[UTham] HB 95

[Kay Hargis]

Rep. Phil Riesen,

 

I have been made aware of your pre-filed bill, HB 95, which deals with the
use of electronic devices being outlawed while a person is operating a motor
vehicle in the State of Utah.

 

I agree with you 100 percent on the outlawing the use of CELL PHONES while
operating a motor vehicle, but with equal vigor I disagree with you
outlawing Amateur Radio operators from the training and experience they get
from using their equipment in different environments.

 

With regard to the outlawing the use of cell phones while operating a motor
vehicle, I am sure you are aware of a University of Utah study, which is
quoted nationwide, that states the study found people talking on a CELL
PHONE were as big a hazard as a person driving under the influence of
alcohol (DUI).

 

I worked for 27 years in law enforcement, and took pride in the fact I
arrested many persons for DUI, one time arresting 3 persons for DUI in one
night.  Another notable pair of arrests for DUI was when I arrested the same
person twice within the period of 2 hours in the same night, both times
taking him to jail..

 

I have been an advocate to outlaw CELL PHONES while driving for a number of
years and have approached candidates not only for the Utah Legislature, but
also the U.S. Legislature to pass such a law.  ALL MY EFFORTS HAVE BEEN
REBUFFED because those very people who I was trying to get to enact the law
were they themselves using CELL PHONES numerous times each day for business
and personal use.

 

I am convinced the CELL PHONE user IS as big a hazard to the driving public
as is the worst person driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

 

I salute you for your efforts on the CELL PHONE issue, but your broad brush
in HB 95 covers too many needed emergency and emergency training aspects.

 

I urge you to amend or re-file your bill pointing the finger at the problem,
and not to "Flock Shoot" society and see what falls out of the sky.

 

I am sure with your years working in the broadcast field, you know the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) licenses commercial radio and
television stations "For the public necessity, information and convenience."
. the entertainment of the programming on commercial radio and television is
secondary to their mission, that being to be able to keep the public
informed and in emergency situations, give guidance and direction to the
populace.  You also know that each commercial radio and television station
must have an engineer on duty at all times the station is transmitting to
ensure the correct operation of that station.  Many of those engineers are
now, or at one time, were Amateur Radio Operators, and most of their
education and experience came from the roots of Amateur Radio.

 

The same is true for Amateur Radio .. The Federal Communications Commission
grants license privileges ONLY WHEN THE INDIVIDUAL HAS DEMONSTRATED THEIR
KNOWLEDGE OF ELECTRONICS AND OPERATING PROCEEDURES. 

 

Although it certainly is true that we as Amateur Radio Operators enjoy our
hobby, we also know we are licensed by the FCC with the primary mission of
providing public service.  This is done willingly, without remuneration, and
paying for our own equipment.  For many years, and even to this day of
highly technical and sophisticated communications systems, Amateur Radio
Operators have been on the forefront of providing emergency communications
when all other systems have failed.  We pride ourselves of "Being able to
get the messages and traffic through when everything else has failed."  Many
of these messages are initiated from our mobile units parked or enroute to
or from the disaster area.

 

Some of the recent disasters that have occurred, Hurricane Katrina,
Hurricane Ike, the 26th of December 2004 earthquake and subsequent tsunami
in the Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean, and the Good Friday 1963
earthquake in Alaska, Amateur Radio provided much, if not the only
communications to areas outside of the devastated areas.

 

I personally have been FCC licensed since 1965, and have provided aid and
comfort to our military troops serving overseas by phone patches to their
loved ones in the states. all without cost to anyone, and paying for the
equipment and electricity to run my station myself.  I look with pride to my
service to the country and specifically to those who were able to talk
directly to their loved ones from the hinterlands of war and military
service.

 

We are proud of our heritage, and point with pride to some of our more
notable brothers. Walter Cronkite, Barry Goldwater, Owen Garriott (who was
the first to take amateur radio into space).

 

We ARE NOT the "Breaker Breaker 1-9" crowd that we are so commonly and
erronishly linked with.  We are proud of our accomplishments, our education
and experience, and our service to the community through not only the
Amateur Radio channels, but also the military channels, the ARMY, NAVY, and
AIR FORCE MARS (Military Affiliate Radio System, which REQUIRES an Amateur
Radio License first before you are accepted for service in the military
radio system).

 

I wear with equal pride my Amateur Radio License call sign on my Utah
License Plates.  The Utah State Legislature years ago realized the value of
the pre trained legions of emergency radio communicators and specifically
stated it in the Utah Code Annotated.  Amateur Radio License plates are
issued under UCA 41-1a-418 (d) (iv), which incidentally is the same subset
as special recognition for current members of the legislature.  Paraphrasing
UCA 41-1a-418 it says The Motor Vehicle Division will issue special group
license plates to the following:  Quoting sub paragraph (d), "recognition
special group license plates, as in a PUBLIC OFFICIAL OR AN EMERGENCY
SERVICE GIVER, (emphasis added) which plates are issued for a:

(i)           Current member of the Legislature;

(ii)          Current member of the United States Congress;

(iii)         Current member of the National Guard

(iv)         licensed amateur radio operator;"

 

 

I am sure you are proud of your accomplishment in getting to serve in the
Utah State Legislature. we are just as proud of our serving as qualified
radio operators, and as with your special recognition plate which gives
notification to the general public you are a qualified public servant and
the need for you in an emergency situation must be expedited, we were also
granted this privilege by the Utah State Legislature in years past.

 

The State of New Jersey recognized the services the Amateur Radio Community
provides, and when they passed a law governing the use of cell phone they
specifically exempted Amateur Radio by entry into the law such exemption.
The law is quoted below:

 

Quote:


The use of a wireless telephone or electronic communication device by an
operator of a moving motor vehicle on a public road or highway shall be
unlawful except when the telephone is a hands-free wireless telephone or the
electronic communication device is used hands-free, provided that its
placement does not interfere with the operation of federally required safety
equipment and the operator exercises a high degree of caution in the
operation of the motor vehicle. For the purposes of this section, an
"electronic communication device" shall not include an amateur radio. 

 

I invite you to research the need for the Amateur Radio Community and see
for yourself the services they have provided not only Utah, but the Nation
and World as a whole.

 

By blocking the training and service that is rendered from the use of mobile
communication equipment I believe you would deal a severe blow to the
Emergency Preparedness and Home Security this nation so badly needs at this
time.

 

Thank you,

 

Kay W. Hargis, N7KH 

Licensed Amateur Radio Operator, and serving continuously since 1965

 

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