January 20, 2009

Distracted Driving

In honor of the latest attempt by Pennsylvania State Rep. Josh Shapiro (D-Abington) to ban hand-held cell phones while driving, I'd like to post my own set of driver distractions which might eventually be banned by a law...

Eating a Big Mac, or anything else
Drinking coffee
Smoking (a double ban here)
Singing songs on the radio
Pets
Kids

It's the final one I want pushed first. After all, if you can convince me that children should be banned from cars or minivans because of the potential distraction they pose to drivers, then I'm all for banning hand-held cell phones.

Distracted driving is already a violation of the motor vehicle code.

C'mon Josh!
Posted by page13 at 8:51 PM
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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

At least once a week, and quite often more than once, I am cutoff or almost hit by someone distracted by talking on a cell phone. People on a phone tend to look down when they are speaking, not a good idea if you are driving. People turning corners or in and out of parking spaces usually go way out of the line they should be driving in. I have never been pushed out of a lane by someone drinking coffee.

I think its a great idea, and I hope the law has "teeth" not just a slap on the wrist.

January 21, 2009
Anonymous said...

I agree. In fact I'm closer to experiencing idiots on their cell phones once a day rather than once a week. Anything that needs to be held in your hand while driving should be banned - big macs, cell phones, and don't forget to add mascara to the list. If I can find 10 minutes to do my makeup before I leave the house to drop off 2 kids at 2 schools and go to my full-time job, then so can everyone else. Kids are a verbal distraction but they don't make you take your hands off the wheel.

And for the record, smoking should just be banned. From everything. Period.

January 21, 2009
page13 said...

Perhaps we could just drive around in giant bubbles that would protect us from all the stupid things people do when driving?

Again...it is already a violation to allow anything to distract you. This is why fault is assigned when you have an accident.

The law is nothing but feel-good legislation. It won't change a thing. It won't stop accidents from happening. It's simple pandering to the insurance lobby so they won't need to pay out on this specific incident; maybe some BlueTooth influence as well.

Come on folks, listen to what your saying. How much further control of your life will you allow the government to have? This is another example of the slow eroding of your freedom. Sure, this makes sense, and it makes me feel better too. I'm so glad government officials are looking out for me.

Most of society operates their vehicles without any issues on a daily basis.

Fact is, the problem is not the location of the phone. Hand-held only means you can see they are talking. In reality, it's the conversation which is the distraction.

Just like when mom looks in the rear view mirror of her cross-over... not at traffic, but rather to talk to her kids... and BAM!! No visible phone, just another distracted driver.

This law is just a political ploy, to show how much our representatives care about us.

...please

January 22, 2009

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