Why don’t you look at the success rate that banning cell phone use during driving has had on reducing auto accidents. I would bet it is negligeable every where.
Why don’t you look at the success rate that banning cell phone use during driving has had on reducing auto accidents. I would bet it is negligeable every where.
Show me the studies, and I’ll look. Do you know of any cell phone bans?
Why this resistance? It is shown that talking on the phone takes significant cognitive processing, which detracts from driving competently.
Why this resistance? It is shown that talking on the phone takes significant cognitive processing, which detracts from driving competently
So does road head. Do you want that banned too?
No resistance. Just that I don’t think that using a cell phone while driving is that dangerous. Also, enforcement is nearly impossible. And finally, there are other more dangerous activities during driving that are illegal but not enforced nearly enough - like using your blinkers, wearing seat belts, speeding, etc.
Why this resistance? It is shown that talking on the phone takes significant cognitive processing, which detracts from driving competently
So does road head. Do you want that banned too?
So, you won’t bother answering the question. The facts challenge your world view that you, personally, can drive safely while talking on the phone, so you respond with this.
OK that was a dumb thing for me to say. I’m grumpy that I am missing lunch today. But I did think I answered your question. I’ll stipulate that talking on the cell phone while driving is a distraction. I just don’t think it should be outlawed. Driving is an inherantly dangerous activity. If you think it will be any safer by people dropping their cell phones in their lap when they see a cop behind them I would respectfully dissagree.
I do believe I could quote this guy all day. More Reagan:
“I don’t believe in a government that protects us from ourselves.”
OK that was a dumb thing for me to say. I’m grumpy that I am missing lunch today. But I did think I answered your question. I’ll stipulate that talking on the cell phone while driving is a distraction. I just don’t think it should be outlawed. Driving is an inherantly dangerous activity. If you think it will be any safer by people dropping their cell phones in their lap when they see a cop behind them I would respectfully dissagree.
I do believe I could quote this guy all day. More Reagan:
“I don’t believe in a government that protects us from ourselves.”
Ah, I see. You don’t think there should be laws against drunk driving. Got it.
Geesh. I’ve said that drunk driving should be, and thankfully is, against the law. Drunk driving is not the same thing as talking on a cell phone.
Wrong. They are the same exact activity except one is illegal and the other isn’t.
I think we need more death to force the law to shut down cell phones in cars. It’s coming, it’s just a matter of numbers. Going home drunk used to be commonplace and accepted until enough families of 4 were killed.
Instead of being proactive, I guess we’ll just wait for it… it’s going to happen.
Geesh. I’ve said that drunk driving should be, and thankfully is, against the law. Drunk driving is not the same thing as talking on a cell phone.
Yet you quote someone who said that it’s bad government to have laws that protect us from ourselves?
I’m reminded of the first few minutes of Pulp Fiction, when Jackson and Travolta are comparing two very different activities as we are, and Travolta says that the two activities in question were different acts, but in the same ballpark. And Jackson replies along the lines of that they aren’t the same thing, not the same ballpark, not even the same game.
Lots of things contribute to car accidents. A very close family member of mine was killed on a highway last year when she was in a lane that had merged into another lane and a semi forced her car off the road. Years ago a car hit a tree in my front yard when the driver was changing stations on his radio.
Being intoxicated and talking on a phone are in no way comparable activities. Although when done concurrently (and not driving) it can be amusing.
Wrong again. The two acts are exactly the same: distracted driving. Follow this logic:
It’s not illegal to drink (which impairs your ability to drive), however it’s illegal to drive and drink.
It’s not illegal to use a cell phone/text message (which impairs your ability to drive), but it’s legal to drive and use a cell phone.
Radio use isn’t the same, it doesn’t engage you and you can tune it out.
That semi hitting your family member - if he said “aw shucks, all I was doin’ was text messaging trash talk about the football game last night and I didn’t see her”… I guess that’s OK right?
I’m sorry, but that is ridiculous. Have you been intoxicated before? I sincerely am asking that - I am not trying to be a smartass. It is not just your driving ability that is compromised after having a few too many. I’ve been too drunk to walk. Hell, I’ve been too drunk to stand still and be quiet. It is not like that most times when I have to take a call on my cell.
Radios can absolutly be engaging. I’ve spaced out while listening to a song or a talk radio conversation and missed exits many times. Text messaging is out of scope here. Text messaging is different than cell phone use. I agree it is stupid to do while driving but impossible to enforce.
