URBANA – A proposed ordinance banning cell phone use while driving might be put off indefinitely by the city council.

Alderman Charlie Smyth, D-Ward 1, who proposed the ban, said the city might instead opt to take some interim steps while gathering information about how often traffic accidents occur due to cell phone use while driving.

In the meantime, the city council will consider enacting a distracted driving ordinance under which a person who gets into a traffic accident while talking on a cell phone or similar activity would be subject to a traffic ticket with a substantial fine of $500 or more, he said.

The city might also consider enacting an ordinance banning text messaging or using a computer while driving, Smyth said.

Smyth said he still supports a cell phone ban while driving, but that he is willing to take a step back while interim measures are put in place.

"It's a first step to me," he said. "I understand it's a complicated issue. It's a workable compromise and will get us moving forward."

The city council meets at 7 p.m. Monday as the committee of the whole at the Urbana City Building, 400 S. Vine St.

Under Smyth's original proposal, violation of the cell phone ban would result in a fine of $75. If the violation happened at the time of a traffic accident, an additional $200 fine could be imposed.

The movement for a cell phone ban while driving began locally after the death of Matt Wilhelm, 25, who was hit by a car while he was bicycling on Illinois 130 south of Urbana on Sept. 2, 2006. He died several days later.

The driver of the car that killed Wilhelm was a 19-year-old Urbana woman who was downloading ring tones onto her cell phone at the time of the collision.