Gilmore Girls? Really?

Maine wants to crack down on texting/eating/rooting around in the glove compartment for CDs while driving. (I'm guilty of all of these activities.)

From a press release sent out this morning:

AUGUSTA-The long awaited LD 6, An Act to Establish a Distracted Driver Law, sponsored by Senator Bill Diamond, (D-Cumberland County) passed in the Maine Senate yesterday. This bill was recently voted out of the Joint Standing Committee on Transportation with a unanimous ought to pass as amended vote. 
 
LD 6 makes failure to maintain control of a motor vehicle due to driving distracted a traffic infraction. It defines the term "distracted" as driving while engaged in an activity that is not necessary to operate your vehicle and that impairs your ability drive safely.
 
"This bill is a little broader than just addressing cell phone use while driving," Diamond explained. "It takes into consideration eating while driving, putting on make-up, reaching into the backseat; doing something that takes your concentration off the road and could potentially cause an accident. It doesn't make these actions illegal, as long as the driver isn't distracted, but it will make drivers pay more attention."
 
Senator Diamond sponsored this legislation as a result of an incident on the turnpike last summer, when a state trooper saw a woman driving through the toll booths during the 4th of July weekend while watching the "Gilmore Girls" on her laptop. The trooper issued a warning, but not a fine because there was no specific law that had been violated.
 
LD 6 will come before the Maine House of Representatives for a vote today. Upon passage in the House, it will return to the Senate for enactment and then will be sent down to the Governor to be signed into law.