Cell phone fine

[FLZapped]

While you're at at, why not stop women from putting on make-up & guys from shaving while they drive?

Add to that teachers grading papers, lawyers reading legal briefs. And so on, and so on. Hey, how about cops talking on their radios, or taxi drivers for that matter?

Oh well. At least it's a step in the right direction.

No, it isn't. It is a knee-jerk reaction to stupid people who can't talk and drive at the same time. It isn't the only offense on the road, as listed above. It is just the latest poster child for poor driving habits.

There were already laws available, i.e.: Wreckless Driving. If that were being enforced, we wouldn't need a special set of laws. It only penalizes those who can manage two tasks at once.

-Bruce

[GMichael]

Add to that teachers grading papers, lawyers reading legal briefs. And so on, and so on. Hey, how about cops talking on their radios, or taxi drivers for that matter?



No, it isn't. It is a knee-jerk reaction to stupid people who can't talk and drive at the same time. It isn't the only offense on the road, as listed above. It is just the latest poster child for poor driving habits.

There were already laws available, i.e.: Wreckless Driving. If that were being enforced, we wouldn't need a special set of laws. It only penalizes those who can manage two tasks at once.

-Bruce

It's the latest craze. A new way to not pay attention to what they are doing. People get bored too easily. They're always looking for something else to do to keep them busy. And they all think that they are the ones who can do more than one thing at a time. Bull. Put the phone down. Put everything else down too. Watch the road and keep two hands on the wheel. People's lives are a stake.

[ForeverAutumn]

It's the latest craze. A new way to not pay attention to what they are doing. People get bored too easily. They're always looking for something else to do to keep them busy. And they all think that they are the ones who can do more than one thing at a time. Bull. Put the phone down. Put everything else down too. Watch the road and keep two hands on the wheel. People's lives are a stake.

Well said.

I'm a sales rep. I drive around the Province in which I live. I spend A LOT of time in my car, frequently travelling to cities that are hours away. I refuse to use my phone when I drive. If my customers need me, they can leave me a voicemail message. That's why I have voicemail. If I'm on a long drive I will stop approximately every hour to stretch my legs and return phone calls. I will not put my life, or anyone else's life, at risk in an attempt to try to work and drive at the same time. My customers are important to me. However, I have no qualms in telling them that nothing is so important or so urgent that I feel the need to risk a life. Not one of them has ever argued that point with me.

People who think that something is soooo important that they can't wait until they are not moving to make or accept a phone call are just ignorant. I think that $90 is far too small a fine.

A couple of years ago, I was hit by a woman who ran a red light. She stopped, briefly, and then split the scene. A witness said that the woman was on the phone when she hit me. On the phone and too engrossed in her conversation to realize that the light had turned red. And it hadn't just changed either. She wasn't running a yellow that had turned red. It had been red for several seconds...long enough for me to be in the middle of the intersection when she ran it. She hit me on the passenger side and, luckily, I didn't have a passenger in the car so no-one was hurt. But if they had been...well...I just hope that her phone call was important enough to have been worth it.

[FLZapped]

It's the latest craze. A new way to not pay attention to what they are doing. People get bored too easily. They're always looking for something else to do to keep them busy. And they all think that they are the ones who can do more than one thing at a time. Bull. Put the phone down. Put everything else down too. Watch the road and keep two hands on the wheel. People's lives are a stake.

I agree, it is the latest craze. I also agree that people need to pay closer attention to their driving. I ride the bus to and from work and the majority of the idiots I see daily are NOT using cellphones, they are simply careless.

The last accident I had was from some guy playing with his in-dash CD player and not talking on a cellphone.

-Bruce

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

Add to that teachers grading papers, lawyers reading legal briefs. And so on, and so on. Hey, how about cops talking on their radios, or taxi drivers for that matter?



No, it isn't. It is a knee-jerk reaction to stupid people who can't talk and drive at the same time. It isn't the only offense on the road, as listed above. It is just the latest poster child for poor driving habits.

