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Should cell phone drivers be singled out?

3688 messages,  Last post on Oct 27, 2009 at 11:39 AM

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#3538 of 3688 Re: every time [boaz47] by steve_ HOST Dec 27, 2008 (1:37 pm)
Replying to: boaz47 (Dec 27, 2008 1:20 pm) So, you either have a bunch of guilty, but ignorant drivers, or a bunch of educated ones with only the miscreants intentionally violating the law? Replies to this message: boaz47 (Dec 27, 2008 2:07 pm) steve_ (Dec 27, 2008 2:27 pm) boaz47 (Dec 27, 2008 7:01 pm) kdshapiro (Dec 27, 2008 3:57 pm)
#3539 of 3688 Re: every time [steve_] by boaz47 Dec 27, 2008 (2:07 pm)
Replying to: steve_ (Dec 27, 2008 1:37 pm) It is even more simple than that. I believe people know exactly what the law is. I also believe they know what laws are enforced and what laws aren't. How do we know this? Look at your local state highway patrol and find out what the average speed is on any one part of your freeway or highway. See if it isn't 5 to 10 MPH over the posted speed limit. Now in areas where it is heavily enforced see what the average speed is. Chances are you will see the average driver "believes" they can get away with 5 to 10 MPH over the speed limit on a main highway. So they know the letter of the law isn't enforced. Education, piffle compared to what people believe. If people believe driving while distracted is too had to prove for officers so it isn't being enforced then people will do any number of things while driving because the "believe" the police simply don't care. Is it against the Law? Yes but it isn't enforced. Pass another law addressing the same problem and at first people seem to stop doing the behavior. But as it seems to show once it is noticed that the law isn't enforced people stop paying attention. back to the 5 to 10MPH reasoning.   Lets say your answer is to enforce the anti cell phone law and educate people on how that works. Good idea but if it worked wouldn't that mean it would have worked if you would have enforced the driving while distracted law in the first place? And if you can educate people on one law why not the origional law?   One of the very groups you mentioned that was pushing for a study on cell phones and accidents AAA posted a study they did on driving distractions a few years ago. Cell phones were not at the top of the AAA list. But have any of the other distractions been addressed? Was the number one distraction even addressed? If the answer is no then why not?   It can't happen both ways. If education and enforcement work then they work just as well for the origional law as they will for the amended law. If the origional doesn't work then repeal it. If it works enforce it. It is just that simple. If it isn't enforced it is a waste and it will be ignored, as is seen every day on our highways. A waste of ink.   There is a process that tends to work in business and government, KISS. Amended laws adnausium doesn't. Replies to this message: steve_ (Dec 27, 2008 2:27 pm) boaz47 (Dec 27, 2008 7:01 pm) kdshapiro (Dec 27, 2008 3:57 pm)
#3540 of 3688 Re: every time [boaz47] by steve_ HOST Dec 27, 2008 (2:27 pm)
Replying to: boaz47 (Dec 27, 2008 2:07 pm) Technology will save us.   Textecution kills texting functions while driving Replies to this message: boaz47 (Dec 27, 2008 7:01 pm)
#3541 of 3688 Re: every time [boaz47] by kdshapiro Dec 27, 2008 (3:57 pm)
Replying to: boaz47 (Dec 27, 2008 2:07 pm) Good idea but if it worked wouldn't that mean it would have worked if you would have enforced the driving while distracted law in the first place?   No because you can be one of the minority of people who can hold the phone to your ear and still manage to keep the car in a straight line, even though your mind is at the other end of conversation.   IMO, this is why a separate set of laws are needed. We already know laws don't work, that doesn't mean all civil and criminal laws should be scrapped.   I do agree laws that clearly serve no legimate purpose should be struck from the books, e.g. it is illegal to shoot a buffalo in Times Square.
#3542 of 3688 Re: every time [steve_] by boaz47 Dec 27, 2008 (7:01 pm)
Replying to: steve_ (Dec 27, 2008 2:27 pm) You did read the FAQ on that right? It only works on some phones and the child can simply un install? That company must not have any programers that have any children living at home.   The comment or the excuse on why they didn't enforce one law and why they would enforce another doesn't even require a response. We know the answer.
#3543 of 3688 If you think cell phone laws are useless... by kdshapiro Dec 30, 2008 (2:14 pm)
