The Transportation Department reported that nearly 6,000 people were killed and a half-million were injured last year in vehicle crashes connected to driver distraction, often by mobile devices and cell phones.
Many times cell phone yakkers block or slow down traffic.
Participants in the roads newsgroup are generally vehemently opposed to any restrictions on cellphone use. They are adamant that they are great drivers and can drive perfectly well while talking.
Along with it Pres. Obama has banned texting while driving for federal workers in government vehicles.
John
Alcoholics also report that they are perfectly capable of driving after 5 beers.
One of the reasons I haven't been on misc.transport.road much lately. Between my penchant for bicycling and walking and now agreeing we need distracted driver laws, I'm not too popular.
I'm usually the last to say "the government should do something". But as I've said before, people simply aren't policing themselves so the state is stepping in. I think we should be ashamed of ourselves instead of being angry these laws are moving forward.
John
........
All sorts of behaviour that is obviously detrimental (like using phones while driving) seems to be the subject of specific laws throughout the Western world, and that outcome is becoming increasingly annoying on many levels.
Perhaps we all need just one generic law that says that people are not to engage in any behaviour that will endanger others - unless they can
*prove* that in their individual case that it doesn't.As an example, there may well be people who can - either through proper training or exceptional ability - control a moving vehicle as well as use a phone, and if they can come up with some approved accreditation of that ability then perhaps they should be allowed to do so?
Having this requirement may well enlighten those who "think" that they are capable of such things - and ignore any blanket prohibition laws anyway - when they fail to meet whatever qualification is required.
Putting the bureaucratic emphasis on those who believe that they don't deserve to to be impeded by a blanket ban on anything may end up to be more effective than the current paradigm of some people ignoring these bans anyway (and would allow for an ever increasing quantity of specific laws to be removed).
Whole new industries could be created to improve people's skills in all sorts of areas to "qualify" to be able to legally do things that mere mortals are not allowed to do - it could end up with the general population actually respecting the value of ongoing education because they can see an immediate benefit to themselves!
-- Regards, David.
David Clayton Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Knowledge is a measure of how many answers you have, intelligence is a measure of how many questions you have.
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