University Park Cell Phone Ban

University Park officials are standing behind their ban on cell phone use in school zones, despite a researcher’s assertion that such tactics are ineffective.
Last week, Speed Mea­surement Laboratories, a Fort Worth-based traffic research company, released the results of a month-long study on cell phone use in school zones. The study focused on one school zone in University Park and two in Dallas, where use of a hand-held cell phone is banned, as well as four school zones in Texas, Illinois, and Colorado where no ban is in place. Observers watched for drivers using a cell phone when the school zones were both active and inactive.
Their findings show that the percentage of University Park drivers talking on their phones in school zones barely dropped when the zone was active, from 9 percent to 8.1 percent. They found similar results in both Dallas school zones.
Carl Fors, president of Speed Measurement Laboratories, said the research proves that bans like those in University Park and Highland Park aren’t enough to deter drivers from using their cell phone in an active school zone.

“We are going to have to do something as a society,” said Fors, who believes an outright ban on cell phone use in vehicles should be enacted. “We must do something to stop it. We can’t rely on public good will." University Park’s enforcement of the cell phone ban began in January 2008. Officer Lita Snellgrove, a spokeswoman for the University Park Police Department, said a learning curve is to be expected when implementing a new law.

“It’s like any new law or city ordinance. It’s going to take some time to educate the public,” Snellgrove said. “I think that as we continue to monitor the school zones and give more tickets, people are going to become more aware of it.”

Steve Mace, a spokesman for the city of University Park, said the City Council is in no hurry to change their ordinance.

“The council is still very much behind it,” Mace said. “They are still supportive of the measure.”

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