You'll love these. Even if you believe cell phone laws serve a useful purpose, these are still great examples of really useless laws.
#3544 of 3688 Hang Up and Drive by steve_ HOST Jan 02, 2009 (11:05 pm)
Or should I say the foot's in the door?   "A statewide poll by Pemco Insurance in June, just before the new law took effect, showed 60 percent of Washington drivers wanted to make a handheld cellphone ban a primary offense.   But Douglass knows state lawmakers took seven years to move the current law from initial proposal to passage. And it took 16 years for the state's seat-belt law, implemented as a secondary offense in 1986, to become a primary offense in 2002."   After 6 months, drivers ignoring cellphone ban (Seattle Times) Replies to this message: nippononly (Jan 04, 2009 8:38 pm)
#3545 of 3688 Re: Hang Up and Drive [steve_] by nippononly Jan 04, 2009 (8:38 pm)
Replying to: steve_ (Jan 02, 2009 11:05 pm) Yup, pretty much matches what I see all around me here - the law is mostly being routinely ignored now. And look at Washington - their ticket is $124 and the law is still being ignored! Ours is only like $75 including court fees.   Look at their numbers: Statewide, troopers handed out 746 tickets for illegal driving-and-talking through November. They've socked it to teenagers and septuagenarians; but mostly men and drivers in their 20s and 30s have paid the price. Troopers also issued 1,345 written and verbal warnings.   Seattle police have written another 247 tickets, according to the Seattle Municipal Court.   And the number of driving-and-phoning citations is tiny compared to the 127,185 speeding tickets state troopers wrote between July and December.   The numbers say it all about where enforcement is being targeted, and it ISN'T cell phone users.
#3546 of 3688 it's going to get worse before it gets better by steve_ HOST Jan 05, 2009 (10:14 am)
Can you hear me now?   No, your cell is breaking up.   Oh sorry, interference from my microwave.....   Wheel good: The microwave that lets you enjoy hot meals on the move (Daily Mail)
#3547 of 3688 this was inevitable... by nippononly Jan 12, 2009 (6:53 am)
Safety Group Calls for Total Ban On Cellphone Use While Driving   A national safety group is advocating a total ban on cellphone use while driving, saying the practice is clearly dangerous and leads to fatalities.   States should ban drivers from using handheld and hands-free cell phones, and businesses should prohibit employees from using cell phones while driving on the job, the congressionally chartered National Safety Council says, taking those positions for the first time.   The group's president and chief executive, Janet Froetscher, likened talking on cellphones to drunken driving, saying cellphone use increases the risk of a crash fourfold.   "When our friends have been drinking, we take the car keys away. It's time to take the cell phone away," Ms. Froetscher said in interview.   No state currently bans all cell phone use while driving. Six states -- California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Utah and Washington -- and the District of Columbia ban the use of handheld cellphones behind the wheel, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. Also, 17 states and the district restrict or ban cellphone use by novice drivers.   .....What makes cellphone use distinct from other risky driving behaviors, Ms. Froetscher said, is the magnitude -- there are 270 million cellphone users in the U.S. and 80% of them talk on the phone while driving.   The line I homed in on, of course, was this one, being said out loud for the first time by advocates of the ban: The Governors Highway Safety Association agreed that cellphone use while driving is dangerous, but said it would be difficult to enforce a ban. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which is funded by auto insurers, said banning all cellphone use "makes sense based on the research," but agreed that enforcement will be difficult.   They believe it will take years, but yes, those Bluetooths you all rushed out to buy will ALSO be illegal before the end of the next decade...   ....and eating your fast food dinner while trying to control the kids and change the CD in the dash will still all be perfectly legal...   Common sense truly is dead.   http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123170801180171839.html Replies to this message: xrunner2 (Jan 12, 2009 7:32 am) nippononly (Jan 12, 2009 8:03 am) xrunner2 (Jan 12, 2009 5:34 pm) and 4 more... kdshapiro (Jan 12, 2009 10:34 am)

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