Driver Cell Phone Ban Proposed for Broward Schools: Report

The proposal would cover any electronic devices when a car is in motion

The Broward County Public Schools may ban drivers on school property from using cell phones or any other electronic devices when their cars are in motion, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported.

The district’s school board is considering such a policy after some minor safety problems. The proposal, drafted by the district’s director of safety, would include drivers using headsets or a Bluetooth.

"I want their full attention if they're on our school site," Jerry Graziose told the Sun Sentinel. "We've had parents actually hit their kids in the school driveways."

School employees have banged on cars to stop motorists from dragging their own children as they were still getting out of vehicles, and both principals and parents have said that phone users slow down pickup lines, according to the newspaper.

The policy needs to be approved by the school board before it goes into effect, and a public hearing has not been scheduled, the Sun Sentinel reported.

But the rule, if adopted, may lack teeth. If a parent refused to stop using his or her phone while driving, not much could be done about it, the Sun Sentinel said. One parent said that would make the policy irrelevant.

Neighboring Palm Beach County does not have such a policy for its schools, and a district spokesman said it does not have plans for one. But the district does want parents to abstain from using their phones when they are dropping off or picking up kids, the Sun Sentinel reported.

"We want to make sure everyone is on proper alert," spokesman Owen Torres told the paper.

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