QuoteNTSB recommends full ban on use of cell phones while driving
Washington (CNN) -- A federal safety board called Tuesday for a nationwide ban on the use of cell phones and text messaging devices while driving.
The recommendation is the most far-reaching yet by the National Transportation Safety Board, which in the past 10 years has increasingly sought to limit the use of portable electronic devices -- recommending bans for novice drivers, school bus drivers and commercial truckers. Tuesday's recommendation, if adopted by states, would outlaw non-emergency phone calls and texting by operators of every vehicle on the road.
It would apply to hands-free as well as hand-held devices, but devices installed in the vehicle by the manufacturer would be allowed, the NTSB said.
The recommendation would not affect passengers' rights to use such devices.
Full Article:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/13/us/ntsb-cell-phone-ban/index.html?hpt=hp_t1
Im glad I have Blue tooth in my car. LMAO
The article does not say whether any scientific studies results contributed to their decision or if a cost/benefit analysis has been done of the potential ban. How do hand held devices compare to hands-free? Should I-phone users be banned from using Siri while driving?
If God had wanted us to use the Telephone while Driving a car, he would have made Telephones on wheels with motors. A telephone occupied motorist reminds me of those commercials that would collide a Beer and a mixed drink together in slow motion, the combination of a 6,000 pound item and a person without the full attention on the road ahead of them is a deadly combination.
Sounds fair. Texting is getting way out of hand.
Apps on Iphones are only making the distractions worse, not to mention people fighting with their spouses/girlfriends/boyfriends.
My friend loaned his car to a friend and he wrecked it while he was trying to find out what song was just played by one of our lame stupid automated radio stations.(yea..the ones that play the same 40 songs over and over..which is ALL of them)
I'm also gonna call out all of you who have done your form of sexual "Texting/Photo Foreplay".....now THAT is distracting. :-*
They can stop me from texting while driving when they pry my c
Last text of my life^
Quotea 6,000 pound item
What do you drive, a Hummer?
Quote from: mtraininjax on December 13, 2011, 09:16:34 PM
If God had wanted us to use the Telephone while Driving a car, he would have made Telephones on wheels with motors. A telephone occupied motorist reminds me of those commercials that would collide a Beer and a mixed drink together in slow motion, the combination of a 6,000 pound item and a person without the full attention on the road ahead of them is a deadly combination.
Amen, Reverend M-train
Quote from: buckethead on December 13, 2011, 09:56:11 PM
They can stop me from texting while driving when they pry my c
Last text of my life^
Did you kick the Buckethead? ;)
The reality...
QuoteSome 3,092 roadway fatalities last year involved distracted drivers
http://www.youtube.com/v/1FlpkZyzKgc
http://www.youtube.com/v/KGCYkD9RzfU
I will admit to having answered and made, short calls while driving on local streets. My bad. With the figures from NTSB and a couple of close calls; no more.
Phones, Siri, navigation systems, fancy sound systems, etc. it's just too easy to get distracted.
Truck drivers should absolutely be prohibited from even answering the phone while driving a big rig.
Texting while driving is insane.
Public transportation too...
http://www.youtube.com/v/K2D3hB278Gc
The worst...
http://www.youtube.com/v/BvDMzbgBqB0
I dare...
I freakin' STEPHEN-DARE one of you...
to admit that you have talked on the cell phone and drive at the SAME speed as your conversation.
-Josh
I'm glad these busybodies weren't around when manufacturers started putting radios in cars. We don't need a ban on cell phones. There are already reckless/distracted driving laws - why do we need more laws? Where do you draw the line? I can't use my navigation system, so I guess I'll unfold my paper map - that should be safe. Should we outlaw driving with babies in the car? They can be quite the distraction.
This is one of those things that people say "there outta be a law", and a law would make a lot of people feel good, but the enforcement of such a law would be sketchy at the least. How are cops going to SEE any of this texting going on? How is this going to help when the offenders try to hide it?
How will enforcement this effect people using hands free or using GPS on their car?
