Brentwood recently passed a new measure to make inattentive driving akin to careless and imprudent. This includes things like adjusting a GPS or grooming in your vehicle.

Turning away from the road is “prima facie evidence that a vehicle operator is not exercising the highest degree of care.”

The measure was passed on Monday by the Brentwood Board of Alderman with a 5-2 vote. Opponents indicate that the language in the bill makes it discretionary if an offense has occurred.

Other prohibited activities include: “Using a mirror to engage in grooming; reading anything located in the vehicle other than operation information displayed on vehicle gauges and equipment; writing, drawing; manually imputing information into a GPS or mapping device; or turning one’s head substantially away from the path of travel to observe things in the vehicle or outside the vehicle but contrary to the path of travel.