Driving While on Cell Phone Worse Than Driving While Drunk

On Sat, 01 Jul 2006 08:53:53 -0400, Dave Smith
wrote:

George Max wrote:

Isn't inattentive driving already a violation?

It's a little vague to be be enforced.

That could be. It's on the list of things I could be ticketed for
here in Wisconsin.


Use your brain. There are already enough laws regulating driving
behaviour. How about enforcing those before considering enacting new
ones?

Considering the problems with cell phone yakking drivers, it appears there aren't.



It strikes from observing police activities on the highways of
Wisconsin that they're very busy with radar traps collecting money for
their local municipalities. I image that since they're being used to
fill the coffers of the government there's not much time left over to
look for violators of crimes other than speeding.

On Sat, 01 Jul 2006 12:57:28 GMT, sechumlib
wrote:

On 2006-06-30 23:24:39 -0400, George Max
said:

Bull****.
You can drop the phone and recover adequate control. You can't
instantly flush the alcohol from your body and do likewise.

But DO you (or does anyone else) "drop the phone and recover"? I think
not. More likely, you retain the phone and to hell with other traffic.

My remark is hypothetical. I don't have a cell. It simply seems
possible to drop the phone and adjust the direct the car is moving.


Next thing they'll pass a law silencing conversation in the car. Or
listening the radio.

What about the assholes reading their map while driving? Or a
report/book/magazine? Or beating off. Or applying makeup and other
personal grooming chores?

Let's see: you're saying that because there may not be laws against
those specific things, there should be none against cell phone babbling
while driving? I disagree.

Yes. Exactly.


At one time or another I've witnessed all those behaviours at one time
or another.

I guess you've done that at one time or another, right?

No, in fact I have not. I'm blessed with the ability to know how to
get somewhere after studying the map prior to leaving on my trip. It
would seem many are not. Nor do I do those other things.


Isn't inattentive driving already a violation?

Use your brain. There are already enough laws regulating driving
behaviour. How about enforcing those before considering enacting new
ones?

You're probably one of those suckers who don't want mandatory helmet
laws for motorcyclists either, despite the fact that they save lives
and protect us productive people from having to pay emergency room
costs for the indigent cyclists that show up with smashed and smeared
heads.

I think motorcyclists SHOULD wear a helmet. But I don't support a law
forcing them to. If I were to ride a motorcycle, I would wear one.

Indigent people don't do a lot of other things you might think is a
good idea. Shall we round them all up and police every aspect of
their behaviour to protect them from themselves?

On Sat, 1 Jul 2006 07:59:41 -0600, "Pete" wrote:

You can drop the phone and recover adequate control. You
can't instantly flush the alcohol from your body and do likewise.

The operative word here is "can." Or could. Yes, a user could drop
the phone when his/her attention is demanded, but it never happens.
The type of person who talks in the car is by definition so selfish that
he/she considers the phone conversation as the highest priority.

And you ignore the more likely scenario, where the user does not
even know he/she should pay attention. I cannot tell you how many
times I have seen someone swerve over a few lanes to get to an exit
because he/she was not paying attention, thereby almost causing an
accident for the people behind the car. I cannot tell you how many
times I have seen someone run a stop sign while his/her phone is at
the ready. I cannot tell you how many times I have almost been run
over in a parking lot because the driver was blissfully talking away on
the phone.


Pete


That people are blissfully unaware of their surroundings is not a new
phenomena.

There's lots of things people do that they should not. They should
pay attention, yet they don't.

My personal recent experience is that twice within as many months
someone has ignored the red light that told them to stop. Both
required my immediate full emergency stop. Anti-lock brakes
chattering and all. I'm lucky no one was behind me. Neither offender
was using a cell. One was a woman who appeared to be lost in her own
thoughts and the other was a young lady apparently talking to her
friend. In both cases plain and simple inattentiveness. Both
continued on their way totally unaware of what they'd done.

It is kinda amazing the detail to be remembered from such a brief
moment in time.

We just don't need more laws. I agree that the use of cell phones is
distracting, but I don't think any more than a lot of things people
already do. Reading, grooming, eating and so on.

Bust 'em with the laws we already have. Get the cops out on the
highways visible to all instead of hiding behind a billboard or
freeway overpass with their cash register, er, radar gun. Increased
visibility by the police would go a long way to improve public safety.

On 2006-07-01 18:08:31 -0400, George Max
said:

On Sat, 01 Jul 2006 12:57:28 GMT, sechumlib
wrote:

But DO you (or does anyone else) "drop the phone and recover"? I think
not. More likely, you retain the phone and to hell with other traffic.

