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So Senator Schumer of New York has put forth a bill for a federal law against texting while driving. It has my support for what little that is worth. How about you ? Here are some links to articles on the topic and scientific studies showing that it is more dangerous than driving drunk.
It's against the law in MN already. I think it is dangerous. I've lost count at the number of drivers, most of them younger that veer over the dividing line into my lane and then correct abruptly when they're coming toward me. Some I've had to actually pull onto the shoulder to evade them. When we pass, they're staring at their cell phone, not talking on it.
Chris L
Yeah Chris I've seen that too. My main concern is I ride bicycles on the road a lot and I would hate to get creamed by some jerk who can't wait until they can safely do it to text. It ain't like walking and chewing gum. :)
As much as I think it is idiotic to text and drive I don't see the use in adding another law to the books. If they already think they are clever enough to drive and text at the same time they likely think that they are to clever to be caught and any cop that would pull over someone who is texting while driving would note that they are driving recklessly before seeing that they are texting and there are already reckless driving laws on the books.
voted YES
crazy crazy drivers
I also vote for confiscation of the device + $ fine.
Most states have even the lesser charge of inattentive driving on the books so this is just another feel good in front of the cameras laws....
Now if yer state does not then by all means pass the new law....
There are 36 states that don't have the law and mine is one of them. Call me dumb but I hate seat belts. I never used them until getting this 2001 van I've been driving for the past 8 years.Quote:
Originally Posted by gssixgun
The reason I began using them is because they made it a law and not using them is punishable by an $80.00 fine.
If they make it a law and it saves one person it is worth it .... especially if I'm that one person. :)
I voted yes.
:soapbox: :soapbox: :soapbox:
There are enough people out there driving that are dangerous enough when they are (well maybe their not) focusing on driving. I am in the volunteer fire department in my town. Being a volunteer we do what ever needs being done if we are comfortable doing it. For example, I will go into burning buildings but not on the roof. There are times I wind up doing fire police work and directing traffic when we close parts of a road. Gotta tell you, this is as dangerous as going into burning buildings, if not more so. I really can't understand how some people get from point a to point b without killing themselves and/or someone else. About 6 months ago we had a fireman from a neighboring town directing traffic on the major road. He was mowed over by some idiot doing 65mph trying to reach the phone he dropped on the floor of his car. Flashing lights, road flairs, reflective vests and waving florescent red flags and this guy saw none of them or just ignored them.
Texting on top of the every day distractions is well beyond some of their capabilities and I really would rather not be scraping people off the road, digging them out of wrecks or pealing them off trees because they lost focus while driving and texting.
I voted no
but I think texting while walking should definitely be outlawed
Predictable that you would be one of the "state's rights" guys. ";"Quote:
Originally Posted by hoglahoo
i thought the same thing. there should be existing laws to use but this one makes for good PR.Quote:
Originally Posted by gssixgun
PS i think it is very dangerous to text while driving, and the reason i think this is that i have done it before :) while i was smart enough to do it while no one else was on the road, i was also smart enough to realize that it isn't safe.
I think it's already covered in the UK by existing laws, but of course it's good PR for a government to pass superfluous 'extra' laws especially when it's a topic of the day.
They should ban texting while walking too... then you wouldn't get so many silly girls fall down a manhole.
(No I will NOT give it up!) :rant: :p:rofl2:
+1 to that. BIG $ fineQuote:
Originally Posted by gratewhitehuntr
I thk texting while bhind the wheel is asking fr truble. Mst go. Am browsing forum & negotiating rush hr traffic @ same time.
Since people will not stop being stupid just on their own, a law to help them stop driving stupid is probably not a bad idea. Will it completely stop the idiots from doing stupid things? No. Would it be fine if the idiots would only kill themselves when doing stupid things behind the wheel? Certainly. Will we ever get that lucky? Nope.
In Minnesota we now have to wear seat belts if in the front seat of a vehicle. It is a primary offense if we don't and will result in a driver being pulled over and cited for that violation. It's pretty much a "if it's a good idea, it's the law" in Minnesota. But also in Minnesota if you are a motorcycle driver you don't need to wear a helmet. Go figure.
I once skirted an erratic driver who had a sheaf of papers in one hand and a calculator in the other. My comment to self went something like this, "my what an effective multi-tasker this driver is." ...Not so much. :rant:
Will a law help? Probably not. The ones who use the phones and other devices while driving are much too important and busy to be bothered with things like laws... and common sense.
Abso-freakin'-lutely! It's a serious hazard and drivers in this town are dumb enough.
Yesterday the family was cycling back from swimming at the community centre and I had my son in the Chariot Carrier trailer behind my bike. We were on a designated cycling route and about to cross a main street. We were waiting for these three tailgaters to pass when the first gets right up to us and signals a turn in the direction we're going so we wait for him. the second signals a turn in the direction we were coming from and the guy right behind him (and I mean right behind him) has his turn signal on too like he would follow the second car. That left the way clear for us so we started to cross. Well the last fellow didn't turn and slams on his brakes to a full stop calling through the passenger side window that we can't just drive out into traffic as we did. We needed to explain to him three times that he had mislead us because his turn signal was on before he understood. This sort of thing happens all the time here. Of all the places in Canada I've lived drivers are the stupidest here. They too often really are clueless. I do not want to see them with their cell phones too, especially texting.
They should make all autos manual transmissions. Hard to text, talk on phone, do makeup, drink coffee, whatever when you have to shift.
Why not just outlaw driving? 40,000 people die yearly in automobile related deaths in the US alone. After all, if it saves just one person, it's worth it!
