Feds try to ban ALL cell use while driving

..there are situations where making a call while in motion is important... take for example, a situation where you witness a drunk driver swerving down the road, ..it is not "feasible" to have to find a safe place to pull over, all the while trying to quickly get the guy's license plate #, etc.. rather, by following at a safe distance, you could provide a dispatcher w/ continuous updates about the behavior and navigation info (i.e. did they get off at an exit, make a right turn, etc.)

i have actually been in this kind of situation...

 

I haven't read through all these pages, just kinda skipped around, I didn't see my point, but if it's here I'm sorry to rehash. It NOT the phone it's the idiots using it, you see them every day. Is it a problem yes, but what about putting your make up on, eating/drinking a meal, hollering kids etc. We should all have to ride public transportation, so big brother can make sure we're safe. This country has way bigger problems than using a cell behind the wheel. Give me a break.

 

Werd.

Except in this case it seems to...um...not have worked. Common sense and responsibility are almost foreign concepts to people these days. They obviously CANNOT be counted on to use them, otherwise this would be a non-issue.

I pay taxes. My taxes go to pay the costs of running a Law Enforcement corps which We The People have decided to enact because we feel the need for protection. I do very little which requires the need for protection, but if getting a ticket or just getting stopped by the cops gets Little Suzy Asianpants off her fucking cellphone long enough to NOT slam into me or someone else, then I'm all for it.

It's pretty simple. If you are texting or dialing a phone, you are not looking at the road. If you are holding a phone to your ear, you have one less hand to control your vehicle. These are MAJOR impairments. We don't let blind people drive, so why should we let people who aren't looking at the road drive?

Texting, calling, putting on makeup, eating, shaving, reading, getting dressed, fucking, checking your email, etc. -- fuck you, you're all getting tickets. Big ones, too. Maybe a $500 ticket would have made you worry less that Trong kissed Li at The Dragon Monkey last night before you drove your A4 into a school bus full of kids.

 

The Dragon Monkey has good egg-rolls.

 

they need to ban passengers and radios while they are on the bandwagon, hell, take out the cup holders and a/c too.

 

Don't get me wrong cell phones are definitely convenient and can really help a guy/gal out when in a bind, but man I mess the days when they didn't exist.

It sure pisses me off all the idiots on the road now running their mouth/texting not paying attention to where the hell it is their going. I encounter this problem literally everyday on my way to or from work. Just last night this stupid jerk screwing with his phone started merging over into the next lane (on coming traffic) and just about killed himself and the person in front of him. Being right behind him I laid on the horn so he would finally pay attention and prevented the accident. Frickin A hole then had the audacity to flip me off for honking at him. I was so pissed off by this I almost plowed into his shitty little rice burner.

At this point I could honestly care less what the feds attempt to do to fix the phone + driving crap; I’m beyond over this crazy obsession.

 

Damn right they do!

 

...so we must all pay the price?... kinda like in grade skrool, when somebody stole a pencil, everyone got punished?...

... how many people drive w/ one hand on the wheel anyway... i try to keep two on the wheel, ..but i'm probably an exemption... one could potentially make use of voice speed dial, or some such technology, ...and use hands-free device, either in-ear, or vehicle audio system based...

..we kinda do, ...how often has your BMV made you take the vision test? ...also consider the number of elderly seniors who drive,...

 

I'm perfectly fine with hands-free devices, and speech-to-text software like Dragon and via Siri. So there's no reason to lose the communicating abilities. But I think it would be a much better use of police funds to eliminate hazardous drivers than having them patrol for people illegally using the HOV lane.

There are hundred if not thousands of distractions for drivers. This one is easily remedied. Use a hands-free device. It's pretty simple. Especially for something as pervasive as cell phone usage.

Again, I've got no issues with hands-free. I occasionally drive with one hand on the wheel. But my other hand is there in case I need it at a split-second. Hard to do that when you are using it to hold a phone to your ear.

This is so true. And so sad.

 

... i think technology will outpace the "problem", ..i.e. w/ the advent of smart phones, etc, ..and more "hands free" capabilities built-in, ... i'm "hopeful" that holding it up to your ear will be less common practice (..besided probably being safer for your brain )..

agreed... but, i still don't think the gov't should be in the business of enforcing this.. what they should put the focus on is penalties for negligent use that results in property loss/damage, personal injury, etc..

 

I say let the states do their own thing the way they want. I bet the insurance industry is somehow behind this thing.

 

I remember when the jury was out deciding if cell use when driving should be outlawed, well they did outlaw it (smart) but allowed texting while driving(really dumb) I know there is a small percentage of drivers that can multitask this way but far more drivers that think they can but cannot,

probably 85% of the time you see a vehicle going 50 mph in the "fast lane" its because some dumbass fiddle fucking with a phone.

Even if "hands free" any task that diverts attention to the road your on, should be considered a hazard to oneself & to others, just my $.02

 

I hope so, too. I think more handsfree options are for the betterment of driving.

The only problem I have with this is that it's reactive and not proactive.

Penalties for negligence is all well and good until someone gets killed or paralyzed by a negligent driver who thought "it will never happen to me."

By giving the po-po a chance to stop negligent drivers before they cause an accident is far more protective, not to mention cheaper for John Q. Taxpayer. If someone kills a motorist/pedestrian via negligence, it becomes a criminal investigation. So when you have to hold a suspect for manslaughter, vehicular homicide, etc., try and sentence them, it is far less economically efficient than adding or re-allocating a couple of cruisers to write tickets for talking/texting/surfing. Not to mention the added benefits of not losing people along the way who were just trying to get to work/home and got wiped out by a negligent driver.

Just my take on the situation.

I agreed with letting the states set their own legislation. The NTSB can't make regulations, anyway. They can only offer recommendations. But in some states like Montana and Kansas, the number of interactions with other vehicles is decreased, so there is room for interpretation. Kansas is fucking black hole of cell service anyway.

I don't buy the whole "why should everyone suffer because of a few bad apples" argument, either. To me it's like drunk driving, you know that you are intentionally impairing your ability to operate your vehicle. Choosing to do so shouldn't be a question of "can I get away with it." It's a matter of right or wrong.

 

I was thinking about this today, when talking hands free I'm still watching the road, when talking to a passenger I tend to look at them taking my eyes off the road as most if not all will do. So how is hands free any worse? Even when dialing all I do is hit the button and talk, one button. A lot less than fiddling with the radio which I do way more of when not on the phone.

 

Rotfl.

 

This made me think, I see people texting all the time. I wonder how many tickets are given out for texting? I see it a lot.

 

Texting while driving is just fucking retarded!

 

Ok guys and gals I drive big trucks all day as of 01/01/12 any commercial driver seen holding onto a mobil device will be fined $2750.00 first offense second time is $11000.00 As previously said good luck passing that law for the rest of the people unless they pull the old seatbelt trick.You know if you don't pass that law we will not give you highway funds(like they have any money anyway).
And yes I do use bluetooth my company 's policy if not using you will be fired after 2 times.

 

I was being a smartass. But I have seen people turned around in their seat making a deal of someone else doing something stupid.

 

So you're saying you NEVER occasionally look at your passenger during a conversation? I'm not saying I'm constantly looking at them, just occasionally. I think everyone does this.