tc1 said:
You will change your mind when you have children and you almost get smashed into ever other day by some idiot young woman posting on fb or texting.
Credit:
http://www.xkcd.com
(Tone not implied here, last time I posted on this thread I intended a Mr. Mackey a la South Park voice about "cellphones are bad, mmkay?" ...take this or leave it, I'm trying to add some extra logic to this problem, but in reality I am wasting my breath in the face of a deeply emotional and political topic. Here goes!)
IF you're an alert and responsible parent, the road is a scary place. Having 2 kids riding in the back of our wagon, strapped into their safety-law-approved booster seats, always wanting full attention of mom & dad (when they're not demolishing each other or asleep, of course), we pray for safety. Just don't pray & drive if you can't do that without closing your eyes...
Is the goal of instituting a law to ban mobile device distractions in cars to: A.) Modify the behavior of drivers (to promote safety & prevent related accidents), B.) Provide precedent for monetary punishment for only those drivers who get caught (gee, I'm looking in my lap an awful lot, it's fascinating down there, oh hello officer!), C.) Demonizing idiotic behavior by isolating a problem that should be able to be corrected in a more effective manner... ??? D.) None of the above?
This is an easy issue to champion, and it's a divisive topic of opinion, and I dare say technology has sped way past reasonable use for the sake of convenience such that fatal injury was never anticipated by the developers. Maybe it would be reasonable to ask that mobile device owners earn a license to talk & drive, etc., where states could require the driver to demonstrate competency operating the phone while driving? There then would be reasonable (opinions here, all of it, mind ya) expectation that officers would have a right to single out visible phone-using drivers at "phone sobriety checkpoints," traffic stops, etc. But we've gone down roads like this before...
Laws on the books make citizens feel safer (at least in an "on my best days" sense), but the danger isn't removed. Maybe it will eventually lead to development of safer technology by demand of users who MUST have the feature legally. But can't we get there without a possibly unnecessary (opinion, breathe people) new law? Maybe not.
Local law enforcement has said publicly that they don't need a new law to pursue distracted drivers (and yes, you can count nearly the same ratio of does/doesn't talk on cell phone patrol officers as regular citizens, in my observation. Turning on the lightbar to avoid a stoplight is technically illegal, and who hasn't seen that? Again, I'm not judging, just saying that people will always make bad decisions. But that will never happen to me or anyone I care about, right?
Recent accident causing a death here this summer sensationalized in the news for a couple days as a texting driver, failed to mention driver was going nearly DOUBLE THE SPEED LIMIT through a stoplight. But I suppose he'd have been a better speeder if he wasn't texting and avoided causing a fatal accident.
Maybe the carriers develop real ROAMING CHARGES to say you're paying overages for accessing text/data features while in motion above a certain speed according to GPS... but I stream music to the car stereo so I know I wouldn't like that so much. That would be an interesting and evil solution, but only until the truly dangerous drivers find a different carrier who doesn't regulate. We are devious kids aren't we?
How much right do we have to endanger others, but then how much do we limit freedoms (and the freedom to make poor or even dangerous choices)? It boils down to convenience plus the fact that we all tend to believe ourselves better than the next person (more competent driver, better parent, etc.).
It's easy to say "there ought to be a law" but there also ought not to be a need for law. Either way the problem is deeper than some realize (emotional attachments aside) when it leads to an abuse of our liberties. Reasonable folks would set aside their need for this technology to make sure they keep others safe, and I'm just guessing that we as a society aren't quite that reasonable.
Among my peeves: the contractor on his cell while shoving everyone else off the road in his giant white pick-up truck, probably oblivious to being a juggernaut.
I can autopilot my kids to school, get groceries, fill the gas tank, and barely register where I am or how I got there, WITHOUT the use of my phone involved at all.
Our city postponed a planned vote on measure to enact a ban on texting while driving, because the proponent didn't attend. Hot topic, everyone wants to be the hero here, but I think we really need some more critical thought involved.
Oh hey! How about that app which uses the phone's camera to show you on-screen what the phone is blocking from your vision? Because you know, a headsup display (with a 2sec delay or interrupted by incoming call) would like, totally fix this bad sitch, right? *GRONK!*
(Let us pray)
Or as Bowie & Reznor put it, "I'm afraid of Americans"
K ...I often scare myself...