Connecticut’s Anti-Distracted Driving Bills Progress

Two bills aimed at combating distracted driving are progressing through the Connecticut General Assembly.

The House of Representatives last Thursday voted 139-1 to add distracted driving to the list of moving violations that would be made available to insurance companies. Currently, if someone disobeys the state’s distracted driving law, they pay a fine and their insurer does not know about it.

The bill also increases fines and creates a task force to study distracted driving prevention. The legislation now moves to the Senate.

The Senate unanimously passed a bill establishing a fine of up to $1,000 for a motorist who “fails to exercise reasonable care on a public way” and seriously injures or causes the death of so-called vulnerable users, such as a bicyclists. The bill now moves to the House.