By 
The National Transportation Safety Board made a rather extreme recommendation today when they reached out to ALL US states to ban all non-driving related use of “personal electronic devices” even of the hands-free variety. Although they were pretty specific about wanting to ban the use of phone calls, text messages and updating Facebook while on the road, the NTSB was still pretty vague in what they deemed “driving-related.” Navigation? Pandora? Augmented reality?
The NTSB cited several studies that showed even hands-free device use is enough to distract the driver cognitively, leading to fatal car crashes. Keep in mind the NTSB does not have the power to set any kind of laws or enforce restrictions, their recommendation could possibly influence state and local governments.
What do you guys think? Would you vote in favor of a ban on cellphone use — even when using a Bluetooth headset — while driving? Although, in theory I feel like it could make the road a whole lot safer, I think it’s about as ridiculous as banning women drivers which would yield similar results (queue rim shot).
I could see the ban on using the handset but with bluetooth you are still safer than a woman driver.
Dislike…
According to TrafficSTATS, a risk analysis study by Carnegie Mellon for AAA in 2007, men have a 77% higher risk of dying in an accident compared to women. The study, using information from both the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and the National Household Travel Survey estimated fatalities per 100 million trips to be 14.61 for men and 6.53 for women. The total number of fatalities between 1999 and 2005 were 175,094 for men and 82,371 women.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), 14,512 male drivers died in 2007 compared to 5,865 female drivers, and even though there tend to be more male drivers on the road than females, the numbers strongly support the TrafficSTATS report. From Insurance.com
Now, if you guys are all done spraying testoterone all over this post, I think it’s time to get rid of the “woman driver” myth.
That doesn’t take into account the number of accidents men get into avoiding women doing stupid things while driving.
Or the number of non-fatal accidents. C’mon people lighten up, it was a joke.
I know (that’s why I included the tongue-firmly-in-cheek testoterone comment). But I thought I’d throw a few stats into the mix for fun.
Moral of the story, men win
You win the internet
Im a women driver and i have never been in any accidents and i dont thing guy should say they are better that us women when they are just as bad as us i know a lot of guys that drive over the speed limet and dont care and they get in to car accidents all the time everyone gets in to ccar accidents all the time!
Before even the wheel was invented, it was the woman who got in trouble when the man had an accident.
My evening’s share of internetz to you, sir.
Yes, men get in the gnarlier accidents (that’s why insurance is higher), however WOMEN get into more total accidents
I think this is because Women drivers are more careful while driving. Where as with men, they tend to be overconfident and competitive sometimes.
I think it is probably because when women are driving they probably have children or teenagers in the car and therefor drives more careful. However I wonder what the statistics is between men and women in accidents where they are the only ones in the car.
this also doesn’t take into account the fact that men drive more miles than women, hence the disparity.
Double like. 155 get a sense of humor.
If you can save lives by doing it I would certainly vote to have this put to use. I see stupid people texting all the time in california while driving at high speed in the highway. What the f do you need to be texting while driving? Like you have nothing more important to do then paying close attention to the road.
It’s already illegal to text while driving in CA. See how making it illegal changes nothing? Might as well ban women puting on makeup, or anybody eating anything. Guess what? Billboards need to go too. They constantly distract me.
No I think in this case you need to have something like what they might do on all cars when it comes to alcohol. If a detector is able to detect if a device that is currently sending and receiving signal it won’t turn on. Or even better have the car as it is running turn on a device that will jam the cellphone signal so that you can’t text or use your phone.
But that puts you in some vague legal territories, because the car companies don’t own the spectrum they would be blocking, thus interfering with communication that are the property of telecoms. I addition, it would not be possible to get it through the FCC, as it causes harmful interference
That’s great. But how would such a device distinguish between the driver and a passenger? Why penalize everyone in the vehicle? What if someone else needs to make an emergency call while the driver drives?
I am sure you would open a door to people hacking their car systems and turning that feature off. It’s very easy to hook up to your car right now and change stuff. I can see someone making big bucks off of that idea. Sell the software to do it for $30 a pop. Also, what if someone was calling someone else in an emergency situation? To warn them of something or if they left something back at home by mistake?
they will never do that sort of thing in cars but then again our government is corrupt so who knows by regular american standards that crap would never fly as it goes against our privacy and all sorts of other crap
And when you get in an accident how do you call for help?
