HARTFORD — Frustrated by drivers who ignore Connecticut’s ban on talking and texting on hand-held cellphones, some state legislators want insurance companies to know when their customers break the law.
Lawmakers hope the prospect of higher insurance rates will finally encourage people to hang up and drive.
‘‘When someone gets hit in the pocketbook, that’s when you remember it,’’ said Representative Antonio ‘‘Tony’’ Guerrera, a Democrat from Rocky Hill, cochairman of the General Assembly’s Transportation Committee. ‘‘That’s the key here, I think, to end up having some type of reporting system on that.’’
A bill supported by the committee’s Democratic and Republican leaders and awaiting action in the House of Representatives would add distracted driving violations to the list of moving violations that would be made available to insurance companies. Currently, if someone violates the distracted driving law, driver must pay a fine and the insurer is none the wiser.
‘‘It’s just a standard infraction,’’ said Representative David Scribner, a Republican from Brookfield, the ranking House Republican on the Transportation Committee. ‘‘You pay the fine and it’s gone away from your record.’’
Susan Giacalone, counsel for the Insurance Association of Connecticut, said how insurers would use such information and how the violations could affect a driver’s rates vary by company. But she said the association in general welcomes any legislation that helps to reduce accidents, such as the cellphone ban concept.
‘‘We want safer roads, safer drivers,’’ she said.
Besides providing information about violations to insurers, the bill also increases fines....
Scribner said lawmakers have been relatively lenient with cellphone scofflaws over the years....
The bill also creates a task force to study distracted driving prevention, such as the effectiveness of existing laws, enforcement efforts, and efforts in other states. The group will develop recommendations for legislative changes in Connecticut by Jan. 1.
Also this session, lawmakers are considering a separate bill that could bring the state about $350,000 to $500,000 a year in new federal distracted driving prevention funds. Connecticut is currently ineligible for the money, and the Department of Transportation has asked the General Assembly to make several changes to law so the state can receive the money.
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