There were already laws available, i.e.: Wreckless Driving. If that were being enforced, we wouldn't need a special set of laws. It only penalizes those who can manage two tasks at once.

-Bruce

Bruce,
It has long been proven time and time again that NOBODY is good at doing both. We may think we can drive and talk, but test after test after test done shows that everyone (at least those tested who claimed they were good at both) has diminished driving skills once they pick up that phone and begin to talk. Even those using headset had diminished driving skills.

It has already been said in this thread, cars and cellphones do not mix.

[FLZapped]

Bruce,
It has long been proven time and time again that NOBODY is good at doing both. We may think we can drive and talk, but test after test after test done shows that everyone (at least those tested who claimed they were good at both) has diminished driving skills once they pick up that phone and begin to talk. Even those using headset had diminished driving skills.

It has already been said in this thread, cars and cellphones do not mix.

Did you miss the point. Is it any worse than a lawyer reading his legal briefs on the way to court? A woman putting on make-up? Man shaving? etc. These are examples where people actualy take their eyes completely off the road (which would apply to cellphone users dialing out while driving.)

It is a law not needed. If soemone is driving poorly, including those who can't drive properly when they aren't doing something else, charge them with reckless driving, or wreckless endangerment, both which have been around since nearly day one.

Ya don't need a seperate law that penalizes someone who is NOT displaying any reduction in their driving ability. Part of good driving is not to put yourself in situations you can help. I've seen those tests, most are constructed to produce a given output to make the point wanted.

So what does the woman putting on her make-up and weaving all over get charged with, the lawyer reading and weaving? Not cellphone use while driving, that's for sure.
Actually, one of the most dangerous things we find on the road today is people falling asleep at the wheel.

[GMichael]

Did you miss the point. Is it any worse than a lawyer reading his legal briefs on the way to court? A woman putting on make-up? Man shaving? etc. These are examples where people actualy take their eyes completely off the road (which would apply to cellphone users dialing out while driving.)

It is a law not needed. If soemone is driving poorly, including those who can't drive properly when they aren't doing something else, charge them with reckless driving, or wreckless endangerment, both which have been around since nearly day one.

Ya don't need a seperate law that penalizes someone who is NOT displaying any reduction in their driving ability. Part of good driving is not to put yourself in situations you can help. I've seen those tests, most are constructed to produce a given output to make the point wanted.

So what does the woman putting on her make-up and weaving all over get charged with, the lawyer reading and weaving? Not cellphone use while driving, that's for sure.
Actually, one of the most dangerous things we find on the road today is people falling asleep at the wheel.

So people who drink and do drugs should be alowd to drive as long as they stay between the lines?

[ForeverAutumn]

It is a law not needed. If soemone is driving poorly, including those who can't drive properly when they aren't doing something else, charge them with reckless driving, or wreckless endangerment, both which have been around since nearly day one.

Ya don't need a seperate law that penalizes someone who is NOT displaying any reduction in their driving ability. Part of good driving is not to put yourself in situations you can help. I've seen those tests, most are constructed to produce a given output to make the point wanted.

As far as I know the woman who hit me was driving perfectly fine until she ran the red light. She was in her proper lane, doing the speed limit. Nothing wreckless about it.

Would she have run the red light and caused the accident if she weren't on the phone? We'll never know, but my guess is "no" because she would have been paying more attention to her surroundings. The fact that she left the scene indicates to me that she knew that she was doing something wrong (even though cell phone use while driving is perfectly legal here). And, btw, she was caught and charged with running a red and leaving the scene. The cops said that there was no sign of alcohol or any other reason for her bad driving. Her licence was suspended for six months.

If having a specific law against cell phone use while driving saves a life, I'm all for it. Just being on the phone displays a reduction in driving ability. Your attention is not where it should be...on the road. And yes, I agree that people should not fiddle with radios, cds, put on make-up or shave while they're driving.

If "part of good driving is not to put yourself in situations you can help", then being on the phone while driving should be punishable as bad driving. I don't care what law it's under.