What lives would you be saving? you mean those made up numbers these kind of organizations throw around as facts of research? the actual deaths and accidents due to cell phone use is low.
How the hell am I supposed to play music from my phone if I can’t use it while I drive? I don’t like this recommendation.
Sounds like the recommendation is vague enough (“all non-driving related”) to include any and all PMPs such as iPods and Zunes even.
Since I use my phone for GPS, as I am sure many others do, there would be a major conflict when it comes to the laws.
If your not intelligent enough to multitask YOU SHOULDN’T BE DRIVING!
And if you are unable to tell the difference between “your” and “you’re,” you shouldn’t be on the internet.
or Driving
I bet your the last person invited to a party and the first that everyone hopes leaves at the ones you are invited to.
Nerd
you’re again, not your… :) please, comment back with cuss words and and a “alpha” mentality because i really like it when you do
And you’re the first guy to show up with everyone wishing you never came.
Amen…. I don’t even know this ATL_Guy, but after seeing all the stupid comments he makes on a daily basis I’d imagine he doesn’t get out much
He’s just your common everyday Troll. You’ll learn to ignore him, or mess with him if you’re bored. See how I used both versions correctly their?…just kidding, there.
As an Atlantian, I *REALLY* wish he’d go by a different nick.
Yeah, it’s totally nerdy to know how to speak your native language. Are you Sarah Palin? Please refudiate me.
Agree, and smarphone has these app that can be utilized while driving. If these ban is implemented, then those features will be totally useless.
One of the few things i can say i gladly agree with you on
If YOU THINK you can multi-task while driving… you shouldnt be driving…
Haha yes i believe you are right on!
so they’re going to ban radios then? that’s a personal electronic device too.
are they going to ban 911 calls in emergencies? that’s also a personal electronic device usage. oh, how the unintended consequences of idiocy are yet to come once this trickles down to a city/state level.
I think this helps weed out the stupid ones. Darwinism at its finest. Too bad innocent people die in the process
You mean at its worst! What if one of these dummies hits a doctor? Or a the next Benjamin Einstein walking down the street? Or me?!?!? =p
You had me at Bejamin Einstein….
Personally I think this is a good idea. People suck at driving as it is. Paying attention 100% will only be beneficial.
By that logic we should take out the radios, and ban billboards too.
Ban texting. Ban email. Don’t ban hands-free conversation.
Yes because using your eyes and ears is the same as speech and looking down to write texts and emails while driving. Try again.
You can’t make people pay 100% attention. Aaron is right, I have personally seen people distracted by billboards or people on the sides of the road and aren’t paying attention. The truth of the matter is when you are stuck in traffic, you don’t want to just sit there and look ahead. Your mind will wander to other things.
Actually just the other day I was traveling down the highway and there was an accident on my side of the road and there were drivers on the opposite side looking over. Seconds later it was like a NASCAR pileup over on the other side of the road.
Really hope this doesn’t fly. If talking to someone over the phone is distracting, driving with my friends should definitely be banned. I also pay as much attention on the phone to the other person as I do listening to the radio or my gps lady talk to me. I really doubt that bluetooth, gps manufacturers, stereo makers would not pay lobbyists to kill this if this does make it to congress. I truly can’t see this happening.
In honesty, I doubt you pay as much attention to the radio as you do talking to people. Listening to the radio is a largely passive activity. You don’t even have to comprehend what’s on the radio unlike the act of carrying on a 2 way conversation with a person.
Ask my wife this question and she will agree with me. Plus I listen to podcasts of various sorts. I would agree with you if I was more inclined to listening to music radio but since I like AM better than FM and podcasts over metalica, I will stick to my original view.
The statistics have shown that listening to the radio, while not as distracting as a personal conversation, is still quite distracting.
There’s been a fair amount of research into the subject, and it all shows that the problem with talking on a phone while driving is due to the distraction of talking to someone who’s not there, not from holding the phone. This NTSB recommendation was unanimous.
But talking to someone who is there (or in the backseat) is ok? I dunno about this logic and “tests” but I cant understand why when I am driving with eyes forward the entire time is more accident prone than driving while occasionally looking over at my passenger during a conversation.
