March 17, 201511 yr I cannot tell you the number of times I have almost been hit by folks who are using their phone. I have no idea if they are making a call or not. I just know when this occurs, they are looking down at the phone. It's a real problem. Just pay attention to those around you when you are driving or sitting at stop lights/stop signs. It is incredible the number of drivers who are playing with a phone. You can generally tell when folks are on the phone in front of you or in lane beside you because they are weaving around in the lane or driving 5-10 mph slower. When I encounter this I get away from them if I can, same thing if I suspect a drunk driver. I don't know if se7ens post about repercussions similar to DUI is overreaction or not. What is your wife and/or kids were hurt or killed because the driver was fiddling with his/her phone? Don't have kids, but my reaction would be the same as if they were killed because someone didn't see them in their blind spot, or was having a conversation with their spouse, or were changing CDs or radio stations, or were trying to follow their GPS....
March 17, 201511 yr And believe me UKMustangFan, I truly understanhd your point about more needless laws. But if making that call results in an accident, there has to be a consequence for their negligence.
March 17, 201511 yr When driving a car, you need to pay attention to the road and the drivers around you. We do not need more distractions.
March 17, 201511 yr Don't have kids, but my reaction would be the same as if they were killed because someone didn't see them in their blind spot, or was having a conversation with their spouse, or were changing CDs or radio stations, or were trying to follow their GPS.... Do I understand it, you don't think it's a problem using/texting a phone while driving? I'm just asking about a cell phone.
March 17, 201511 yr UKMustangFan, I completely see why one would consider the calling ridiculous. But deaths have been caused by it, more so than the other activities you talked about. But my bigger point, and the point that I do consider hard to disagree with, is that texting while driving is incredibly negligent and but it is easy to talk your way out of a ticket since it is hard to prove a person was texting. Making a law saying it is illegal to have your phone in hand while driving fixes that. Distracted driving has surpassed drunk driving in damage. I put the statistics up earlier. Why shouldn't they have the same consequences?
March 17, 201511 yr Driving is not a right it is a privilege. Follow the rules, obey the law, drive safe, pay attention and don't create a safety hazard for others or face the consequences.
March 17, 201511 yr I really don't know what the answer to all of this is and you have all made valid points but fact of the matter is cell phones are HUGE problems in terms of driver distractions. I've been guilty of it before and I've made it a point to stop doing it now. It's just so dangerous.
March 17, 201511 yr Author Driving is not a right it is a privilege. Follow the rules, obey the law, drive safe, pay attention and don't create a safety hazard for others or face the consequences. The most dangerous thing 99% of us will do today...is get behind the wheel of a vehicle. Unfortunately many many people don't think of it in those terms, and they should.
March 17, 201511 yr Do I understand it, you don't think it's a problem using/texting a phone while driving? I'm just asking about a cell phone. Not sure how you got that from my posts. I'm specifically speaking of making a phone call being an offense that results in an arrest. There are already laws on the books that punish those who cause accidents while being distracted, whether it be from texting (which I'm 100% in agreement with you guys on), a phone call, changing a radio station, etc.
March 17, 201511 yr UKMustangFan, I completely see why one would consider the calling ridiculous. But deaths have been caused by it, more so than the other activities you talked about. But my bigger point, and the point that I do consider hard to disagree with, is that texting while driving is incredibly negligent and but it is easy to talk your way out of a ticket since it is hard to prove a person was texting. Making a law saying it is illegal to have your phone in hand while driving fixes that. Distracted driving has surpassed drunk driving in damage. I put the statistics up earlier. Why shouldn't they have the same consequences? There's already a law on the books about texting. There's no reason to add other laws. There's also laws on the books about negligent driving. Why add another one that already falls under other laws? And no, I think it's absolutely absurd to take a person to jail for making a phone call while driving. If they cause an accident, they'll face stiff penalties already.
March 17, 201511 yr To me it is simple as this - if a police officer witnesses a driver with a cellphone in hand (calling, texting, checking emails, etc...) and unless they are calling someone for a verifiable emergency, it needs to have similar reprecussions to a DUI. It is the best way to fix it. I know people would relent, especially on the calling part, but it's the only way to give that kind of legislation teeth. JUST PULL OVER. It can wait til then. That's a complete overreaction. You don't put someone in jail for making a phone call. Come on. Not to mention good luck proving in court that I was actually texting at the moment you saw me. I play music off my phone.
March 17, 201511 yr Author Not to mention good luck proving in court that I was actually texting at the moment you saw me. I play music off my phone. I can see it now. TheDuece jamming to... https://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=ApjIkvB7RSAowAyf6L.qIPObvZx4?fr=yfp-t-412-s&toggle=1&fp=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8&p=honey%20let%20me%20be%20your%20salty%20dog
March 17, 201511 yr There's already a law on the books about texting. There's no reason to add other laws. There's also laws on the books about negligent driving. Why add another one that already falls under other laws? And no, I think it's absolutely absurd to take a person to jail for making a phone call while driving. If they cause an accident, they'll face stiff penalties already. But my big point is anti-texting laws have no teeth. Authorities lament about this all the time because they cannot prove texting. Again, that's the big reason I included phone calls. And the number one thing I will rest my position on is that distracted driving is now a bigger killer than drunk driving.
March 17, 201511 yr I've always wished that there was something that would block cell reception while the car is in any gear but park. I realize there are some situations that call for an emergency call but I just feel that the rewards would outweigh the negatives.
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