No I don't think anyone should be texting while driving...but the implications of making a LAW about it does not seem like it will help save anyone. Maybe we just should mandate head and hand harnesses that keep drivers hands on the wheel and heads looking up. Oh dear, I'd better not give anyone any ideas!
Quote from: danem on December 14, 2011, 09:05:52 PM
This is one of those things that people say "there outta be a law", and a law would make a lot of people feel good, but the enforcement of such a law would be sketchy at the least. How are cops going to SEE any of this texting going on? How is this going to help when the offenders try to hide it?
How will enforcement this effect people using hands free or using GPS on their car?
No I don't think anyone should be texting while driving...but the implications of making a LAW about it does not seem like it will help save anyone. Maybe we just should mandate head and hand harnesses that keep drivers hands on the wheel and heads looking up. Oh dear, I'd better not give anyone any ideas!
But but, its a LAW. Its on the books, so people will always follow it, right?? ;)
Yeah, this is the retarded stuff lawmakers like to busy themselves with instead of tackling the real issues. Like, maybe we should be lessoning our dependency to drive in the first place to cut down on accidents? Or how bout this. Since we live in the 21st century, how about requiring all cars to come equipped with hands-free & voice technology that's connected to your phone that you can just talk to?
Anyways, how could they even tell someone was looking down at their phone, and not say, the radio? What about looking down at a McDonalds cheeseburger you just got through the drive thru that you're scarfing down while driving? And lets not forget our lovely ladies, god bless em, that's putting on their makeup at a stoplight sos to look good for us men folk.
But seriously, lawmakers. Just lemme know where we're drawing the line here, k??
Well... No argument here .. Text or talking on the phone while driving is a distraction. So could be having a hot cup of coffee spill on you while driving.
I am totally okay with not texting and driving and I have definitely done it before. after seeing the video BT posted.. I have to say I wouldn't want to have been anyone involved in that. :(
If we were really serious about reducing automobile accidents in the US, we wouldn't be putzing around with laws like this, we'd be making it more difficult to get a driver's license...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driving_licence_in_Finland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driving_licence_in_Finland)
Quote from: BridgeTroll on December 14, 2011, 03:21:54 PM
The worst...
http://www.youtube.com/v/BvDMzbgBqB0
This one is just God-awful. IF texting was the culprit , I see the need to this as a message. According to the comments that followed it on you tube , the Driver was under the influence of meth (?)
That said, I have no problem with shutting my cell phone off while driving.
It is always frightening to stand on the corner of Park and Post, waiting for the light to change, to see just how many drivers have cell phones clamped to their ears while they drive with one hand. At least one out of every three or four drivers is talking away; make that one out of every two women.
Sometimes the drivers are holding the cell phone with one hand and gesturing away with the other all while negotiating and intersection! Guess they are driving with their knees.
Quote from: Dog Walker on December 15, 2011, 08:39:00 AM
It is always frightening to stand on the corner of Park and Post, waiting for the light to change, to see just how many drivers have cell phones clamped to their ears while they drive with one hand. At least one out of every three or four drivers is talking away; make that one out of every two women.
Sometimes the drivers are holding the cell phone with one hand and gesturing away with the other all while negotiating and intersection! Guess they are driving with their knees.
Exactly... Stand on the corner of Adams and Ocean at 5:00 pm and count distracted drivers for just 30 minutes. 50% at the low end. I do not support a federal law regarding this but state and local governments should take this recommendation seriously. 3000+ dead per year and rising is reason enough. They are running down pedestrians, bicyclists with their carelessness. Texting while driving is a careless, defiant, selfish, reckless act.
I urge you to watch this... It is called "The Last Text." :'(
http://www.youtube.com/v/DebhWD6ljZs
Quote from: Brian Siebenschuh on December 15, 2011, 12:33:38 AM
If we were really serious about reducing automobile accidents in the US, we wouldn't be putzing around with laws like this, we'd be making it more difficult to get a driver's license...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driving_licence_in_Finland (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driving_licence_in_Finland)
We should have done this a long time ago. If you can fog a mirror you can get a license in this country. It is much more difficult in European countries and the skill levels of the drivers shows it.
