A judge has put a halt to Chapel Hill’s latest layer of government regulation and intrusion. From the News & Observer:

Judge Orlando Hudson granted a preliminary injunction in Orange County Superior Court Tuesday, delaying enforcement of the town’s towing ordinance and cell phone ban, which would prohibit talking on a cell phone while driving in town limits.

Chapel Hill cannot enforce its new towing ordinance and cell phone ban, a judge said Tuesday morning.


Carolina Journal has reported on the negative impact the ban on cell phone use while driving will have on area businesses:

Dave Cotton, owner of AdvantaClean, a franchise that provides emergency water and fire restoration, mold remediation, and air duct cleaning services to customers in several counties in the Triangle area, told CJ the ban is frivolous.

Cotton said a CBS “This Morning” news crew followed him as he demonstrated how difficult it can be to find a place to pull over to use the phone safely, yet how easy it is to use one button or voice command.

“I’m not against a ban on hand-held devices,” Cotton said, “I just can’t understand why they’d ban hands-free. I’ve worked a lot in the Northeast where some areas had a ban on using hand-held devices, but they didn’t include Bluetooth.”

“My car is my office, and my trucks are on the road constantly. If I follow the letter of the law, I won’t be able to pick up the phone or press a button to answer a call. Missing a call can means thousands of dollars in lost business. With the types of emergencies my customers have, they need to reach a live person. If they don’t reach me, they’ll most likely go with the first live person they get,” Cotton said. He joked that even the original car phone had hands-free capability.

Frank Coker, owner of Senior Helpers, a provider of in-home senior care, told CJ that “he could see some reasons to do the ban, but not the hands-free, and it’s just a secondary offense with a $25 fine.”

“But a missed call in my business can potentially be life-threatening for my clients,” said Coker. “If a senior falls or has some other medical emergency, they can call my business 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and always reach a live person. My car is my office. I don’t want to have to drive five miles to find a place where I can pull off the road to return or answer a call. So I’ll continue to take calls so I can provide the best care to my clients.