Oak Ridge Today

Drivers prohibited from holding wireless telecommunications device

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Under a new state law that went into effect July 1, drivers in Tennessee are now prohibited from holding a wireless telecommunications device such as a cell phone, personal digital assistant, or computer while operating a vehicle.

To comply with the new law, the Oak Ridge city code has to be changed. The Oak Ridge City Council will consider the code change in the first of two readings during a meeting this evening (Monday, July 8).

The proposed city ordinance mirrors the new state law, the city’s legal staff said in a July 1 memo. Most first and second offenses of the new handheld law will be brought to Oak Ridge City Court. Other offenses will result in state charges, which can result in higher fines than those imposed in municipal courts. Those other offenses include third and higher offenses, as well as violations occurring in construction zones, marked school zones where flashers are operating, and offenses that result in a crash.

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Emergency workers: State your location when calling 911 from cell phone

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The Oak Ridge 911 Dispatch Center is pictured above. (Photo courtesy City of Oak Ridge)

Oak Ridge emergency workers and dispatchers are urging the community to remember a potentially life-saving step when calling 911 from a cell phone: immediately state your location to the dispatcher.

“The Oak Ridge fire and police departments are working to share this important information after incidents involving cell signals were routed to the wrong 911 center, potentially delaying emergency response,” a press release said.

Emergency service organizations (fire, police, ambulance, and dispatch) and 911 callers have no control over which cell tower is used by an individual’s phone. If you are making a 911 call from your cell phone, you should always advise the dispatcher of the city and/or county you are calling from and your exact location, the press release said.

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Alexander, Feinstein introduce bill to stop cell phone calls on planes

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U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

Lamar Alexander

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander on Thursday introduced legislation to prohibit cell phone conversations on commercial airline flights, a possibility the Federal Communications Commission is scheduled to consider today (Thursday).

“Keeping phone conversations private on commercial flights may not be enshrined in the Constitution, but it is certainly enshrined in common sense,” said Alexander, a Tennessee Republican. “This legislation is about avoiding something nobody wants: nearly two million passengers a day, hurtling through space, trapped in 17-inch-wide seats, yapping their innermost thoughts.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, is an original cosponsor of the legislation. [Read more…]