There have been several studies. Some were in simulators, some were on controlled roads, and all found that talking to someone who wasn’t there essentially put people’s minds elsewhere than where they were. They couldn’t ethically do such tests on public roads.
The problem with studies and simulators is the outcome can be controlled.
You’ve just dismissed scientific research in general, leaving as the only individual opinions based on personal experience, if any, to go by.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see a lot of state and local governments going along with this. It’d equal more fines and more money coming into the coffers. But at what cost?
Women actually pay less than men do for insurance rates. Women, statistically, may get in more accidents, but men are more likely to cause accidents with fatalities with more financial damage. So I am thinking the safest thing to do is force everyone to be omish, wear a helmet, and wear a condom. All would be safe.
We should also force people to spell Amish right.
Well played sir. I should not always rely on spell check.
Where did you get the spell-check program from, Glenn Beck or Regent University?
Oh daaang, Chris…you went there! hahaha…no comment on my own opinions :)
The bigger the government, the smaller the people and the lesser the freedoms. Remember, you’re the ones who voted these radical libs in, America.
Sorry jawman but I would have to let you know that you don’t know what you are talking about. If you did know what you were talking about, you would know that despite the president leaning more liberally, the congress leans more to the right. Congress decides on who makes up these committees. Since congress is Republican by majority, this idea that liberals are the ones who thought this up is unfounded. Many people would call your approach fear mongering while I would call it just another ignorant statement about politics by someone who doesn’t know what they are talking about. I guess you could blame the liberal school system for your inadequacies though.
Only the House is Republican, the Senate is Democratic, not that that should really have an effect on things, but I digress…
LOL you daft fool. YOU are the one who doesn’t know what they are talking about. Congress may be more Republican now, since the elections that took place, but before that they were majority Democratically controlled. Oh, and FYI, Deborah Hersman is the chairman of the NTSB. And guess what? She was appointed by President Obama.
Get your facts straight before you open your mouth. You clearly don’t know what the hell you’re talking about. I am not fear mongering and the only one making the ignorant statements is you. I blame the liberal school system for your inadequacies.
And I apologize for looking like a jackass. I knew that they were appointed by congress, and was not aware that it was only the senate part of congress in which they are elected. I am wrong and thank you for educating me.
Everyone makes mistakes. Just be glad it’s on the internet and not on a national TV presidential debate :P
But even if Congress as a whole appointed her, you should know that the majority of Congress was Democratic at that time she was appointed. Just because they are majority Republican now doesn’t mean that they were at an earlier period in time. But how it really goes down is: Obama chooses her, then the Senate confirms.
edit: what’s really sad is that 2 people liked your comment, even though it was flat out wrong.
#wakeupamericans.
Congress doesnt appoint the members. The Senate does which is only one body of congress…. and they only approve the appointees of the president’s.
Okay? We know. That’s what I said: @jawman: “But how it really goes down is: Obama chooses her, then the Senate confirms.”
And you have no idea what you’re talking about.
Per the 2006 NTSB Reauthorization act:
(b) Appointment of members.–The Board is composed of 5 members appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Not more than 3 members may be appointed from the same political party. At least 3 members shall be appointed on the basis of technical qualification, professional standing, and demonstrated knowledge in accident reconstruction, safety engineering, human factors, transportation safety, or transportation regulation.
Appointed by the President and confirmed through the Senate? Please. The only Legislative body with Republican control is the House of Representatives and they don’t have a say in who goes on this board apparently.
Quit acting like the typical liberal asshole who pretends to know more than everyone else. You’re just a moron.
Bluetooth headsets will be virtually obsolete if this happens. I don’t see much justification to buy a bluetooth headset to use just when you’re walking or whatever.
This is an overreaction. Rules are needed, but this is too far.
Seriously jawman? what president instituted the patriot act?
what’s changed under obama?
Nothing! what’s that tell you? there is NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REPUBLICAN AND DEMOCRAT. stop getting your news from the same opinion leaders day in day out. grow up.