My remark is hypothetical. I don't have a cell. It simply seems
possible to drop the phone and adjust the direct the car is moving.
Let's see: you're saying that because there may not be laws against
those specific things, there should be none against cell phone babbling
while driving? I disagree.

Yes. Exactly.

I emphatically disagree with you, in spades.

At one time or another I've witnessed all those behaviours at one time
or another.

I guess you've done that at one time or another, right?

No, in fact I have not. I'm blessed with the ability to know how to
get somewhere after studying the map prior to leaving on my trip. It
would seem many are not. Nor do I do those other things.

You apparently missed what I was commenting on: that you said "At one
time or another [bla bla bla] at one time or another." THINK about what
you're saying, some time.

On 2006-07-01 18:19:14 -0400, George Max
said:

We just don't need more laws. I agree that the use of cell phones is
distracting, but I don't think any more than a lot of things people
already do. Reading, grooming, eating and so on.
Bust 'em with the laws we already have. Get the cops out on the
highways visible to all instead of hiding behind a billboard or
freeway overpass with their cash register, er, radar gun. Increased
visibility by the police would go a long way to improve public safety.

Guess it doesn't matter to YOU, and according to YOU it shouldn't
matter to anyone, that cell phones have recently caused more accidents
than all other kinds of inattention combined. NO NEW LAWS! Read my lips!

On Sat, 01 Jul 2006 22:41:20 GMT, sechumlib
wrote:

On 2006-07-01 18:19:14 -0400, George Max
said:

We just don't need more laws. I agree that the use of cell phones is
distracting, but I don't think any more than a lot of things people
already do. Reading, grooming, eating and so on.
Bust 'em with the laws we already have. Get the cops out on the
highways visible to all instead of hiding behind a billboard or
freeway overpass with their cash register, er, radar gun. Increased
visibility by the police would go a long way to improve public safety.

Guess it doesn't matter to YOU, and according to YOU it shouldn't
matter to anyone, that cell phones have recently caused more accidents
than all other kinds of inattention combined. NO NEW LAWS! Read my lips!

Right. Even better for you, I speak to my representatives. What
about you?

No new laws. When you're driving badly, you get a ticket. Whatever
the reason. You cause an accident, you get cited. Maybe more.
Regardless the cause. Cell phones are not suddenly turning people
into bad drivers. Bad drivers are bad drivers. Cells didn't make
them that way.

Cause an accident? Using a cell? Inattentive driving. Get punished.

There's already plenty of laws on the books. *Use them!*

On Sat, 01 Jul 2006 17:34:49 GMT, sechumlib wrote:


On 2006-07-01 13:04:12 -0400, "Maxx" said:

It doesn't really matter who said what. The basic question is, What
can be so important that you have to talk on the phone while driving?
(911 calls excluded)

And if something is important enough to call 911 about, the driver
should be pulled over and not acting, for numerous reasons, as a danger
to everyone else on the road.

How is talking on a cell phone different than talking to a passenger?

George Max wrote:



Guess it doesn't matter to YOU, and according to YOU it shouldn't
matter to anyone, that cell phones have recently caused more accidents
than all other kinds of inattention combined. NO NEW LAWS! Read my lips!

Right. Even better for you, I speak to my representatives. What
about you?

No new laws. When you're driving badly, you get a ticket. Whatever
the reason. You cause an accident, you get cited. Maybe more.
Regardless the cause. Cell phones are not suddenly turning people
into bad drivers. Bad drivers are bad drivers. Cells didn't make
them that way.

Cause an accident? Using a cell? Inattentive driving. Get punished.

There's already plenty of laws on the books. *Use them!*

The idea should be accident prevention, not punishment. There are speed
limits to slow people down and penalties for failure to stop at stop signs
and stop lights rather than just having failure to yield laws and laying
charges only if there is an accident. Tailgating is a form of careless
driving, but has it's own violation.

AZ Nomad wrote:

And if something is important enough to call 911 about, the driver
should be pulled over and not acting, for numerous reasons, as a danger
to everyone else on the road.

How is talking on a cell phone different than talking to a passenger?

It is much more distracting, and a passenger is a second set of eyes.

On 2006-07-01 22:44:38 -0400, AZ Nomad said:

On Sat, 01 Jul 2006 17:34:49 GMT, sechumlib wrote:


On 2006-07-01 13:04:12 -0400, "Maxx" said:

It doesn't really matter who said what. The basic question is, What
can be so important that you have to talk on the phone while driving?
(911 calls excluded)

And if something is important enough to call 911 about, the driver
should be pulled over and not acting, for numerous reasons, as a danger
to everyone else on the road.

How is talking on a cell phone different than talking to a passenger?

It causes more accidents, that's how.