[FONT=Verdana]While it aggravates me when I see someone using their mobile phone in any fashion while they are driving it seems that since 9/11/01 our society has been marching progressively toward a nanny-state where almost every aspect of a persons life is regulated by rules and the government. The deaths of those girls is a horrible occurrence, but horrible things happen everyday. What angers me is when politicians use tragedies as political capital in furthering their harebrained policies.[/FONT]
A wise man once said: Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.
There are people who put other people in jeopardy by reading their text messages. That one girl put 4 other girls’ lives on the line, and they all paid for it, not just her.
So the bottom line is if you’re putting other people in danger for your stupidity, it should be illegal.
And IMO text messaging is far more dangerous than being on your cell phone. Being on your phone doesn’t require you to be looking down.
Not really news; txtg was mentioned in the Buff News article the day after.
Politicians have to make mountains out of every issue, its what they do. If they don’t make these mountains, then they’d have no way to climb out of their respective cesspools.
The wave of public opinion will prolly lead to a ban on cell phone operation AT ALL while in a vehicle. However, when is the last time you’ve seen ANYONE stopped for talking on their cell phone sans ‘hands-free’?
In the end: More pointless and wasteful legislation that takes time away from things that are slightly more important: Shoolastic budgets, health care, straight line taxation, ‘terrorism’, and gov’t employee pay raise filibusters.
I think everytime an elderly person gets behind the wheel and drives on a public road my life is in danger. An elderly driver may not be able to see nor hear as well as other drivers. An elderly driver also may not be able to process information and react as quickly as other drivers. Yet, our government would NEVER even entertain the thought of mandatory yearly testing for elderly drivers or mandatory revocation of licenses. With the majority of our population quickly approaching elderly age this may become a greater problem than exists now.
Go ahead pass the law, but how the hell is it going to be enforced?
It’ll be even harder to enforce than talking on a cell-phone, which I think you already have to be retarded to manage to get caught talking on your cell while driving.
Which does more damage to liberty: Sacrificing the safety of the masses for the convenience of a few, or sacrificing the convenience of a few for the safety of the masses?
There are laws stating that you can not do distracting things while driving.
Does the current phone law only state that you can’t talk?
I was under the immpression that you need to use a “hands free” set up.
How do you text “hands free”?
Therefore; if you text you are NOT “hands free”.
Reason number 99999999999 to hate lawyers/law makers.
I have a hunch that the lawyers/lawmakers wrote a 50 page bill for the current phone law when all it had to say is, “Drivers may not touch a phone while driving”.
That being said, this issue was already covered under previous laws.
In this case I would tend to agree with the view that texting while driving is a dangerous activity and should not happen. I thought that was clear in my OP. What I’m trying to amke a point towards is that a law such as this would indeed be mostly unenforceable and would only serve to further engender this attitude of the government should always protect us from whatever boogeymen are out there in the world as well as basically control every other aspect of our personal lives.