My dear departed father-in-law was in his late eighties when his license was due for renewal. We were all breathing a sigh of relief knowing that he would never pass the vision or comprehension tests. We wouldn't have to be the bad guys and take his keys away from him. He was a real menace on the roads and occasionally got lost on his way back from the store.
Unfortunately, he had not had a ticket or an accident (pure luck!) so the State of Florida automatically sent him a new license without any test at all! We had to take action after all and for years he would pull out his perfectly valid license and point to the label where it said, "Safe Driver".
Getting impaired, unskilled, or just stupid drivers off the roads would make us all safer and increase the demand for public transportation.
This kid killed a cyclist...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/11/22/earlyshow/main2205559.shtml
QuoteOn the day before Thanksgiving last year, high school senior Patrick Sims was driving less than a mile from his Denver home and texting a friend, when his girlfriend suddenly screamed.
When Sims looked up, he was just inches from a cyclist in the bike lane.
"I couldn't swerve my car, I couldn't move it, because he was just too close," Sims recalls. "There was nothing I could do to possibly stop the car accident from happening."
The resulting collision killed a 63-year-old grandfather, and changed the teen's life forever.
Food for thought:
http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/feds-want-to-ban-phone-use-even-hands-free-while-driving/#utm_source=Cato+Institute+Emails&utm_campaign=9276e4fbca-Cato_Today&utm_medium=email&mc_cid=9276e4fbca&mc_eid=094e06e7c6 (http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/feds-want-to-ban-phone-use-even-hands-free-while-driving/#utm_source=Cato+Institute+Emails&utm_campaign=9276e4fbca-Cato_Today&utm_medium=email&mc_cid=9276e4fbca&mc_eid=094e06e7c6)
QuoteFeds Want To Ban Phone Use â€" Even Hands-Free â€" While Driving
Posted by Walter Olson
For quite a while Obama transportation officials have been campaigning against the safety hazard of “distracted driving,†but they must regard the American public as slow learners, because now the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is proposing something truly radical: a ban on drivers’ use of cellphones and other personal electronic devices even when they’re hands-free and thus don’t require taking anyone’s eyes or hands off the road or steering wheel. The only exceptions the agency would permit would be “emergency†phone use and “devices designed to assist the driving task,†such as GPS devices. NTSB chairman Deborah Hersman said the problem is “cognitive†distractions as well as the “visual†and “manual†kind. The agency cannot adopt such a ban directly, but it’s calling on the states to fall into line and to enlist in a campaign of “high-visibility enforcement.â€
And there’s more. NTSB is also, to quote PC World, “encouraging electronics manufacturers â€" via recommendations to the CTIA-The Wireless Association and the Consumer Electronics Association â€" to develop features that ‘disable the functions of portable electronic devices within reach of the driver when a vehicle is in motion.’†In the perfect Nannyland of the future, your phone will turn itself off when the government wants it to â€" even if you were in the middle of placing one of those emergency calls (“Honey, get out of the house, the flood waters are risingâ€) that will supposedly still be permitted.
Tech commentators are blasting the agency for jumping the gun on the evidence, to say nothing of ignoring values of personal liberty. A PC Magazine writer points out that while there is a safety case to be made against texting behind the wheel â€" a practice that encourages the driver to look away from the road for extended periods â€" the NTSB is short of statistics (as opposed to scary anecdotes) to show that phone conversation itself is a dire problem. Ars Technica notes that even the board’s own (disputable) statistics link the hazards of “conversation with passengers†to more than twice as many fatal accidents as the hazards of device use â€" and no one has yet proposed banning passenger conversations with the driver. (Don’t give Washington ideas, though.) Among devices, the sort of touch-screen car entertainment systems that you can fiddle with for ten seconds at a stretch â€" which are apparently okay with NTSB â€" would seem to pose considerably more distraction than one-button phone-answering. And speaking of statistics, the Federal Highway Administration website reports the lowest per-mile auto fatality rate ever, and the lowest in absolute numbers since the year 1950 â€" even though, to quote the NTSB itself, device use has seen “exponential growth†in the past few years.