You are correct! There is no difference between R & D. Obama is *not* just a democrat. He is worse than your typical R or D politician. Why do you think so many left leaning politicians, writers, reporters, businessmen, etc. are starting to stray away from him lately? If you’d like to know, I think that Bush was one of the worst presidents in the history of the USA. I never said anything about Bush, I never said anything about the Patriot Act (which I was against). You are being ignorant and assuming that just because I despise the radical libs that were voted into office currently, that I support any and all Republicans. That is not true. You are making a connection and a stereotype. I am an independent. There is no difference and most of them are out for an ulterior motive to better themselves, not the country they were sworn to.
Lefties are pulling away from Obama because he’s been too Conservative and weak against the Republicans. Also because he doesn’t work well with his fellow Democrats.
Yeah, keep repeating that. Who are the ones who instituted Social Security and Medicare? Did you know seniors were eating DOG FOOD before these programs were available? Who were the ones that enacted civil rights legislation? Democrats are NOT the same as Republicans. Republicans only care about big business and money. Democrats may care about those things too, but at least they throw in some sprinklings for the rest of us.
I’m all good with laws against distractions while driving, especially reading/writing… however talking through bluetooth is fine. That’s no different than talking to someone else in the car.
Should just focus on making BT mandatory in all stereos since its already in every phone.
Actually that is completely wrong. Studies have proved over and over that talking on a decive is WAY different then talking with someone in the car. They attribute it to the passenger understands the pauses when difficult driving situations occur but it distracts you on the phone. They found that there is no differance between holding a cellphone and using a blue tooth headset.
Can we do away with that company completely please? Maybe burn down their building sue them into oblivion you know like how Apple tries to get rid of their competitors but of course I’m just trolling
They aren’t a Company.
Technicality, i meant organization one lil flaw but i digress
What company? The only organization reference in this article was a government committee, the NTSB.
I know that i only referred to it as a company cuz of speed typing more or less it was a error
Sure, get rid of the NTSB. There’s no reason why the Federal Government should investigate transportation accidents on land, water, or in the air.. Transportation shouldn’t be regulated by the government anyway. People should be free to do whatever they want. If I want to let a toddler be at the controls of a 747, the government should be able to stop me.
You’re showing your 12-year-old self again. Try reporting the news without ad hominem commentary.
Can’t take a joke? Lighten up.
Ah, yes, the typical reply. It must be my lacking of a sense of humor rather than a stance against a sexist comment.
That’s exactly right. I’m glad you have identified your mistake :p
Hah! ;-)
Hey you unfunny broad…
Why don’t you lighten up and keep your opinions where they belong… in the kitchen.
Ooh. That hurt. You’re so manly with quick quips.
Will we be allowed to talk to passengers? How about drinking soda or coffee? The problem I have with all these stupid laws is that they spent the resources to write some dumb laws that are not practically enforceable. I mean, if someone’s wearing a Bluetooth headset while driving how the hell are they going to know if that person is on the phone or not?? And you don’t even have to wear anything to talk to someone on the phone in cars these days. It is impossible to enforce the law efficient enough to make a difference. It’s such a waste of resources even talking about.
You are right. There is no way to know… but when you go to claim your insurance and they see that you were on the phone during the accident.. oops you are no longer covered.
Oops misread the title thought they were talking about banning Asian drivers.
RACISTS
Over the past 31 years, more people have gotten skin cancer than any other cancer combined.
Why aren’t we banning the sun for killing us all?
[/nannystate]
how bout we ban tanning beds… they are cancer waiting to happen, and as a cancer survivor i think they are just stupid and people who use them are idiots who don’t know what they are doing
Sorry, but your complaints about a “nanny state” don’t trump my right to be safe from some idiot talking on the phone while they’re driving a 3000+ pound piece of metal down the road. Sometimes I wonder if conservatives even think before they form opinions. Are you against safe drinking water too?
Do you realize how idiotic it is for you to expect the government to legislate your life into complete safety?
Have you even considered that most people would rather have the freedom to do what tthey want rather than live in a riskless society.
Why we allow government this much control over our lives is baffling.
And I’m totally for safe drinking water… but lets not pretend that safe drinking water is around because of some government law. Its here because municipalities who poisoned their populations would quickly find a shrinking taxpayer base…
I wonder if liberals even think at all….
