies, it would allow the council to carve out an exemption for two-way radio use without opening the door for widespread abuse.
A preliminary version of the bill provided by Kawakami in October contained language exempting all drivers using two-way radios for work-related duties, but it was removed before introduction.
In December, Councilman Daryl Kaneshiro introduced an amendment to carve out an exception for drivers with Commercial Drivers Licenses who use two-way radios while operating their commercial vehicles because those drivers often need to communicate in the course of their work and because it would be hazardous for them to pull their “big rigs” to the side of the road, he said.
Kaua‘i Police Department Patrol Services Bureau Acting Capt. Mark Scribner said large vehicles like 18-wheelers should be held to a higher safety standard and drivers of those vehicles need to be “more responsive and more attentive” than others because a crash with a large truck could involve more vehicles, more damage and more serious injuries than collisions among smaller cars.
The amendment was still approved amid some confusion before the bill was deferred for two weeks.
Scribner and KPD Chief Darryl Perry confirmed after the Dec. 9 meeting that they were opposed to the amendment, but the language was not removed at subsequent committee meetings before it was unanimously passed in January to the full council.
Two weeks ago, with the bill poised for passage on second reading, Kawakami asked for a deferral to explore the potential impact on county operations.
Since the deferral, the impact on private businesses that use two-way radios in the performance of their duties — for example, Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative’s meter readers — has also come onto the council’s radar.
See a future edition of The Garden Island to learn if the council removes the CDL exemption at KPD’s urging or widens the exemption to include county or private drivers without CDLs who use two-way radios for work purposes.
• Michael Levine, assistant news editor, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or mlevine@kauaipubco.com.