Something doesn’t add up here. Commercial drivers, since the early-1980s CB radio craze and long before, have been using mobile communications for purposes other than emergencies and driving assistance, and their safety record is not notably atrocious. Hang up on this bad idea now, please.
Quote from: BridgeTroll on December 15, 2011, 08:54:56 AM
I urge you to watch this... It is called "The Last Text." :'(
http://www.youtube.com/v/DebhWD6ljZs
Thanks, BT!
Quote from: Dog Walker on December 15, 2011, 08:57:18 AM
Unfortunately, he had not had a ticket or an accident (pure luck!) so the State of Florida automatically sent him a new license without any test at all! We had to take action after all and for years he would pull out his perfectly valid license and point to the label where it said, "Safe Driver".
Getting impaired, unskilled, or just stupid drivers off the roads would make us all safer and increase the demand for public transportation.
I would make the argument for the reverse, get better public transportation in place, and people who are uncomfortable or incapable of driving would be less likely to try to drive.
Quote from: ProjectMaximus on December 15, 2011, 03:04:32 PM
Quote from: BridgeTroll on December 15, 2011, 08:54:56 AM
I urge you to watch this... It is called "The Last Text." :'(
http://www.youtube.com/v/DebhWD6ljZs
Thanks, BT!
Your welcome... unfortunately most do not see this as a problem... when it appears to be a bigger problem than DUI...
QuoteArs Technica notes that even the board’s own (disputable) statistics link the hazards of “conversation with passengers†to more than twice as many fatal accidents as the hazards of device use â€" and no one has yet proposed banning passenger conversations with the driver. (Don’t give Washington ideas, though.) Among devices, the sort of touch-screen car entertainment systems that you can fiddle with for ten seconds at a stretch â€" which are apparently okay with NTSB â€" would seem to pose considerably more distraction than one-button phone-answering. And speaking of statistics, the Federal Highway Administration website reports the lowest per-mile auto fatality rate ever, and the lowest in absolute numbers since the year 1950 â€" even though, to quote the NTSB itself, device use has seen “exponential growth†in the past few years.
Something doesn’t add up here. Commercial drivers, since the early-1980s CB radio craze and long before, have been using mobile communications for purposes other than emergencies and driving assistance, and their safety record is not notably atrocious. Hang up on this bad idea now, please.
I have read results of independent tess - I think even Fifth Gear did one :D - comparing drunk driving, talking to a passenger, talking on the phone and texting. In every case I have seen so far, texting is as bad as drunk driving. Talking on the cell phone is no worse than talking to a person sitting next to you, certainly true if hand free.
As far as driving with one hand, as far as I can tell, people have been doing than for generations. Remember those knobs on the steering wheels? When I lived in DC, rush hour on the Beltway was 70 plus, bumper to bumper and people were reading books while doing it. Heck, they may have been doing it too! And yes, perhaps more dangerous is the lost person looking at the Tom Tom that isn't cooperating.
This does seem like someone decided to find a new cause or perhaps they have stock in the company about to announcer it's great new retrofit "just like factory installed" phone system for a mere $ 500.00. Plus installation. Because we all know no one is going to really give up those phones.
Quote from: strider on December 16, 2011, 07:53:09 AM
QuoteArs Technica notes that even the board’s own (disputable) statistics link the hazards of “conversation with passengers” to more than twice as many fatal accidents as the hazards of device use — and no one has yet proposed banning passenger conversations with the driver. (Don’t give Washington ideas, though.) Among devices, the sort of touch-screen car entertainment systems that you can fiddle with for ten seconds at a stretch — which are apparently okay with NTSB — would seem to pose considerably more distraction than one-button phone-answering. And speaking of statistics, the Federal Highway Administration website reports the lowest per-mile auto fatality rate ever, and the lowest in absolute numbers since the year 1950 — even though, to quote the NTSB itself, device use has seen “exponential growth” in the past few years.
