Magus200
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- Posted: Sun, 10 Jun 2012 18:28:24 +0000
http://www.npr.org/2012/06/07/154533043/texting-and-driving-bans-may-make-roads-less-safe
Poor kid now has a criminal record and spent a year in prison for texting/driving. Yes it was fatal but in my opinion it was still an accident, these things happen. I live in Florida and I have to deal with old people bumping into the back of my car and in the case of a close friend of mine, straight up ramming his car after the poor old man somehow lost control of his pedals. Should old people be banned from driving?
Anyway, what is your opinion on these laws that have now been adopted across 39 states and its looking to encompass the rest?
Is it necessary? Is it enforceable? So far it hasn't been an effective way of deteriorating texting/driving no more then the war on drugs has been successful in preventing drugs in our youth and society as a whole. If anything drugs are becoming more prevalent now then ever, is no longer just weed in high schools *which has increased drastically since the 70s, is X, bars, lsd etc.
It baffles me just how many US citizens are in favor of the law and some are in favor of HARSHER penalties that include 5-4 digit fines. What happened to democracy and the freedom to choose between what is right and wrong?
Does the government really have to pass this un enforceable law?
In practice this can be nothing more then a GOTCHA law that's only going to penalize those that are unlucky enough to no see the cop next them to them when they are texting, something easily fixed by putting the phone down in ur lap and waiting for the cop to leave.
Also how can the police even know if my car accident was caused by me texting? Are they going to go through my phones text to see if it matches with the time of the accident? Wouldn't that constitute an invasion of privacy *my naked pics text
Why even give the police a reason to have a warrant to search my car at this point?
When does personal responsibility take a back seat to government intrusion in our daily lives?
Quote:
SECRETARY RAY LAHOOD: When people are not distracted, lives will be saved. There's no dispute. There's no debate about whether distracted driving causes injury and takes peoples lives. We know that it does.
SMITH: But there is dispute about whether any law can actually get drivers to put down their phones.
RUSS RADER: These laws are well-meaning. But unfortunately, so far, we don't see that they're effective in reducing crashes, which is the goal that we all have.
SMITH: Russ Rader is with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which does research for insurers. He says laws can even backfire as drivers try to hide their phones lower down in their lap. Also, he says cellphone bans can only do so much since cellphones are only a small fraction of what distracts drivers.
RADER: Distracted driving is as old as driving. And whether it's putting on lipstick, or reading the newspaper, or reaching into the backseat for the MP3 player, all those things are distracting. So focusing on phone use will have limited effect on reducing crashes.
SMITH: But others point to successes in states like California, where cellphone bans are most strictly enforced. Barbara Harsha, head of the Governors Highway Safety Administration, says she hopes the grants announced today will help police get more aggressive.
BARBARA HARSHA: People have to believe that they'll be caught.
SMITH: But there is dispute about whether any law can actually get drivers to put down their phones.
RUSS RADER: These laws are well-meaning. But unfortunately, so far, we don't see that they're effective in reducing crashes, which is the goal that we all have.
SMITH: Russ Rader is with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, which does research for insurers. He says laws can even backfire as drivers try to hide their phones lower down in their lap. Also, he says cellphone bans can only do so much since cellphones are only a small fraction of what distracts drivers.
RADER: Distracted driving is as old as driving. And whether it's putting on lipstick, or reading the newspaper, or reaching into the backseat for the MP3 player, all those things are distracting. So focusing on phone use will have limited effect on reducing crashes.
SMITH: But others point to successes in states like California, where cellphone bans are most strictly enforced. Barbara Harsha, head of the Governors Highway Safety Administration, says she hopes the grants announced today will help police get more aggressive.
BARBARA HARSHA: People have to believe that they'll be caught.
Quote:
n Massachusetts, an 18-year-old was convicted yesterday of causing a fatal traffic accident by texting. He will spend a year in jail, and the judge said he hoped the sentence would serve as a deterrent. Today, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood weighed in, calling for a state and federal crackdown on cellphone use in the driver's seat.
Poor kid now has a criminal record and spent a year in prison for texting/driving. Yes it was fatal but in my opinion it was still an accident, these things happen. I live in Florida and I have to deal with old people bumping into the back of my car and in the case of a close friend of mine, straight up ramming his car after the poor old man somehow lost control of his pedals. Should old people be banned from driving?
Anyway, what is your opinion on these laws that have now been adopted across 39 states and its looking to encompass the rest?
Is it necessary? Is it enforceable? So far it hasn't been an effective way of deteriorating texting/driving no more then the war on drugs has been successful in preventing drugs in our youth and society as a whole. If anything drugs are becoming more prevalent now then ever, is no longer just weed in high schools *which has increased drastically since the 70s, is X, bars, lsd etc.
It baffles me just how many US citizens are in favor of the law and some are in favor of HARSHER penalties that include 5-4 digit fines. What happened to democracy and the freedom to choose between what is right and wrong?
Does the government really have to pass this un enforceable law?
In practice this can be nothing more then a GOTCHA law that's only going to penalize those that are unlucky enough to no see the cop next them to them when they are texting, something easily fixed by putting the phone down in ur lap and waiting for the cop to leave.
Also how can the police even know if my car accident was caused by me texting? Are they going to go through my phones text to see if it matches with the time of the accident? Wouldn't that constitute an invasion of privacy *my naked pics text
Why even give the police a reason to have a warrant to search my car at this point?
When does personal responsibility take a back seat to government intrusion in our daily lives?