I never once said anything being right or wrong. Just what should or shouldn’t IMO be made illegal. Big difference, which sadly more and more Americans don’t realize. And with my cousin’s tragic accident, it was probably my cousin’s fault for not getting over soon enough and running out of road. Of course it isn’t alright. The trucker was not cited and nobody was in the car with my cousin, so I don’t know if she was talking on a phone, or changing stations, or just not paying attention. Why bring football into this anyway?
It’s not ridiculous at all. It’s spot on.
Sure radio can absorb you but you can break from it; it’s not “engaging” as you say. To have to listen to someone and engage in conversation is actual work.
Of course I’ve been drunk. I’ve driven drunk. I’ve also been on the cell phone while driving and I tell you - you cannot drive using a cell phone and be aware of your surroundings and perform all of the functions needed to drive safely.
Consequently, driving whilst using a cell phone = drunk driving. One and the same baby - anybody who thinks differently works for a mobile phone company, or has their cell phone pinned to their chin/shoulder as they maneuver thru traffic every day - and would be livid to have it taken from them.
Huh. I guess we dissagree. In the interest of full disclosure I don’t work in the telecommunications industry and I mostly hate cell phones. I just broke down and bought myself when a couple of years ago.
In support of your stance (which I still think is wrong) I did read a study that concluded driving while drunk increased your risk of accidents by a factor of 4. The same study measured the increased risk of accidents while talking on a cell phone and the factor was also an increase of 4. I just think that it is an apples and oranges comparison.
Seems like the penalties ought to be the same. At least the drunk could argue he was drunk and had impaired judgement, the kid is just plain stupid.
I have been rear-ended twice now in the last 4 years by cell phone talkers who weren’t paying attention. I wonder if insurance companies check to see if they were on the phone when the accident occured?
I don’t own a cell phone.
OK, we disagree. No biggie.
But why do you say “apples and oranges”? I’m having trouble with your argument because if both events lead to the same problem, aren’t they the same thing? Impairment?
In support of your stance, I can see the resistance. Cell phones are a feature of convenience and by design should NOT impair us in general - unlike booze, which is supposed to impair you. Except when we mix cell phones with driving - then they behave like booze.
Once you equate driving with cell phones with drunk driving you should also probably add in eating fast food (ever try to eat a Subway sandwich while driving? not too easy), putting on makeup (I still don’t understand how women do this), reading (and YES I have seen it multiple times), changing radio stations (if not steering wheel controls) along with a myriad of other things.
Driving while talking on a cell phone does not equate to drunk driving. It equates to distracted driving, which in and of itself can be and many times is just as dangerous as drunk driving.
I’m sure drunk driving was just like listening to the radio too, at one point in time. When too many people died at the hands of drunk drivers, they went from people “just like us” to the society villains.
I’m calling out cell phones because I’m hearing way too many results of cell phone usage while driving killing/maiming people or just plain causing accidents. When I personally hear about several cyclists killed by people eating Whoppers (that would be more newsworthy than cell phone driving accident, doncha think?), your argument will hold water. Right now, I see cell phones doing the exact same thing as booze, except alot of people are in denial, or get a paycheck from the cellular world.
Absolutly no biggie. It will mostly be a blue state problem anyway 
I guess I am resisting for several reasons. I generally don’t like arguments that revolve around ‘if one person does it in excess it must be bad (and banned\regulated)for everyone’. And in cases where cell phones contribute to an accident, can’t the guilty be charged with reckless driving in addition to whatever charge caused the wreck? I honestly don’t know the answer to that - I’m not a lawyer. I am in no way for letting someone off the hook just becasuse they were using a cell phone. On the contrary, I would be for giving them the maximum sentence allowed (for whatever the charge was - manslaughter, property damage, etc) if a cell phone was in use. I just don’t think the act itself, outside of any other violations, should be a crime.
I guess I also agree with you that drinking, by design, slowly impairs ones judgement. No argument there - it is a law of physics. Cell phone usage certainly can impair ones judgement, but not everyones and not every call. I have been driving and taken calls (usually from my ex) and had to hang up abruptly because the conversation was turning into a distraction. Just like with drinking, there is a responsible and unresponsible way to behave. It’s a lot easier to turn off the phone than it is to sober up.