are you for or against a law banning text messaging while driving?

[BlahBlahYouToo]

govt is trying to ban texting/emailing while driving by withholding funds to any state that does not comply. not a bad idea, but i don't think that goes far enough.

first off, phone use while driving is not nearly enforced enough currently. on my daily drive, i'd estimate that 1 in 5 drivers is either talking on the phone without a headset, or emailing/texting on their phones.
and you can easily tell who it is because they're usually doing 5-10 below the limit or swerving wildly because their eyes aren't on the road.

and why won't this new law be enforced either? because i think it'll too hard for cops to prove that you were texting.
what if you were in between typing and merely took a pause, and at the moment was just holding the phone. if they pull you over, you can argue that you weren't texting and just glancing at the phone. you can delete the message or call record.
they would have to go to great lengths to get phone records to prove that you were in the act of texting.

that's why i'd go a step further say if you're caught holding a phone, you'll get ticketed. no ifs ands or buts.

and before y'all get into an outrage, studies have shown that texting while driving is more dangerous than a DUI. so if you're against DUI, you should be against texting as well.

 

[xanis]

A headset is fine, as it allows both of your hands free to operate the vehicle.

Texting while driving, however, is NOT fine in any way.

 

[TwiceOver]

Seem to be missing the "Texting is bad, calling is OK" option.

 

[SlitheryDee]

I'm against the morons that do this, but I don't think we should be making laws about everything that pisses me off. The very idea is crazy to me. Just put the phone down. Relinquish human contact for as long as it takes to get from A to B, and we don't have a problem. Why must people act like they're addicted to the damn widget? I forget I even HAVE a phone sometimes...

But no, I don't think it's a big enough problem for a law.

 

[SonnyDaze]

Originally posted by: Xanis
A headset is fine, as it allows both of your hands free to operate the vehicle.

Texting while driving, however, is NOT fine in any way.

Concur.

And OP you make a good point with trying to prove the actual act of texting while driving. That may be a hard one to prove and an easy one to beat in court.

 

[HardcoreRobot]

no. poor lawmaking. too hard to enforce. we already have laws in the book for reckless/inattentive driving, let the officers use their discretion and punish people based on that. its impossible to legislate against all the POTENTIALLY dangerous things a driver can do, don't bother. just punish for bad driving, and the punishment should be substantial.

 

[DingDingDao]

Originally posted by: SonnyDaze

Originally posted by: Xanis
A headset is fine, as it allows both of your hands free to operate the vehicle.

Texting while driving, however, is NOT fine in any way.

Concur.

And OP you make a good point with trying to prove the actual act of texting while driving. That may be a hard one to prove and an easy one to beat in court.

It would be very easy if the text was actually sent, since the cell companies will have records and timestamps. If the driver saw the cop coming though and didn't actually send the text, then yes, will be difficult to prove.

 

[BurnItDwn]

Too hard to enforce.

If somebody gets into an accident or something then they should check the phone record to see if they were texting and at that time charge them with reckless driving.

 

[skim milk]

people also use the phone for not just text and calling anymore

GPS and Google latitude

 

[jtvang125]

Originally posted by: DingDingDao

Originally posted by: SonnyDaze

Originally posted by: Xanis
A headset is fine, as it allows both of your hands free to operate the vehicle.

Texting while driving, however, is NOT fine in any way.

Concur.

And OP you make a good point with trying to prove the actual act of texting while driving. That may be a hard one to prove and an easy one to beat in court.

It would be very easy if the text was actually sent, since the cell companies will have records and timestamps. If the driver saw the cop coming though and didn't actually send the text, then yes, will be difficult to prove.

They don't always pull you over right away when they see that you have violated some traffic law. Usually they'll follow you for a few minutes and then flash their lights. If you're busy texting you'll probably never notice he was behind you until you sent the text already. However I don't know if he can request to check your phone even though he already has probable cause (swerving, saw you in the act...).

 

[mugs]

I think it already fits the definition of Careless Driving, and possibly Reckless Driving. We shouldn't need a law against texting when driving when it's already covered by more general laws. It's not practical to enforce it anyway. Cops can't tell that you're texting.

 

[hiromizu]

I think it's fine unless you're and woman.

 

[Safeway]

If I talk on the phone while driving, it is through my car's bluetooth system. Voice dial, no phone contact necessary.

