HOUSE PUTS BRAKES ON YAKKING TEEN DRIVERS.

Byline: From Register-Guard and news service reports

SALEM - The Oregon House on Monday told the state's teenagers to hang up their cell phones while driving.

In 54-3 vote, the House passed a bill banning drivers under the age of 18 from using a cell phone while driving. The legislation would apply to teens who hold a provisional driver's license, a learner's permit or a special student driver permit.

But police wouldn't be able to pull over a motorist simply for using a cell phone while driving. Teens could get in trouble over their cell phone use only if a police officer stopped them for another traffic violation.

The Senate and House this session have considered proposals to ban cell phone use by drivers regardless of their age. But such sweeping proposals have fizzled. Instead, the House focused on the very youngest of drivers. The measure - House Bill 2872A - would still have to pass the Senate and be signed into law by Gov. Ted Kulongoski.

Eve Hannah, a 16-year-old in Eugene with a learner's permit, said she's fine with the ban. She said it would help young drivers-to-be concentrate on what's important: the road.

"They need to be focused on the road. They need to be focused on driving," said Hannah, whose father prohibits her from using a cell phone while driving. "They can return calls and text messages later."

In Oregon, only people 18 years of age or older can obtain regular driver's licenses. So the restriction on cell phone use would in effect apply to all drivers under the age of 18.

``It's a modest proposal, but this is the best we can do,'' said Rep. Greg Macpherson, D-Lake Oswego.

In their research on the bill, the Legislature's staff said that as of November 2006, 14 states have banned or restricted young drivers from using cell phones while driving, and four states have banned or restricted cell phone use for all drivers.

But some research suggests that the bill's focus on young drivers might exclude a group that presents a bigger risk - drivers who are much older.

In a study of cell phone safety, drivers between 50 and 80 years old were much more likely than younger drivers to miss a highway traffic situation while using a cell phone, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety.

Meanwhile, the Oregon Senate on Monday sent the state's tweens to the back seat of the car.

The Senate bill, which passed on a 22-5 vote, would require children weighing more than 40 pounds to be strapped into backseat booster seats until they reach 8 years old, or 4 feet 9 inches in height, whichever comes first.

Under current law, children no longer have to use backseat booster seats once they reach 6 years of age and 60 pounds.

The bill - Senate Bill 480A - also would require that infants under the age of 1 who weigh less than 20 pounds be strapped into rear-facing child seats. It moves to the Oregon House for consideration. Backers said the proposal would bring Oregon law into line with federal recommendations, and could help draw down more federal grants.