Like I said before, your “freedom” ends when other peoples’ personal safety is at risk. Do you realize the basis for conservatism is selfishness? “I want to do this, and I don’t care if it hurts other people. Rabble, rabble!” I want the freedom to spit on people. Is that OK with you too?
ya people dont realize driving is a privilege not a right
Maybe they should ban the use of turning on your car stereo or disallow having a passenger who could potentially talk to you and distract you while driving.
Passengers generally are also at least somewhat situationally aware of what’s going on around the car and can pick up on when the driver needs to concentrate (and can also often help to direct the driver’s attention at something they may have missed). Someone on the other end of a phone call can not.
Studies have shown(in teens at least) that passengers are the number one reason for accidents.
Not really down for banning bluetooth use, but I certainly think texting should be banned country wide. I ride a Vespa to work some times and I can’t count how often I take a corner next to someone and they’re looking down at their lap instead of the road, texting away, inches away from killing me. Bluetooth is one thing, they’re still looking at the road while they talk, but when you’re staring down typing away on a keyboard, you probably don’t belong behind the wheel of a car.
Though banned or not, it turns in to just another way for the Police to make a buck off you. So on second thought, piss off with any new laws, we have plenty of laws already.
You are correct. More money for the police, more money for the state. The bigger the government, the smaller the people, the lesser the freedoms.
What bullshit.
Ban teen drivers. ….
Because clearly turning 20 grants you magical driving abilities.
I’ll take a teen driver any day over grandpa/grandma slowpoke drivers. Better vision and better reaction times.
Old drivers, I am all for a harder drivers test, and an age limit. Eff these old farts independence, they’re a danger behind the wheel.
What should be banned?
Texting-for sure.
Talking-possibly.
Handsfree Talking-90% sure no
Navigation-99.9% sure no
PANDORA-WTF HOWS THAT ANY DIFFERENT THAN THE RADIO!!!??? SHOULD NOT BE BANNED!!
In Pennsylvania your required to wear a seatbelt, but motorcyclist aren’t required to wear a helmet. How can we take things like this seriously when the laws aren’t fare for all people.
I thing it should be made law that you need to use bluetooth. I wish I could convince my wife to use one.
i feel bad for you, you must of had a really fucked up childhood. hope things have turned around for you and your internet faggotry is just repressed childhood rage
I am straight and cancer free.
Best wishes….hoping for stage 5 for you soon!!
…stage…5..? i didn’t know there’s a cancerous stage beyond 4…
mmmmm okay, not sure what stage 5 would be… stage 4 is all i’m aware of since that is what i had but if you find out about a stage 5 go ahead and post back let us know what it means!
My
vote is in favour of a cell phone ban for the driver of any motorized
vehicle (including motorcycles and scooters). Why am I am all for it?
Well, there are simply far too many distracted drivers out there. They
are unable to resist the temptation of not only talking, but also
chatting, texting, reading, and being mesmerized by their mobile
devices… Headsets are okay, in addition, blue tooth and new autos
integrated to a cell are much less distracting for sure. Nevertheless,
it is rarely a life threatening or life changing task via mobile device
that must be done while in one’s commute.
Honestly,
if something is vitally important to communicate to another human one
should easily be able to organize their time more effectively to text,
e-mail, blog, post, or telephone these life-changing thoughts. For
example, late last week I just barely avoided yet another accident by
some distracted driver. Had I been looking down at my cell-phone screen
it would have been far, far too close, and might have resulted in a
tow-truck ride. Mobile phones whether they be a fancy smartphone or
just a pay-as-you-go phone can be lifesavers when meeting up with family
and friends. In addition, cell phones are wonderful to keep in touch on
the go. But, on the go while driving is just not the time and place for
multitasking. Yep, those are my thoughts for now about banning cell
phone use for drivers for all states, including Utah. I was in Oregon
earlier this year and my friend’s cell phone rang, he safely, and
quickly pulled off then road, and parked in a parking lot – then
returned the call. In my view, not only was this still profession, but
also more sensibly safe! May you all enjoy the new gadgets this
Christmas Season with the hope they are running the Android OS!
So what do you ban next, using your radio, eating and driving, no beverages, no passengers, or maybe ban thinking about anything but driving? That is a very slippery slope.
There are already laws to handle this, failure to yield, failure to maintain control of your vehicle etc. Adding a quantifier onto those charges is unneeded. If someone causes an accident charge them with the laws already on the books, there’s no need to add more laws.