 

[heymrdj]

Originally posted by: skim milk
people also use the phone for not just text and calling anymore

GPS and Google latitude

Yeah I'm always holding my phone for this exact reason. Since I'm letting my brother borrow my Nuvi 760, I'm using my HTC Touch Pro with Google Latitude/Maps and the built in GPS for navigation.

 

[krunchykrome]

Holding a phone? lol

What if the driver is holding a remote control for a satalite radio unit? What if the driver doesn't have steering wheel audio controls, and they're manulally changing stations on the car stereo while they're driving? What if they're fiddling with the temperature controls?

 

[bignateyk]

What about putting the phone on the seat under my nuts and using it as a vibrator?

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: bignateyk
What about putting the phone on the seat under my nuts and using it as a vibrator?

you get a suspended license for that

 

[BlahBlahYouToo]

Originally posted by: BurnItDwn
Too hard to enforce.

If somebody gets into an accident or something then they should check the phone record to see if they were texting and at that time charge them with reckless driving.

easy to prove time of texting.
hard to prove time of accident.

 

[DrPizza]

I can't recall ever seeing this point made: for years, you *never* heard about truckers getting into an accident because they were too busy talking on a CB. There are a lot of drivers perfectly capable of controlling their vehicle & paying adequate attention to the road while talking on a cell phone, or even text messaging. However, the percentage of people who can safely carry on a conversation on a cell phone is much lower than the percentage of people who *think* they can safely carry on a conversation without becoming a driving hazard (or at least, a driving nuisance - inability to maintain a constant speed on the highway, drifting all over their lane, etc.) There are people who can text message while driving, but I dare estimate the percentage of people who can do this to be in the minority, particularly in heavy traffic.

If it's 2 in the morning, and a sober driver is the only person on a divided highway for miles, I really hope an officer hiding in the bushes along that highway wouldn't pull him over after seeing the familiar glow of a cell phone - heck, a conversation may be about all that's keeping that driver awake on the last 20 miles of his trip. But, I'm all for a law to prohibit text messaging or even cell phones completely (and hope the police would, in fact, use some degree of discretion at when to enforce such laws.) To the people who say wait until after the accident, THEN see if they were using their cell phone: uhh, what about the potential innocent victims of these accidents? I want you idiots who *think* you can drive safely while text messaging to be fined right off the road, because I want to be safer when driving.

 

[NoCreativity]

Originally posted by: DingDingDao

Originally posted by: SonnyDaze

Originally posted by: Xanis
A headset is fine, as it allows both of your hands free to operate the vehicle.

Texting while driving, however, is NOT fine in any way.

Concur.

And OP you make a good point with trying to prove the actual act of texting while driving. That may be a hard one to prove and an easy one to beat in court.

It would be very easy if the text was actually sent, since the cell companies will have records and timestamps. If the driver saw the cop coming though and didn't actually send the text, then yes, will be difficult to prove.

From my experience, we don't have to worry about texters seeing a cop, or much of anything else on the road for that matter.

Hardcore is right, enforce the laws on the books and make sure there is a nice stiff penalty.

 

[IGBT]

it's superfluous use of technology in a reckless manner. tickets/high fines/use cell phone repeater transaction log as evidence against users.

 

[AstroManLuca]

Originally posted by: TwiceOver
Seem to be missing the "Texting is bad, calling is OK" option.

This.

I don't make outgoing calls while I'm driving unless I have no other option (or if I'm, say, stuck in traffic and barely moving anyway). But I never, ever text while driving.

Calling is somewhat distracting, but texting is in a whole different ballpark of danger.

EDIT: Also, headsets do not decrease the risk at all. It's the conversation that distracts you, not the fact that one hand is holding onto a phone. I can drive my car with one hand, and it's a manual! So I think it's silly for states like California to ban talking on the phone while driving unless you have a handsfree. They should either ban talking on the phone outright or allow it outright.

 

[thepd7]

Originally posted by: BurnItDwn
Too hard to enforce.

If somebody gets into an accident or something then they should check the phone record to see if they were texting and at that time charge them with reckless driving.

so what if my friend had my phone and was texting?


You will never be able to enforce this, good luck trying.

 

[meltdown75]

i propose GFY at your earliest convenience and i'll do whatever the hell i want when i'm driving. thx tho :thumbsup:

 

[xanis]

Originally posted by: meltdown75
i propose GFY at your earliest convenience and i'll do whatever the hell i want when i'm driving. thx tho :thumbsup:

I propose GFY as your earliest convenience and get your distracted ass off the road.