Something doesn’t add up here. Commercial drivers, since the early-1980s CB radio craze and long before, have been using mobile communications for purposes other than emergencies and driving assistance, and their safety record is not notably atrocious. Hang up on this bad idea now, please.
I have read results of independent tess - I think even Fifth Gear did one :D - comparing drunk driving, talking to a passenger, talking on the phone and texting. In every case I have seen so far, texting is as bad as drunk driving. Talking on the cell phone is no worse than talking to a person sitting next to you, certainly true if hand free.
As far as driving with one hand, as far as I can tell, people have been doing than for generations. Remember those knobs on the steering wheels? When I lived in DC, rush hour on the Beltway was 70 plus, bumper to bumper and people were reading books while doing it. Heck, they may have been doing it too! And yes, perhaps more dangerous is the lost person looking at the Tom Tom that isn't cooperating.
This does seem like someone decided to find a new cause or perhaps they have stock in the company about to announcer it's great new retrofit "just like factory installed" phone system for a mere $ 500.00. Plus installation. Because we all know no one is going to really give up those phones.
I know of 3000+ who did...
Quote from: BridgeTroll on December 14, 2011, 03:01:21 PM
The reality...
QuoteSome 3,092 roadway fatalities last year involved distracted drivers
Notice the weasel word "distracted driver" what does that mean? it can be anything from kids in the car, eating, reading, and using a cell phone or texting. Apparently out of the 3092 fatalities 900 or so were from texting. Would be interesting to see the total break down. But even 3092 fatalities out of a population of 300,000,000 makes it difficult to declare a crisis. While each death is a tragedy hard to figure out how legislation will affect it much. I suspect this law will be like the seat belt law rarely enforced except on special days like the announced "click it or ticket". Suspect it will be applied when stopped for other reasons.
Literally just came within 6 inches of a head-on collision with a "distracted driver" on their cell phone who drifted into oncoming traffic on a two-lane, undivided roadway. I u-turned and followed her for two minutes with my horn depressed. This served no practical purpose, but it made me a little less angry.
Quote from: KenFSU on December 16, 2011, 12:02:57 PM
Literally just came within 6 inches of a head-on collision with a "distracted driver" on their cell phone who drifted into oncoming traffic on a two-lane, undivided roadway. I u-turned and followed her for two minutes with my horn depressed. This served no practical purpose, but it made me a little less angry.
It happens every day... not just drifting into oncoming traffic but drifting into your lane... or the bike lane... or clipping a pedestrian... or running off the road... or simply missing the light turning green. Comparing eating, drinking and talking to passengers with texting and talking on a phone are simply a way to justify the reckless, selfish, dangerous, and completely unnecessary act of texting or yakking on a phone. I wonder what the media uproar would be if these phones were discovered to cause a virulent and deadly form of thumb cancer to users?
Bridge, some people do a lot of those things all at once. Cigarette smoking and cellphone talking at the same time is common.
Google can't perfect those self driving cars fast enough.
IIHS study finds cell phone bans don't work. In an ironic twist, texting bans make things worse.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-driver-cell-phone-bans-dont-works-insurance-group-finds-20111215,0,5576373.story
QuoteWhile the bans have resulted in actual reductions in phone use, they have not resulted in any reduction in crash rates, according to the Institute.
The Institute found similar results from bans on text messaging while driving. In fact, in a strange twist, texting bans actually resulted in more crashes in several states, according to an IIHS study.
The lesson, Insurance Institute spokesman Russ Rader said, may be that cell phones aren't really the problem, drivers are.
Quote from: redglittercoffin on December 16, 2011, 12:49:58 PM
IIHS study finds cell phone bans don't work. In an ironic twist, texting bans make things worse.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-driver-cell-phone-bans-dont-works-insurance-group-finds-20111215,0,5576373.story
QuoteWhile the bans have resulted in actual reductions in phone use, they have not resulted in any reduction in crash rates, according to the Institute.
The Institute found similar results from bans on text messaging while driving. In fact, in a strange twist, texting bans actually resulted in more crashes in several states, according to an IIHS study.
