Forgive me if I ramble, but I'd like to vent on a few things this cell phone craziness brings to my mind...
There have always been things that distract drivers from their responsibility of propelling our huge hunks of metal down the road in a responsible manner. Some things that come to mind: drinking, eating, smoking, putting a cassette/cd in, getting something out of the glove box, changing clothes (yes, I've seen that!), taking prescription meds and some other unmentionable things that should have been occuring in the privacy of their bedroom. There have always been laws on the books that cover in a broad sense ANY of the above actions while driving, so why do we need a specific one for cell phone use?
I served two terms as a Councilman in my City - during those 4 years I learned a lot about passing laws and what the implications are. Passing laws will not change thought patterns, it just penalizes them. Is that what we want? Everyone is a criminal? There are so many "don't do this, don't do that" little rules now that most everyone on the road at any given moment are in violation of one of them. Not to mention all the little piddly rules of small cities that you drive through having strange little meaningless rules so they can pull you over and get some revenue for their small city.
To answer a few that wanted to know why on earth someone would be on the phone while driving:
1. They're lost and someone is talking them to their destination
2. They had a big argument with their spouse/kid/friend/boss and are trying to patch things up
3. They own a business and one of their employees has a major issue that needs to be solved now
4. You're out in the middle of no-where staring down an 80 mile stretch of asphalt that doesn't turn with 2 cars per 10 miles and you're talking to someone on the phone to keep awake.
5. examples add nauseum...
Let's all stop being "busybodies" (old term) and worry about our own driving. If they get in an accident while using their cell phone (without hands free) then they get to pay the piper just as if they were doing one of the 30 other things a driver can be doing and get distracted. Side note: recently a guy was driving and veered to the right a little because he was reaching over to get something out of the glove box and killed two cyclists. Is he in trouble? Yes. Should we now ban glove boxes? No.
Have a nice day everyone...when and where to use a cell phone is the responsibilty of the driver.
There have always been things that distract drivers from their responsibility of propelling our huge hunks of metal down the road in a responsible manner. Some things that come to mind: drinking, eating, smoking, putting a cassette/cd in, getting something out of the glove box, changing clothes (yes, I've seen that!), taking prescription meds and some other unmentionable things that should have been occuring in the privacy of their bedroom. There have always been laws on the books that cover in a broad sense ANY of the above actions while driving, so why do we need a specific one for cell phone use?
I served two terms as a Councilman in my City - during those 4 years I learned a lot about passing laws and what the implications are. Passing laws will not change thought patterns, it just penalizes them. Is that what we want? Everyone is a criminal? There are so many "don't do this, don't do that" little rules now that most everyone on the road at any given moment are in violation of one of them. Not to mention all the little piddly rules of small cities that you drive through having strange little meaningless rules so they can pull you over and get some revenue for their small city.
To answer a few that wanted to know why on earth someone would be on the phone while driving:
1. They're lost and someone is talking them to their destination
2. They had a big argument with their spouse/kid/friend/boss and are trying to patch things up
3. They own a business and one of their employees has a major issue that needs to be solved now
4. You're out in the middle of no-where staring down an 80 mile stretch of asphalt that doesn't turn with 2 cars per 10 miles and you're talking to someone on the phone to keep awake.
5. examples add nauseum...
Let's all stop being "busybodies" (old term) and worry about our own driving. If they get in an accident while using their cell phone (without hands free) then they get to pay the piper just as if they were doing one of the 30 other things a driver can be doing and get distracted. Side note: recently a guy was driving and veered to the right a little because he was reaching over to get something out of the glove box and killed two cyclists. Is he in trouble? Yes. Should we now ban glove boxes? No.
Have a nice day everyone...when and where to use a cell phone is the responsibilty of the driver.
