Federal Ban on All Cell Phone Use While Driving Proposed For US

[Jungle King 76]

The problem I have with all these laws its that they are only about cell phone use.

I read an article recently that says police officers say it is almost impossible to enforce the texting law. One officer said her pulled a woman over because she was paying more attention to her lap than the road so he assumed she was texting. Turns out she was filling her nails! And the kicker is, that is not illegal so she got to drive off and keep filing.

The second problem is that if an officer pulls you over because he sees you with your phone in your hands, if you tell him you were not texting but you were simply using the GPS, or changing music, there is nothing he can do because the texting law specifically says you cannot use the phone to compose messages. But you can use it to browse music, etc.

Finally, even if you had sent a text message, if you deny it and say you were changing songs, he cannot prove otherwise because he had no authority to check your phone to see when your last text message was.

These laws are ridiculous and I am against them for the sole fact that they are virtually useless and are more for show than to actually make the roads safer.

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[LoudRam]

The problem I have with all these laws its that they are only about cell phone use.

I read an article recently that says police officers say it is almost impossible to enforce the texting law. One officer said her pulled a woman over because she was paying more attention to her lap than the road so he assumed she was texting. Turns out she was filling her nails! And the kicker is, that is not illegal so she got to drive off and keep filing.

The second problem is that if an officer pulls you over because he sees you with your phone in your hands, if you tell him you were not texting but you were simply using the GPS, or changing music, there is nothing he can do because the texting law specifically says you cannot use the phone to compose messages. But you can use it to browse music, etc.

Finally, even if you had sent a text message, if you deny it and say you were changing songs, he cannot prove otherwise because he had no authority to check your phone to see when your last text message was.

These laws are ridiculous and I am against them for the sole fact that they are virtually useless and are more for show than to actually make the roads safer.

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Those are all good points. The only way to get a ticket then is if your state has a distracted driving law. And if your state does then it would already cover texting. Lets not lose track of what the original topic was. It was about a FEDERAL LAW BANNING TEXTING. For me it's still about states rights and their control over their highways. This is a local (state not federal) issue and it should be decided by the state and the residents of that state.

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[geoff5093]

I read an article recently that says police officers say it is almost impossible to enforce the texting law. One officer said her pulled a woman over because she was paying more attention to her lap than the road so he assumed she was texting. Turns out she was filling her nails! And the kicker is, that is not illegal so she got to drive off and keep filing.

The second problem is that if an officer pulls you over because he sees you with your phone in your hands, if you tell him you were not texting but you were simply using the GPS, or changing music, there is nothing he can do because the texting law specifically says you cannot use the phone to compose messages. But you can use it to browse music, etc.

Finally, even if you had sent a text message, if you deny it and say you were changing songs, he cannot prove otherwise because he had no authority to check your phone to see when your last text message was.

That's why some states have laws that state "driver use of cellular phone prohibited"

[meishkov]

Those are all good points. The only way to get a ticket then is if your state has a distracted driving law. And if your state does then it would already cover texting. Lets not lose track of what the original topic was. It was about a FEDERAL LAW BANNING TEXTING. For me it's still about states rights and their control over their highways. This is a local (state not federal) issue and it should be decided by the state and the residents of that state.

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Come on, you should know by now that the residents of any state don't get to make up their own rules, even though that's the way the law of the land was written. But who abides by that nowadays anyway?? Shoot not even the state can control things, like the medical maryjane law, the gov still wants to crack down.

[LoudRam]

Come on, you should know by now that the residents of any state don't get to make up their own rules, even though that's the way the law of the land was written. But who abides by that nowadays anyway?? Shoot not even the state can control things, like the medical maryjane law, the gov still wants to crack down.

We all know that the government is out of touch with the voters at all levels but that's a whole new thread.

[ndtaylor77]

If people drove completely free of distraction, I wonder if the number of accidents due to falling asleep would rise.

[xeene]

They are also cracking down on people texting while walking in some states http://content.usatoday.com/communit...Top+Stories%29

[robssm]

I want people to stop breathing before driving. That way then, you have to stop every few blocks to catch your breath, and then no one will be able to break the speed limit either because they won't be able to drive!! YAY!!

Or, everyone die, before issuing a liscense to them. That way then, no one is ruining my enviroment because they are all dead! YAY!!

I want all politicians that make laws, to have to live by those laws and have them strictly and insanely enforced on THEM for one year before the law is passed, and I want a camera on them for 24 hours a day that can be accessed by any citizen to ensure compliance, then, I want them to revisit the law...

Ah, nevermind, most of them would just hire drivers to drive their lame asses around all day.. .Pfft...

[SquireSCA]

So yesterday I am riding over to my GF's office, and we were both going to ride across town to get my bike tuned and then head to bike night. On the way, in a 45mph zone at 330pm, very little traffic, truck in the passing lane next to me, car behind me, then nothing behind us for 1/8 of a mile... I look and see a car on a side street waiting to pull onto this 2 lane each way road...

She pulls out RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, never even looks to see what is coming(bike, car and a Dodge RAM)... So then I have a choice to make... slam on the brakes and hope the car behind me doesn't run over me, or drop a gear and punch it and swerve ahead of the Dodge RAM and into the passing lane to avoid slamming into her. I go with option #2. So I figure I am in the clear... and then she just comes over on me as I pass her, comes into the passing lane, no blinkers, etc... I rev the the motor and look at her, and there she is, messing with her phone, oblivious to the fact that she pulled out in front of us, or that she almost it me, twice.

3 miles later, coming up to a light that is already red, the Mercedes next to me sails right through the red light at 40mph, then realizes it and slams on the brakes and stops 3/4 of the way through the intersection.... waits, then continues... I pull up alongside, she never once put her phone down, she was emailing or texting the entire time...

All of this in the span of 10 minutes.

I see this EVERY DAY. And if you asked all these people if they felt they were good drivers, 99% of them would say yes. This is why I support these proposed laws, even if it saddens me that we even need them.

[ndtaylor77]

So yesterday I am riding over to my GF's office, and we were both going to ride across town to get my bike tuned and then head to bike night. On the way, in a 45mph zone at 330pm, very little traffic, truck in the passing lane next to me, car behind me, then nothing behind us for 1/8 of a mile... I look and see a car on a side street waiting to pull onto this 2 lane each way road...

She pulls out RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, never even looks to see what is coming(bike, car and a Dodge RAM)... So then I have a choice to make... slam on the brakes and hope the car behind me doesn't run over me, or drop a gear and punch it and swerve ahead of the Dodge RAM and into the passing lane to avoid slamming into her. I go with option #2. So I figure I am in the clear... and then she just comes over on me as I pass her, comes into the passing lane, no blinkers, etc... I rev the the motor and look at her, and there she is, messing with her phone, oblivious to the fact that she pulled out in front of us, or that she almost it me, twice.

3 miles later, coming up to a light that is already red, the Mercedes next to me sails right through the red light at 40mph, then realizes it and slams on the brakes and stops 3/4 of the way through the intersection.... waits, then continues... I pull up alongside, she never once put her phone down, she was emailing or texting the entire time...

All of this in the span of 10 minutes.

I see this EVERY DAY. And if you asked all these people if they felt they were good drivers, 99% of them would say yes. This is why I support these proposed laws, even if it saddens me that we even need them.

I see elderly people do stuff like that all the time. You're right, most people think they are good drivers. A lot are not. These particular women probably don't drive well with or without a phone. Texting and driving is beyond dumb in my opinion. However, people who can't talk on a phone and drive probably don't need to be driving anyway.