The lesson, Insurance Institute spokesman Russ Rader said, may be that cell phones aren't really the problem, drivers are.
Keep texting bro... I just hope you dont show up in the remake of this video...
http://www.youtube.com/v/DebhWD6ljZs
^Clearly texting while driving needs to stop. The question is whether a ban on it will actually do that.
I can't conceive of a ban having a direct effect. People would just stop admitting that that's what they were doing when they wreck. But perhaps it would force the providers' hand and get them to channel their efforts into more pervasive hands-free technology.
Quote from: Tacachale on December 16, 2011, 01:20:09 PM
People would just stop admitting that that's what they were doing when they wreck. But perhaps it would force the providers' hand and get them to channel their efforts into more pervasive hands-free technology.
Yes, but they're not going to rely on your word for it. I suppose they'll have to subpoena your cell phone records. They could call it the "Super Patriotic Safe Driving Act" and Congress would fall all over themselves passing it. "What - you're not Patriotic and you're against safe driving?"
^ Agreed. You can ban doing apsolutely anything while driving other than driving and it will have no effect at all. I think our problems will solve themselves (with regard to cell phone use) as technology gets more and more advanced. Voice command style systems coupled with bluetooth will soon seamlessly integrate every mobile device we have allowing hands free driving.
That way you can do some serious multi-tasking like talking on the phone while e-mailing pics to grandma and getting updated directions to your meeting while reading the paper... maybe the problem will get worse..... :) Until the cars start driving themselves, at least.
Quote from: Jason on December 16, 2011, 02:29:14 PM
^ Agreed. You can ban doing apsolutely anything while driving other than driving and it will have no effect at all. I think our problems will solve themselves (with regard to cell phone use) as technology gets more and more advanced. Voice command style systems coupled with bluetooth will soon seamlessly integrate every mobile device we have allowing hands free driving.
That way you can do some serious multi-tasking like talking on the phone while e-mailing pics to grandma and getting updated directions to your meeting while reading the paper... maybe the problem will get worse..... :) Until the cars start driving themselves, at least.
Your right... a couple thousand dead or maimed teenagers is a small price to pay for the ability to send "wats up dude lol" while driving. ROFL...
QuoteWhat do you drive, a Hummer?
Actually Brian, most Hummers have a CURB weight of about 5,000 pounds, give or take. Most sedans between 3 and 4 thousand pounds, but if you are texting and driving or playing a game with friends while driving, forget the sedans, SUVs, and Hummers, focus on the fact that an 18 wheeler can weigh as much as 165,000 pounds, like hitting a wall or having the wall hit you.
The only way to solve this problem is get the phone companies to lock down cell phone use when the GPS on them, which would become impossible to turn off, is moving. So if you are walking, biking, riding, flying (who uses their voice phone when flying?), the communications piece, wi-fi would not work.
If people driving along want to use their phone to play a game and drive a 2, 3, or 80 ton vehicle, well then they are just plain idiots, but let's start here and nuke all comm with a phone when it is moving.
Quote from: Tacachale on December 16, 2011, 01:20:09 PM
^Clearly texting while driving needs to stop. The question is whether a ban on it will actually do that.
I can't conceive of a ban having a direct effect.
A strongly enforced ban on texting might not cure the problem, but the threat of a heavy fine or points on their license would certainly scare many, many people away from using their cell phone whilst in traffic. It's certainly better than doing nothing at all. Seat belt laws, which have proven effective, would actually be a pretty decent comparison.
From the New York Times:
QuoteStudy Indicates Strong Enforcing Of Seat Belt Laws Cuts Fatalities
Laws requiring the use of seat belts have saved an estimated 1,300 lives in recent years, a new study shows, and the researchers say there is a direct relationship between strong enforcing of the laws and reducing highway fatalities and serious injuries.
The study, by three researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was characterized by traffic safety experts as one of the most comprehensive on the subject so far. It examined statistics in states that have been requiring using seat belts for more than a year.
Quote from: mtraininjax on December 16, 2011, 03:54:16 PM
QuoteWhat do you drive, a Hummer?
