Will Maryland be next state to make distracted driving a primary offense?

When you get in the car put down the phone and get rid of all distractions. At least that's what lawmakers what you to do.

You know its flat out dangerous. Studies say the same.

But here's the question: Should a police officer be allowed to pull you over, just for seeing your phone in your hand?

Stories of young drivers dying while driving distracted are common.

That's one of the reasons Baltimore County Delegate Jim Malone wants to make using your cell phone behind the wheel a primary offense in Maryland.

And for Malone it is personal.

“I think aggressive driving and distracted driving is in my opinion overtaking drunk driving and I can say that as someone who lost a brother 25 years ago to drunk driving,” he said.

Nine states including DC already have cell phone use a primary offense. Malone thinks Maryland should be number 10.

Looking down and looking up while driving is causing serious injury and death he said.

Information from the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration backs that up. They say sending or receiving a text takes a drivers eyes off the road for 4.6 seconds. at 55 miles an hour that covers the length of a football field.

Will Sauers of the Cellular Connection is talking about how people are used to holding the phone to talk. There is some much new technology now, he says it's not worth getting a fine over.

There are units that will actually read text messages to you or you can say the name of the person you want to call, and it will call them, he said.

Drivers can also just say answer when getting an incoming call and the phone will answer.

If you want your cell phone to be hands free and you don't want to spend money, that's OK. Any  phone that is 3 or 4 years old has a speaker phone on it. You can just use that and put it in your lap and that will work fine.