Proposed handheld cell phone ban & driving

[Dave Stewart]

With all the near misses I have had on the road caused by people having a cell phone stuck up to their ear (and I am not on the road that much), I am totally for a law that prohibits the use of cell phones while driving. It makes more sense to me than a law that requires adults to wear seat belts. (I would always wear my seatbelt anyway). The only person that gets hurt by someone not wearing a seatbelt is the individual that chooses to do so. People that cause accidents by giving their attention to a cell phone is putting other folks in danger....big difference.

[bassin_bug]

Yes, we would like to send officers over to clear up this whole hostage situation right away, but they are all busy writing tickets to those folks talking on the phone while driving. You'll just have to wait a couple of minutes and hope the gunman is out of bullets...............

How in the world are they going to enforce this?

I think you could get the best answer from the father of a 6 month-old baby, in Kingsport, TN, whose wife was killed in an accident by a woman talking on a cell phone. She ran a traffic light, T-boned and killed the baby's mother. Perhaps the family of the man who was riding a motorcycle and killed by a motorist, talking on the cell phone, could give you some ideas.

Your scenario is less than plausible because it has NEVER been played out in this nation. If you want to kill yourself while yapping on the cell phone, have at it, just be sure and keep your nose out of my tailpipe and stay on your side of the road. Otherwise, you could be picking your teeth out of my back bumper.

It has been proven that people drive faster and don't pay attention while talking on the cell phone. There is a 17 year-old girl in my family (not mine or she'd be in deep doo doo) who has already totaled two vehicles because she was yapping on her cell phone. The first was a pickup her grandmother bought for her and the second was a car her mother bought to replace the pickup. How stupid is that?

Frankly, I'm fed up with motorists humping my bumper and not paying attention to their driving.

[Tim_T]

Yes, we would like to send officers over to clear up this whole hostage situation right away, but they are all busy writing tickets to those folks talking on the phone while driving. You'll just have to wait a couple of minutes and hope the gunman is out of bullets...............

How in the world are they going to enforce this?

It wouldn't be hard to enforce at all. In addition, you make it a law and most people are going to follow it. Many cities across the country have banned talking on them while driving.

[BPenrod]

I'm all for it. It should have been done years ago!

[psprowler]

That doesn't answer how it's going to be enforced, that just explains why some people would want to see the law passed.

"Many cities across the country have banned talking on them while driving"

And I'm sure the number of people that still talk on them while driving has dropped significantly. Not.

I'm not debating on whether it should be a law or not. I'm saying why bother spending the time on the legislation for something that a cop might write 20 tickets a year for. It's still going to happen and people are still going to be involved in wrecks.

[psprowler]

And also where do you draw the line? Can I talk on a cell phone as long as I have 2 hands on the wheel? That would be no different than a bluetooth device minus the crimp you'd get in your neck. How can you prove someone is "texting" if the phone is not in visible sight - maybe somebody is just roughing up the suspect while driving down the road or something.

[Tim_T]

[QUOTE=psprowler;344952]
"Many cities across the country have banned talking on them while driving"

And I'm sure the number of people that still talk on them while driving has dropped significantly. Not.

QUOTE]


Do you ever leave Kentucky? I can promise you that you rarely see people in D.C. talking on a cell phone while driving, because they don't want the trouble.

[RoadToad]

Hands-free equipment is cool, and I use a Blue-Tooth myself, but it doesn't make it any safer to drive. Unfortunately, when it comes to driving, it's not the fact that you're holding a phone up to your ear that distracts you; it's the conversation itself. Check out the link Geo posted. It says the same thing there, and you'll see this same fact reported on other credible sites if you look. I used to think the same thing, "It's no different from talking to a passenger in the car," but now I don't believe that. It really is different. For one thing, a passenger can see the traffic, and hopefully will have enough sense to not yammer in your ear when you're, say, merging onto the freeway.

[RoadToad]

[quote=Tim_T;344974]

"Many cities across the country have banned talking on them while driving"

And I'm sure the number of people that still talk on them while driving has dropped significantly. Not.

QUOTE]


Do you ever leave Kentucky? I can promise you that you rarely see people in D.C. talking on a cell phone while driving, because they don't want the trouble.

Anybody inside the Beltway who's not riding the Metro is probably a tourist who's too busy looking for a parking spot to talk on their cell phone.

[BPenrod]

I think if it saves one persons life it was worht passing. don't you!!!!

[Tim_T]

[QUOTE=RoadToad;344976]

Anybody inside the Beltway who's not riding the Metro is probably a tourist who's too busy looking for a parking spot to talk on their cell phone.

You are probably right about that. I have a sister that lives in Fairfax and I love the drive to see her, until I have to drive on the Beltway! I know when I am talking to her and she is driving, she will tell me bye because she is entering D.C.

[bassin_bug]

That doesn't answer how it's going to be enforced, that just explains why some people would want to see the law passed.

"Many cities across the country have banned talking on them while driving"

And I'm sure the number of people that still talk on them while driving has dropped significantly. Not.

I'm not debating on whether it should be a law or not. I'm saying why bother spending the time on the legislation for something that a cop might write 20 tickets a year for. It's still going to happen and people are still going to be involved in wrecks.

_________________

People also asked how the seat belt law would be enforced. Some didn't want to get with the program and continued to ignore it. The more people who were charged the more effective the law became and now, most insurance companies will not pay for an accident if the driver was not buckled up. My brother died in an auto accident and the first question on the State Trooper Report was if the victim was using a seat belt; he was. The insurance company also asked the same question and the adjuster told me that if he hadn't been wearing his seat belt, they would not have paid.

That is the same thing that is going to happen if the cell phone law passes. When people realize they have more to lose than a few dollars for a fine, they will be willing to put their cell phones down or suffer the consequences. When there is an auto accident and the driver's cell phone record is checked, they will be able to determine if it was in use at the time of the accident.