The only way to solve this problem is get the phone companies to lock down cell phone use when the GPS on them, which would become impossible to turn off, is moving. So if you are walking, biking, riding, flying (who uses their voice phone when flying?), the communications piece, wi-fi would not work.
If people driving along want to use their phone to play a game and drive a 2, 3, or 80 ton vehicle, well then they are just plain idiots, but let's start here and nuke all comm with a phone when it is moving.
So I'm completely incommunicado when I'm riding on a bus?
Just so nobody misunderstands me, I'm against texting and driving too. I think it's a bad idea, and I don't need to see any figures to convince me. It's common sense that anything that causes me to spend less than 100% of my attention on driving is less safe.
But I'm also against giving the government another reason to poke their nose in my car. Every problem doesn't need a new law. And I didn't agree with George W. Bush when he said something along the lines of "when somebody hurts, government needs to do something." :D
I certainly understand that argument... However... would you repeal seatbelt laws? How about DUI? Speeding? Registration and licensing? What about the requirement to drive on the right hand side of the road? These are all laws and or regulations designed to save lives.
I keep hearing a ban would be unenforceable. Clearly speeding laws are not fully enforceable either. What do you think the percentage of speeders is that are actually caught and issued a ticket? 1%? 10% How about DUI? How many are actually caught vs those driving intoxicated? 1%? 10%?
I would imagine enforcement of texting/cell use while driving would be roughly the same.
Quote from: Ajax on December 16, 2011, 04:53:54 PM
Just so nobody misunderstands me, I'm against texting and driving too. I think it's a bad idea, and I don't need to see any figures to convince me. It's common sense that anything that causes me to spend less than 100% of my attention on driving is less safe.
But I'm also against giving the government another reason to poke their nose in my car. Every problem doesn't need a new law. And I didn't agree with George W. Bush when he said something along the lines of "when somebody hurts, government needs to do something." :D
^^^ The government pokes their nose in most everything , whether we like it or not.
I agree with M-train's theory ..only to a degree. If I am riding as a passenger in a car, that should not mean I cannot text. If I am riding as a passenger on a bus or any other means to where it is not up to me to maintain control of the car, then I should if I so choose be able to text or talk. But train is right and so is the undelying message of the thread.. Text and Driving or talking without hands-free and driving should never mix. period.
On the other hand ... 30+/- years ago we made it in this world without cell phones and texting at all. I have texted while driving and especially after seeing these vids, pass the cell phone to my partner if driving.. or put it on silent and in the console. out of sight out of mind.
If I were ever in an accident , at fault or not and it caused serious injury or worse to another person, I don't think I could ever get over that.
QuoteSo I'm completely incommunicado when I'm riding on a bus?
Why not pick up a book and LEARN SOMETHING NEW?
Driving in a car came first, before talking on the phone in a car. If Alexander Graham Bell had intended us to talk on a phone in a car, he would have invented it before Ford worked to perfect the car.
Get with the program people!
I agree with 100 percent. Just in the past week, I have seen SEVERAL vehicles almost run a red light and cause an accident. Each one of them were ON A CELL PHONE. They were distracted, had to slam on breaks and back up because they were in the middle of the streets. They had no idea that the light was red. It happens on 95 too. One morning this truck was driving SO slow and weaving in and out of lanes. He was on his cell phone.
http://www.youtube.com/v/HSZ7BiL5pQY
Quote from: BridgeTroll on December 17, 2011, 10:17:25 AM
I certainly understand that argument... However... would you repeal seatbelt laws? How about DUI? Speeding? Registration and licensing? What about the requirement to drive on the right hand side of the road? These are all laws and or regulations designed to save lives.
I keep hearing a ban would be unenforceable. Clearly speeding laws are not fully enforceable either. What do you think the percentage of speeders is that are actually caught and issued a ticket? 1%? 10% How about DUI? How many are actually caught vs those driving intoxicated? 1%? 10%?
I would imagine enforcement of texting/cell use while driving would be roughly the same.
I'm not talking here about repealing any laws. I'm just against passing bad laws - especially knee-jerk laws. I see the need for registration and licensing, driving on the right side of the road, etc.