Think of all the time you'd save, not spending it in traffic breathing noxious vapors for hours ever week.
Think of all the money we'd save that we could use to help the poor. No more road construction, no more bridges to nowhere!
Man I love manual trans. Before I got my van I had a '96 Ford XLT Powerstroke with a 5 speed and it was a hoot to drive. If they would've made the van a stick on the column I would have loved that. Automatic only though for a lot of years now on the Ford E type vans.Quote:
Originally Posted by dnjrboy
I am of the opinion that if you are not concentrating on the road, then you should not be driving. Lets face it you are driving a 3,000 pound bullet at 65 mph. Those do not exactly stop on a dime, or a tree, or a concrete divider.
I am for harsher penalties akin to DUI arrests. Drivers license suspensions and/or revocations, huge fines, confiscation of devices. What ever it takes to get the message through.
I voted YES!!
Between the headphones, cigarettes, newspapers, coffee, doughnuts, applying make-up, computer, radio, filling out paper work, gps, and cell phones in rush hour traffic, who has time to drive let alone text?
I drive Boston rush hour and have seen all of this and much more!
Unfortunately common sense isn't very common when it comes to driving.
I voted "maybe." Conventional texting while driving yes. Voice activated texting maybe not.
Pinger Textfree for iPod touch and iPhone
Quote:
Originally Posted by JimmyHAD
Hes not alone Jimmy!";" Right back at ya!
I voted no, because while a lot of people don't realize it, it's already illegal in virtually every state in the US, and many other countries besides.
It's also illegal to use a cell phone without a hands free set in virtually every state in the country.
It's also illegal to eat a cheeseburger, change a diaper, or juggle chainsaws while driving.
But, VeeDubb65, what do you mean it's already illegal? I've never heard of a law that made it illegal to drive while eating a cheeseburger or juggling chainsaws!!
It's called "driving while encumbered."
Just about every state already has laws on the books that make it illegal to do ANYTHING that could get in the way of your hands while operating a motor vehicle.
We don't need a new law to make it illegal. We need cops to start enforcing the laws that are on the books.
IMO, the same goes for beating somebody to death because of the color of their skin. There's no need to pass a law making it a crime, because it's already illegal to beat somebody to death.
It would be like passing a law that made it a criminal act to commit burglary while wearing a green fedora.
My mea culpa--I sometimes text while driving, but at the same time I recognize it's a very risky thing to do. A recently released study concluded texting while driving results in a 23-fold increase in the likeihood of having an accident. It's also been evaluated as being equivalent to driving with an .08 BAC, which constitutes drunk driving in many states. Unless it's made illegal more people, like me, will continue to do it. Just human nature, I guess.
I say make it illegal-like drunk driving, and over time more and more people will stop, just like attitudes towards drinking and driving evolved as the laws became stricter and society took note...
TN just enstated the no texting while driving this month. I still see people doing it every day. I think if someone is gonna use a phone in a vehical it should be hands free (Headsets are in expensive and they are building cars bluetooth ready).
You mean it's not already illegal?
Wow...
It's illegal in the UK. If you are involved in a serious or fatal accident while texting and the cellphone company records prove it, you are looking at a long jail term. We have just had a member of the House of Lords(Upper chamber of our Parliament) jailed for texting a few minutes before a fatal motorway crash.
I don't know anything about american law, but shouldn't this come under hazardous driving anyway. Which i'm sure has an offence somewhere. Another law is not what you need, maybe an amendment to existing ones.
Besides, if a police officer catches you texting while driving he's going to pull you over.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Casulo
You are exactly correct. In most states, it's called "driving while encumbered."
It is illegal to do anything while driving which would "encumber" you. That would include texting, using a cell phone without a hands-free set, eating a cheeseburger from the drive-through, nursing a baby* and anything else that takes your hands off of the wheel.
As far as amendments to existing laws, there is absolutely no need. All that is needed is for law enforcement and the judicial system to enforce the laws that are already on the books.
I mention nursing because believe it or not, there are actually states out there that have exceptions in their driving while encumbered laws that allow a woman to nurse an infant while driving. There was a case a couple of years ago in the news about a woman who was suing over one of these laws because she crossed state lines while nursing her baby, and was ticketed (and arrested) for driving while encumbered, endangering the welfare of a child, and not using a proper safety seat shortly after crossing the state line.
Living in Thailand I would love to see a law over here making texting while driving illegal. The official possition on texting and driving is that it is ok because Thais are better drivers than in the rest of the world. This is backed up by the circumstantial evidence of people who say they text and drive regularly but are not dead yet.
Of course if they did have such a law over here they would also need a police force that could enforce the law, not just a bunch of corrupt criminals in police uniforms who can not even direct traffic.
Why don't you go ahead and make it a personal law and get a head start on your own safety?Quote:
Originally Posted by billyjeff2
As long as i can still text while riding, i'm good....
YouTube - Texting on a Motorcycle
I view driving as a full time activity, requiring that the driver pay full time attention to what they are doing. Even something that seems simple, like changing a CD (something that I've done), can hinder your reaction time considerably.
I try to keep calm about it, but I'll confess to all of you that sometimes I think that:
texting while driving,
applying make-up while driving,
reading a newspaper while driving,
flossing/brushing your teeth while driving,
"add anything you've seen here...",
should carry an immediately enforceable death penalty.
Don
Sometimes it does.Quote:
Originally Posted by Black Adder
texting while driving is impossible, and so is enforcing it if you outlaw it.