More On The Never Ending Cell Phone Issue

[Racer X 69]

{Now this is something I can get behind. A comprehensive, and complete ban, for everyone. Period.}

NTSB recommends ban on driver cell phone use


By JOAN LOWY, Associated Press

WASHINGTON – States should ban all driver use of cell phones and other portable electronic devices, except in emergencies, the National Transportation Board said Tuesday.

The recommendation, unanimously agreed to by the five-member board, applies to both hands-free and hand-held phones and significantly exceeds any existing state laws restricting texting and cellphone use behind the wheel.

The board made the recommendation in connection with a deadly highway pileup in Missouri last year. The board said the initial collision in the accident near Gray Summit, Mo., was caused by the inattention of a 19 year-old-pickup driver who sent or received 11 texts in the 11 minutes immediately before the crash.

The pickup, traveling at 55 mph, collided into the back of a tractor truck that had slowed for highway construction. The pickup was rear-ended by a school bus that overrode the smaller vehicle. A second school bus rammed into the back of the first bus.

The pickup driver and a 15-year-old student on one of the school buses were killed. Thirty-eight other people were injured in the Aug. 5, 2010, accident near Gray Summit, Mo.


Read More Here

 

[Rigjockey]

Oddly enough I thought I was talanted enough to drive and talk on a cell phone , Untill my Province introduced a ban on hand held devices . I stopped using the phone and driving . But in some States it is still legal , So I call the broker while driving to save time and I realize just how distracting this practice is .Now I make my calls when I am parked.

I'm all for freedom and not a nanny State but I agree everyone should be focused on driving , Not talking

How many times have you been sitting at a red light waiting on an advanced green and the driver in front of you is on the phone and fails to notice the light has changed ? 3 or 4 more cars could have made the left had this asshat been paying attention . Now they have to idle that much longer waiting for the next cycle .

 

[patriciajnsn]

Broker of this load called 3 times while I was driving,finally 2 hrs later after I stopped I called him,he understood why I did'nt answer why driving.But when I get a call from home I pull over immediately.

 

[terrylamar]

To be honest about the situation, food, passengers, radios, CB's, maps, GPS's, pets, drinks, employer communication devices, just about everything should be banned. Or we could get rid of busy body activist and government and do what we want, not what they want.

 

[patriciajnsn]

Now they're going to read this and give them more ideas.IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT,LOL

To be honest about the situation, food, passengers, radios, CB's, maps, GPS's, pets, drinks, employer communication devices, just about everything should be banned. Or we could get rid of busy body activist and government and do what we want, not what they want.

 

[patriciajnsn]

Today while driving thru Texas on 20,there were alot of officers either parked looking for speeders or had someone pulled over.A good portion of the pulled over were trks.Wonder if any of them got pulled over for using the cell.

 

[Racer X 69]

I don't want more government any more than the next guy.

The fact is though, millions of people act as if the laws already existing do not apply to them. It is already illegal to do anything while driving that isn't driving. Eating, drinking, fiddling around with a map, applying makeup or combing your hair, anything that is not directly part of the process of driving any motor vehicle is illegal and a driver can be cited for it.

But the flood of "smart" phones has caused the masses to act as if they are entitled to be so totally consumed and distracted while driving. And this is not limited to just the four wheelers. Ignorant truck drivers are just as numerous as four wheelers, and I have even seen them watching movies on those small DVD players and on laptops.

There was even a truck driver a couple years back in New York that was convicted for and accident that killed a young mother while he was watching **** on his laptop while driving.

So this total immersion in the "gotta be connected" age has to come to an end.

 

[terrylamar]

If it is already against the law, how will even more regulation make it even better? Accountability will, do what you want, if you cause an accident loose your license for life, at a minimum.

 

[Racer X 69]

If it is already against the law, how will even more regulation make it even better?

As I said Terry, I don't support more government.

But something must be done to stop what has become an epidemic on the highways.

Certainly a universal law might be better than what there is now, with each jurisdiction having their own law, and taking different approaches toward enforcement.

 

[terrylamar]

An epidemic? An accident here and there is not an epidemic.

 

[Racer X 69]

There are more than just an accident here and there, and every day there are thousands of near misses that go unreported. You can't tell me that you don't experience this stuff yourself. We all do.

 

[Racer X 69]

And just one accident that results in loss of life is one too many.

 

[terrylamar]

So let's ban all modes of transportation, let's seal everyone in a big bubble. There are certain risk we all have to assume. You cannot legislate common sense. People will continue to use cell phones while they drive, no matter how many laws are passed.

 

[terrylamar]

There are more than just an accident here and there, and every day there are thousands of near misses that go unreported. You can't tell me that you don't experience this stuff yourself. We all do.

And just not from cell phone use. Should we ban all bad behaviour? How far shall we go?

 

[Racer X 69]

So let's ban all modes of transportation, let's seal everyone in a big bubble. There are certain risk we all have to assume. You cannot legislate common sense. People will continue to use cell phones while they drive, no matter how many laws are passed.

The biggest obstacle right now is there are so many different laws, being applied in far too many different ways.

The key is to have one common law, in every jurisdiction, and enforced consistently. Every time a driver is observed violating the law, the office needs to act in the same manner as he or she acted previously, and all officers need to administer the law in the same way, every time.

There needs to be zero tolerance, ever.

