California may ban cell phones for some...

[The_Antibubba]

I can't really oppose this one. If any of you have ever spent time on California highway, the problem is rampant. Most of the drivers with phone in hand are on it the entire trip-it's almost ingrained behavior here. And it has done nothing to improve it. The main purpose of driving should be getting to a destination, and most of us can't drive and talk long distance at the same time. I can't, and I don't.

Look at this another way. Recently, there was a thread about walking around in Condition White, and "checking your six". Most of us here are in condition Yellow when we're out and about, and notice that most people are blissfully unaware. Well, most of these White Walkers are White Drivers, too. Hell, they can barely drive with just the stereo blasting and balancing the breakfast burrito and coffee. Add in a cellphone conversation, and driving is the last thing on their mind.

Hey, if they want to kill themselves, fine. Please do it in the privacy of your own home, without involving other people.

 

[Nick1911]

Hey, if they want to kill themselves, fine. Please do it in the privacy of your own home, without involving other people.

That's a valid point and intersting way of looking at it I hadn't really considered.

However, if someone is not able to balance driving with some other activity (if that's possible), shouldn't it their responsibility to correct their problem? Why should there be legislation against it if some people can't handle that much or type of multi-tasking? Is that really any different from saying that no one can have a CCW because some people can't handle that kind personal responsibility?

I have a feeling I stir'd the pot.



Nick

 

[artherd]

The mental effort required to participate in any kind of two-way discourse is subtracted from that available for attending to driving.

Are you KIDDING ME?!

Come on.

If you idoits out there lack the simple mental capacity to drive a car, and do one other task (let's say, I don't know, avoid the car infront of you? Not bounce off the guard rails just because they're there?)

You know why piolits say "Hold, Center!" every now and then? Yeah, it's because they're prioritizing. If you're too dumb to say "Hold" when you need to, or hang the ???? up when you need both hands and both ears, then you deserve to crash. Think of it as evolution in action.


What do you idoits do, close your eyes drive by feel because the visual input is too much for your puny brains!?


Jesus, if you can't prioritize DRIVING over talking to your stupid boss in your mental queue, then you do NOT belong in a car or anywhere near one!


Who the hell 'zones out' while talking on their cell phone? We need to BAN THESE PEOPLE, not the phones.

PS: I'm an avid cell user, the time doing nothing but driving is great. I have headsets stashed everywhere and a handsfree in the car.

I can even chew gun while walking )

PPS: I should add, I don't mean to defame anyone who decides at any (or all) particuliar moment(s) that they do NOT want to be on the phone in the car. I have told a senator I will call him back because I had to drive. If you *never* want to be on the phone in the car, more power to you. That is RESPONSIBLE behavior.

 

[444]

I am all for it.
I would be in favor of making it totally illegal to communicate on a cell phone in any way while in motion.
"The Numbers Don't Lie"
BS. Where did these numbers come from ? They asked people who had been in accidents what caused it ? "Oh, no, I wasn't on the phone" BS and BS again. Then we get into the definition of what causes an accident: "Oh yeah, I was on the phone at the time but it wasn't what caused the accident, a dog ran out in front of me." Total and complete BS.

There is no reason to be on the phone while driving. Civilization got along for many years before cell phones. Powers of industry and business made fortunes long before their were cell phones. Mothers raised their children for thousands of years before cell phones existed. THERE IS NO REASON TO BE ON THE PHONE WHEN YOU ARE DRIVING.
Our society is a total slave to the telephone. If one rings, people will risk life and limb to answer it. If their phone fell off a 1000 foot cliff while ringing, most people who go right over after it. They are conditioned automatons.
Let me ask you this, and be honest. How many phone calls have you gotten in your life that were critically important ? Now how many of those calls were time sensitive ? None ? One in your life ? I am not saying you don't get important phone calls, but I am talking about phone calls where 10 minutes made a CRTICAL difference.
I would be willing to bet that for the average person on a cell phone in public (including the car) 99.9999999999% of the conversations are of a non-critical nature. Just idle BS.

 

[CannibalCrowley]

Laws like this would be easier to support if it covered all communication devices which require hand use to operate. Of course something like that would bring too much opposition, so instead they go after the EVIL cell phones (sound familiar?).

New York has banned cell phone use for a couple years (aren't they progressive ), have their accident rates seen any major decreases?

444

There is no reason to be on the phone while driving. Civilization got along for many years before cell phones.

There's no reason to own an assault weapon, civilization got along for many years before assault weapons (and toilets, electricity, cars, et cetera).

The_Antibubba

Hell, they can barely drive with just the stereo blasting and balancing the breakfast burrito and coffee. Add in a cellphone conversation, and driving is the last thing on their mind.

So let me get this straight, it's okay not to pay attention when doing all these other things; but a cell phone being involved suddenly makes it wrong? Many drivers are already distracted by many things, why make just one of the factors illegal?

 

[Oleg Volk]

On a practical level, I'd say that 30% of my in-car calls deal with trying to figure out where I am going or with emergencies. Even if they were 100% BS, having someone else tell me what to do or not do is morally wrong...so long as I don't crash into others. If I crash into a cliffside, that's my problem. Same things with doing other things in the car, like digging in the rear seat or eating -- they may be stupid to do, but legislating common sense isn't a good idea.

 

[Poodleshooter]

New Jersey, New York and Washington, D.C. already have banned cell phone use while driving.
Of course, New Jersey doesn't let people pump their own gas.

New York doesn't allow the people pumping gas to use the "handsfree" pump lock in some areas. Aluminum keychain devices that wedge the lever open to keep the pump running are a popular item in the Rochester area.
Ridiculous nanny-staters
I voluntarily avoid cell use in the car. The real problem is the idiots who don't know that their driving sucks when they're on the phone. Once again, irresponsibility trumps liberty.

 

[riverdog]

I use a cell phone routinely while driving, but I use an ear bud with a mic leaving both hnads free. As for the conversation distracting me from driving, I find the opposite to be true; often I find myself talking about an a&&hole driver or just telling the guy on the other end of the call to wait. Prioritization is key and driving has to be #1.