Hallelujah!

[gdw]

http://www.npr.org/2011/12/13/143648659/ntsb-recommends-ban-on-cell-phone-use-while-driving?ft=1&f=

I doubt we'll see a nationwide ban but at least the NTSB finally had the guts to point out an obvious problem which has costs numerous lives.

[DogpawSlim]

It's been illegal here in CA for a while. I'm surprised it's not illegal everywhere. Phones aren't that big a deal, but texting while driving is insane (personal experience).

[rice rocket]

It's been illegal here in CA for a while. I'm surprised it's not illegal everywhere. Phones aren't that big a deal, but texting while driving is insane (personal experience).
Read the article. NTSB is proposing a ban on ALL cell phones, handsfree or not. That means no calls in the car, period.

[Wimpy]

It is stupid, it should be illegal (where it is not already) and there is almost nothing you can do to stop it.

Nothing wrong with trying to fight it as long as you understand your are swimming against a very strong tide.

On the bright, like myself, most kids can txt without looking at the device. Still a distraction but not as bad as most us old geezers think.

It's a new world and our kids have skill sets we can't comprehend.

[Wimpy]

Read the article. NTSB is proposing a ban on ALL cell phones, handsfree or not. That means no calls in the car, period.


The ban on all cell phones is completely retarded and will prevent any good from coming of the discussion.

[rice rocket]

It is an extreme position, but it'll force people to think more critically about the situation to avoid a full ban.

[cloudguy]

It's a new world and our kids have skill sets we can't comprehend.

You've got to be kidding, right?

http://news.yahoo.com/driver-sent-got-11-texts-11-min-crash-151619850.html

[1happygirl]

hahah. Most people think texting unsafe but THEY aren't unsafe doing it.

I don't believe in a ban, but enforce legislation on peeps who are unsafe. Talking peeps I have seen are just as unsafe but I don't believe in a ban, just a nationwide education process.

[rice rocket]

hahah. Most people think texting unsafe but THEY aren't unsafe doing it.

I don't believe in a ban, but enforce legislation on peeps who are unsafe. Talking peeps I have seen are just as unsafe but I don't believe in a ban, just a nationwide education process.

They need to levy much harsher penalties for it and treat it like a DUI. Like loss of license should be mandatory after the first offense.

[dumbod]

They can pass all the laws they want. It doesn't mean anything unless the laws are enforced and I can't see that happening.

[AngryScientist]

i dont know how you could enforce a law against hands free devices, how would you catch people in the act?

i never use my cell phone when driving, around major metro areas like here, there is wayyy too much going on to be distracted at all.

another growing trend that's a seeming problem is that most smartphones, people use as gps devices. ever try and do that while driving?? to say its distracting is an understatement IMO.

also, maybe its like Wimpy said, and because i'm old, but I dont see how it's possible to text without looking at the handset of a touchscreen smartphone. just being a passenger in a car and trying to keep an eye on the road and send a text let's me know it's very difficult to manage the two concurrently.

[William]

I drive a standard. Too much of a pain in the arse to try to use while driving even if I wanted to. I never answer the phone when I'm in the LC.

I've seen to many people swerving down the road texting and could have been taken out by a women who almost ran a red light while yaking on the phone. Luckily I checked both way before going and saw her coming. She skidded to a stop in the middle of the intersection.

I'm all for a ban while driving but enforcement isn't going to be easy.




William

[avalonracing]

There is already a texting ban here and you required to be hands free when on the phone. Yesterday I was doing some work that required me to be in the car for most of the day. More drivers around me were talking on their phones while holding the phone or texting than were not.

[oldpotatoe]

The ban on all cell phones is completely retarded and will prevent any good from coming of the discussion.

Poor choice of words, IMHO altho I agree texting should be illegal. It is largely unenforceable, however. ALSO Too much $ paid in the form of lobbyist money to bribe the law makers.

[Idris Icabod]

i dont know how you could enforce a law against hands free devices, how would you catch people in the act?

i never use my cell phone when driving, around major metro areas like here, there is wayyy too much going on to be distracted at all.

another growing trend that's a seeming problem is that most smartphones, people use as gps devices. ever try and do that while driving?? to say its distracting is an understatement IMO.

also, maybe its like Wimpy said, and because i'm old, but I dont see how it's possible to text without looking at the handset of a touchscreen smartphone. just being a passenger in a car and trying to keep an eye on the road and send a text let's me know it's very difficult to manage the two concurrently.

Phone use is banned in the UK whilst driving and I was amazed how effective it seems to be, police do enforce when they see a driver with a phone to their ears and they do prosecute with a fine. You see a lot of drivers in England parked up on the phone so the general public by the large seems to be adhering. I'm all for banning the use over here, the statistics are quite troubling, I think I read more than 3,000 deaths per year attributed to distracted driving. I commute through a school zone via bicycle and I would guesstimate that more than 50% of the already frazzled, speeding parents dropping off their children have a cell phone planted next to their heads. Don't get me started on the generally utter pointlessness of the conversations going on, I've been sat on the train in England listening to people serially call what must be their entire contacts list to tell them "I'm on the train".

[Idris Icabod]

On the bright, like myself, most kids can txt without looking at the device. Still a distraction but not as bad as most us old geezers think.

It's a new world and our kids have skill sets we can't comprehend.

Evolution is picking up it's pace!

[phcollard]

I don't believe a ban will change anything save for politically correctness. They banned cellphones while driving here up north a few years ago but I can still see people everyday talking or texting while driving. Drives me nuts especially when I'm cycling by their side. But maybe it's gonna work in the US as law enforcement officers have more muscle :)

Education on security and savoir vivre would be more positive but maybe that's just me.

[mavic1010]

I am glad they took a stand. I don't think the ban on handsfree will fly, but having a phone planted on your head or texting is dangerous. Even though it is illegal in CA, i still see alot of people every day with it. It needs to be strictly enforced. It was dangerous before riding on the road but now with phones and people texting its downright scary to me. Hence why I went back to mountain biking. Safer to ride with people walking with cell phones planted on their heads.

[JMerring]

Phone use is banned in the UK whilst driving and I was amazed how effective it seems to be, police do enforce when they see a driver with a phone to their ears and they do prosecute with a fine. You see a lot of drivers in England parked up on the phone so the general public by the large seems to be adhering.

it may be the enforcement. it may also be the fact that people in the uk aren't hardwired to believe the world revolves around them and only them. we're exceptional and rugged individualists manifestly destined to be the best, remember.

i'm completely in favor of a complete ban, fully cognizant however that it is likely to never, ever come to pass.

[gavingould]

it's already illegal in the Chicago city limits to use a cell phone while driving without a hands-free device.

but it doesn't matter - enforcement is practically nil. 1/3 to 1/2 the drivers i see are yakking or texting away without a care in the world.
if they did enforce and prosecute, we'd certainly have our local gov't budget shortfalls fixed in no time.

then again, almost no traffic laws seem to be enforced here either, there's still too many violent crimes happening to bother with the smaller potatoes.