Use a cell phone for a call or for texting while behind the wheel with the vehicle in motion and get caught, and pay the price. Simple, effective. It won't take long and very few people will be screwing around when they should be driving.

 

[Mr. Q]

So let's ban all modes of transportation, let's seal everyone in a big bubble. There are certain risk we all have to assume. You cannot legislate common sense. People will continue to use cell phones while they drive, no matter how many laws are passed.

This is the problem Terry: It is absolutely impossible to legislate that which is absent in a large percentage of the human population. Meanwhile the actions of those with no common sense will just make it difficult for those with common sense to live in this country as more asinine laws are created every year.

If the government were REALLY serious about tackling this distracted driving issue, then they should simply ban bad drivers from operating vehicles. Period.

Driving is supposed to be a privilege and yet everyone with a pulse has a license. Commercial, non-commercial, it doesn't matter. There are many bad drivers on the road, and instead of removing those bad drivers this government would rather create more laws. The fix is simple, but no one has the common sense to think up these things.

Either way, this is a fun debate. Terry and Racer, you both make good arguments.

Let's keep this going!

 

[Duck]

I read that article, and I also saw it on the news.

So the teenage boy in the pickup truck was texting while driving, and he ran into the back of that Volvo bobtail.

Ok, so that was his fault.

But were the drivers of those two school buses also texting?

Based on the description of the event, I'm 100% sure that the teenage boy's texting did not cause the two school buses to crash. The bus drivers were not paying attention to what was going on ahead of them. They sit about as high as we do, they can see right over the top of that pickup truck and see that traffic was slowing down, even if the pickup truck wasn't.

 

[Racer X 69]

Based on the description of the event, I'm 100% sure that the teenage boy's texting did not cause the two school buses to crash. The bus drivers were not paying attention to what was going on ahead of them. They sit about as high as we do, they can see right over the top of that pickup truck and see that traffic was slowing down, even if the pickup truck wasn't.

I made that point about the buses crashing not being directly connected to the texting but it seems to have missed the mark.

I believe the media and the NTSB inflated the involvement of the buses in the chain reaction accident to try and over emphasize the seriousness of the young man texting just before crashing into the truck.

 

[rebel]

If it is already against the law, how will even more regulation make it even better? Accountability will, do what you want, if you cause an accident loose your license for life, at a minimum.

As I said Terry, I don't support more government.

But something must be done to stop what has become an epidemic on the highways.

Certainly a universal law might be better than what there is now, with each jurisdiction having their own law, and taking different approaches toward enforcement.

So let's ban all modes of transportation, let's seal everyone in a big bubble. There are certain risk we all have to assume. You cannot legislate common sense. People will continue to use cell phones while they drive, no matter how many laws are passed.

And just not from cell phone use. Should we ban all bad behaviour? How far shall we go?

The biggest obstacle right now is there are so many different laws, being applied in far too many different ways.

The key is to have one common law, in every jurisdiction, and enforced consistently. Every time a driver is observed violating the law, the office needs to act in the same manner as he or she acted previously, and all officers need to administer the law in the same way, every time.

There needs to be zero tolerance, ever.

Use a cell phone for a call or for texting while behind the wheel with the vehicle in motion and get caught, and pay the price. Simple, effective. It won't take long and very few people will be screwing around when they should be driving.

View attachment 14600

ALL RIGHT YOU TWO, NOW HEAR THIS!
I DON'T CARE IF MOMMY GAVE YOU ONE FOR YOUR BIRTHDAY OR IF GOD HIMSELF GAVE YOU ONE GROWING OUT OF YOUR EAR!
THE NEXT TIME I SEE A JACKWAGON DIDDLING WITH HIS CELL PHONE INSTEAD OF PAYING ATTENTION TO THE ROAD, I WILL PERSONALLY BEAT HIM TO A PULP AND SHOVE THAT PHONE WHERE HE'LL NEVER FIND IT!
DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!

​ok keen, you can have your avatar back, that was fun.........
View attachment 14600

 

[Gypsy1973]

talking, period

Okay, I've driven a truck while talking to a trainee.
I've driven a truck while talking on a cellphone (headset).
Talking on the cellphone is less distracting.
I'm not steering with one hand, gesturing with the other.
I'm not steering with one hand, trying to slap the crap out of an annoying trainee with the other.
If in my car, I'm not steering with one hand with my body twisted around trying to slap a
smart-mouth kid in the back seat.

What's more distracting than using a hands-free cellphone?

Trying to adjust one of the newer radios. Those suckers are complex!
You have to actually be looking at the radio display to adjust anything but the volume.
And the controls are tiny.

Talking on the CB. One hand on the wheel, not watching the road because you're trying to
figure out which of those other trucks contains that loud-mouthed SOB on the other end.

Smoking a cigarette. You've got to watch that flame or you'll light your nose. And if you drop
it in your lap, hello trees.

I could go on and on. This isn't about safety, it's about politicians being reelected. It's about
political sound bites and mindless masses screaming "DO SOMETHING!"

If the powers-that-be really wanted to improve safety, they would start enforcing all of the
existing laws equally against all drivers.
What would you like to bet that prior to the accident, at least one LEO saw those buses
following too closely, and did nothing?
But the politicians will do nothing effective, because stupid people outvote the rest.
And you can't legislate stupidity.