BAN everything in car if you are a driver…have an emergency or urge to use, pull over and do it and get back on the road.
Here is the truth of the matter: you would have to ban not only cell phones but ALSO radios and having other people in the car with you too.
Look at the statistics, listening to the radio has been found to be distracting as well as talking to someone else in the car. In fact, talking to other people in the car is just as distracting as talking on your phone. Also, is no one trying to ban parents from transporting their young children around in cars? It is found that parents are more preoccupied with their young children in the back seat rather than on the road.
We can’t keep banning devices, all it does it cause MORE accidents because people try to do it without anyone seeing it. Where I live, they banned texting while driving and do you know what happened? Instead of people having their cell phones up around the steering wheel, they now have it in their laps which is more dangerous than before.
I don’t get it. I could be on my smartphone doing a hundred different things that are distracting me and none of them could be texting or talking. I could be checking scores on ScoreMobile. I could be playing Words With Friends. Looking at crap on Facebook. Looking at a map on Google Maps, or using the GPS to get directions. Creating a playlist or browsing through my music library to decide what I want to listen to. All things that distract the driver. In Illinois, it is law to wear a seatbelt, as it should be. But motorcyclists do not have to wear a helmet. Wtf? Hell, being in a car and not wearing a seatbelt is safer than being on a motorcycle and not wearing a helmet. And come to think of it, probably safer than being on a motorcycle and even wearing a helmet. The whole reason for this law is this: MONEY. The government is TWICE the size it was 10 years ago. As I said before, the bigger the gov, the smaller the people, the lesser the freedoms. If you haven’t noticed, a lot of laws these days that are getting passed use the word “fee” instead of “taxes”, because Uncle Sam knows how dreadful the T word is. And this law will be just another revenue generator. They know people will still use their phones, and will use them often. It’s a steady stream of income, all at the expense of the freedoms of the citizens. You know the cameras that some states have that take a picture if you run a red light? We have them here in Illinois. Most people don’t run red lights as it is dangerous, but these cameras also cost you a nice $100 fine if you turn right on red where it is not allowed, even if it’s 3am and there is no one else on the road for miles but you. And if you can turn right on red, if you don’t come to a complete and total dead stop, you still get that $100 fine. I got a ticket for failing to come to a complete stop before turning right on red. I literally went down to 1mph, but since my car was barely moving, I still got the ticket. What’s even more sickening is that they reduced the amount of time a light stays yellow in order to catch more people “running a red light”. These laws are clearly revenue generators. It’s just a matter of time until we have cameras at each intersection or throughout the roadway that take pictures of people in their cars to see if they are on the phone.
Really need to ban stupid drivers. If they’re stupid enough to text while driving, I think they’re gonna end up doing other stupid things to get in accidents anyway. We can regulate their behaviors to eliminate certain things that they do which is great, but eventually their idiocy is the root of the problem and we will never have laws written long enough to cover every single contingency for what stupid things these dumb people will do.
Hopefully in the foreseeable future, stupid human mistakes will be ousted from the equation, turning this into non issue. I’m liking the way google’s autonomous cars are headed in that direction. Until then, we’ll have to deal with stupid people on the road with licenses causing stupid issues like this because they have to get to work too.
How about we just ban them instead for making these asinine proposals that only cost us more in the end. With all these rules and regulations on driving we pretty much pay cops to fine us in all that we do. All these safe freaks need to get lives in a different country. I’ll take my freedom FREE please
Fuck the NTS…..that is all.
We should ban all lawyers and politicians from interferring with our life. They cause many if the problems we face with their retarded policies. I’m ready for Texas to succeed and let us have real freedom!
Another instance of the big government trying to control the little citizens. Enough already!!! Leave us alone.
Yeah, the evil government wants us to be safe on the road. How horrible! Go fuck yourself, lady.
It’s like having a nagging parent up your ass all day about the same stuff over and over… and oh yeah they’re a high school drop out while you’re a graduate school grad debating quantum mechanics.
The number of deaths is pretty low. I don’t understand why anyone would want more control on us? We have too many people anyway. Driving is a risk period, this group needs to be disbanded all together. I don’t want to hear what they think ever again!
