Laws against using apps on phone while driving proposed in Wisconsin

Penalties increase from $20 to $100.

Tougher distracted driving laws could make it easier to get convictions.

Three Republican state senators, including Shannon Zimmerman of River Falls, Wis., have introduced a bill in Madison that would toughen those laws.

Part of the bill adds provisions for popular phone apps that would go beyond simply texting and driving.

“It narrows it down to specifics,” Wisconsin State Patrol Sgt. William Miller said. “So if an officer observes a specific behavior, they might be easier to identify that as a distracting behavior as opposed to the inattentive driving itself, which is a more encompassing law.”

The proposed legislation would would increase distracted driving fines from $20 to $100 dollars.

Miller added that legislators have struggled to deal with the increase in technology.

“We didn’t have these kind of technology available to us just less than five years ago,” Miller said. “Anytime something new comes onto the scene, it gets a lot more attention as opposed to a drunk driving, speeding or following to close, which are still major contributes to crashes out here on the interstate.”

If the law passed, Miller said it would help officers identify the distracting behavior and cite the person accordingly.