A bill to ban the use of hand-held cellular phones while driving in Maryland has been killed.

The bill was rejected by the state’s Commerce and Government Masters Committee of the House of Delegates. The vote was 14-7.
Had the bill become law, it would have made Maryland the first state to adopt such a ban.
Advocates of a ban on use of hand-held cellular phones while driving had hoped lawmakers would be influenced by a 1999 incident that occurred on Maryland’s Capital Beltway. A car being driven by a man talking on his cell phone crashed into another vehicle, killing a couple.