Lets make of list of things that distract divers and need be gotten rid of:
Cellphones
The radio
Having to adjust the speed of windshield wipers
The AC
Any passengers
Other drivers
Billboards
So they want to ban talking over bluetooth now? Next it’ll be illegal to talk to your passanger and drive or listen to the radio and drive……..
Yet I see people putting on their makup, rolling blunts (th that is illegal.. lol), doing their hair, eating food, drinking..
But they want to ban talking on the phone over bluetooth…
They tried to ban smoking cigarettes while driving a while back. Ill be damned if that passed. Id get multiple tickets a day……..
even if this does pass, it will be taken very lightly
No officer, I was just talking to myself.
Better get the same cops that enforce the 100 watt bulb ban on this ASAP.
How could they even go about enforcing this without being hit for some sort of harassment charges at some point?
They would be pulling over random people accusing them of talking on the phone when there is no indication they are even talking on the phone to begin with?
People would be pulled over and accused of talkin on the phone for talking to themselves, talking to passangers, singing their favorite song etc…. While the guy juggling the big mac, 40oz softdrink changing the radio station and steering with his leg drives past without so much as a second glance…
The NTSB can drop to their knees and I don’t want them to beg or pray…..
It would be interesting to learn if men eat more red meat than women. I question this because one study has shown that Toxoplasmosis, a parasitic disease typically contracted from eating raw meat and usually harmless (unless contracted when pregnant) has shown two interesting side effects. On lab rats, those with the parasite had microscopic legions in the brain and were both slower to react to external stimuli as well as more likely to take risks. It seems the study was expanded to humans and focused on populations like France (where beef tartar is quite popular) and the USA. In France the incidence of exposure is at about 80% of the adult population, where it’s at only 30% in the USA. In both cases when compared against a control population, the incidence of car accidents was higher in the population that had tested positive to parasitic exposure. The study suggested that a driver who had been exposed to the parasite was more likely to run a yellow light and/or not react as quickly to avoid an accident. After reading this study I switched to medium-well.
Once upon a time someone thought adding cigarette lighters and radios to cars was a bad idea because it would distract the driver, then we all woke up.
I’m wondering how much of this goes with them not wanting anyone to drive at all, it’s long been believed that they want to take people’s cars away. There’s those that cry about ozone damage, depleting natural resources, and simply controlling the movement of population.
Men have more road rage accidents than women.
yea, but when it’s that time of month…..look out! Those numbers are reversed.
I’m for it only thing I use my phone for while driving is GPS as long as that will be legal still then I don’t care. I agree 200% with them been some close calls even people with Bluetooth in so BAN IT
Smartphones are a huge distraction. People are not only texting, but playing games, browsing, looking things up etc. Alot of other things are also distracting such as eating, putting on makeup, gps, and adjusting things like climate, radio etc. It just seems too complicated to enforce this. I live in ATL where texting and driving is illegal and I have not heard of one person being pulled over for this. And like many of you said, how is talking on your cell phone with or without bluetooth any more distracting than talking to people in the car?
not true… a hands-free system will be acceptable for use while driving
Great a politics article that always draws up friendly fire.
Yh ban all use… The amount of dick head drivers out there on fones all the time is ridiculous and half of them cant drive well even without the use of a phone. Ive lost a family member due 2 sum1 gasbagging on a fone and not paying attention for a split second…. The wanker had no remorse for his actions
What will I use my Vlingo then if I don’t have to use my phone while driving?
Lets just ban the women, old people, and Asians from ever driving. That should clear up just about every accident ever – past and future.
I can stand tall while I say this being an army veteran… The government can kiss my ass. I’m tired of them worrying about crap that not important when wanna have so many other big issues to tend to. NObama 2012 baby
For people like myself who run legal documents, coordinate day to day events and much more. This would make our work lives epicly complicated. If I pulled over to the side of the road everytime I had a phone call. I would spend 99%of my time on the side of the road. This is discrimination plain and simple. If this is approved then what next, no eating, drinking, turning the radio station……
I wouldn’t ban talking on the phone while driving. I would make the penalty for having a crash while on the phone completely off the chart! Everyone knows that even if they do make it illegal to talk on the phone an drive, most everyone will still do it.
so even the police radios should be banned. This is so unrealistic