I probably would have been against the seat belt laws at the time they were passed from a personal liberty standpoint. I agree that they've saved countless lives and you're not going to see me protesting on the side of the road holding a sign asking that those laws be repealed.
I don't think that the speeding laws are in place entirely to save lives. They're a great money-maker for local governments. Why do you think it's against the law to flash your lights to oncoming motorists when you see a trooper hiding on the side of the road? If it was about safety, the police would love it if people flashed their lights because it causes oncoming traffic to slow down.
At least the enforcement of speeding laws don't require unnecessary search.
Why do you think our current distracted/reckless driving laws are inadequate?
Quote from: Timkin on December 17, 2011, 12:03:15 PM
The government pokes their nose in most everything , whether we like it or not.
So we shouldn't speak out about it?
Quote from: mtraininjax on December 17, 2011, 09:15:24 PM
QuoteSo I'm completely incommunicado when I'm riding on a bus?
Why not pick up a book and LEARN SOMETHING NEW?
Driving in a car came first, before talking on the phone in a car. If Alexander Graham Bell had intended us to talk on a phone in a car, he would have invented it before Ford worked to perfect the car.
Get with the program people!
Thanks for the suggestion. Maybe you could tell me what book I should read, too. Are you implying that I can't learn something new on the internet?
Thanks for the Bell joke though - at least you made me laugh after you yelled at me.
Quote from: Ajax on December 19, 2011, 12:49:34 PM
Quote from: Timkin on December 17, 2011, 12:03:15 PM
The government pokes their nose in most everything , whether we like it or not.
So we shouldn't speak out about it?
I'm not trying to single your out Timkin, but this line of thinking is so pervasive that it makes me think Bush and Cheney were evil geniuses for ramming the Patriot Act through.
Quote from: Ajax on December 19, 2011, 12:42:56 PM
Quote from: BridgeTroll on December 17, 2011, 10:17:25 AM
I certainly understand that argument... However... would you repeal seatbelt laws? How about DUI? Speeding? Registration and licensing? What about the requirement to drive on the right hand side of the road? These are all laws and or regulations designed to save lives.
I keep hearing a ban would be unenforceable. Clearly speeding laws are not fully enforceable either. What do you think the percentage of speeders is that are actually caught and issued a ticket? 1%? 10% How about DUI? How many are actually caught vs those driving intoxicated? 1%? 10%?
I would imagine enforcement of texting/cell use while driving would be roughly the same.
I probably would have been against the seat belt laws at the time they were passed from a personal liberty standpoint. I agree that they've saved countless lives and you're not going to see me protesting on the side of the road holding a sign asking that those laws be repealed.
That certainly was an argument at the time... you know... the "What right does the government have to require me to wear a seatbelt" argument. I guess the best argument against THAT argument is driving a motor vehicle is NOT a right.
Quoteat least you made me laugh after you yelled at me.
So sorry if you feel I yelled at you, by the way, how does one YELL WITHOUT CAPITALIZING? Just out of curious, hopeful that I may learn something new today, too!
Quote from: mtraininjax on December 19, 2011, 02:00:48 PM
Quoteat least you made me laugh after you yelled at me.
So sorry if you feel I yelled at you, by the way, how does one YELL WITHOUT CAPITALIZING? Just out of curious, hopeful that I may learn something new today, too!
Haha - I think capitalizing is probably the best way. No hard feelings - I really didn't feel like I was getting yelled at - all in good fun.
No Problem. Great coversation!
Quote from: BridgeTroll on December 19, 2011, 01:50:34 PM
That certainly was an argument at the time... you know... the "What right does the government have to require me to wear a seatbelt" argument. I guess the best argument against THAT argument is driving a motor vehicle is NOT a right.
Well, you've got me there. Driving is considered a privilege and not a right. When does a "privilege" become a "right"?
I suppose I could argue that I have the right to liberty and due process and protection against unreasonable search.
I still don't understand why the laws we have on the books aren't sufficient to handle this problem.