National cell phone ban

[Broncojohnny]

I should have said maybe it's cheaper and easier... And I'm making a contradictory argument to one in the paragraph before, too. doh.

I would like to think insurance companies would be happy to wash their hands of any liability. The consequence I could see is them automatically denying every claim and putting it on the driver to prove it was an accident and not gross negligence. Who does the investigating - the city?

If they decline coverage, wouldn't lenders go after the individual for the cost of the vehicle, whereas the city would go after the cost of cleanup and investigating the accident?

Most people are very dumb. They are broke too. In an ideal world the bank and the city would go after the individual for everything if negligence was involved. The problem is that a lot of people really have no assets to go after. What I am saying is that the purpose of insurance is to pay out in these exact situations (negligence) so that if you allowed them to not do so, you might as well remove insurance from the equation.

[Forever_frost]

You going up there and talking to already elected people who have already formed an opinion of the subject and won't change their minds is pointless. The best thing to do is to find a campaigning legislator that is closest to your ideals and talk to them and tell them what you require of them to garner your vote. So in actuality, if you both voted in the last election, you've done the same amount of work. Obviously your talks to them face to face have done absolutely nothing. Case in point: Defense Authorization Act of 2012.

But I digress. These cell phone laws are horseshit and just another way to grab money/power. There are already laws on the books that prohibit you from being a shitty driver, why do we need this one?

You're right, I should have done absolutely nothing. Terribly sorry. As elections are not until next year, I chose to act now instead of forgetting as citizens (me especially) have the attention and memory span of a fruit fly on crack

[racrguy]

You're right, I should have done absolutely nothing. Terribly sorry. As elections are not until next year, I chose to act now instead of forgetting as citizens (me especially) have the attention and memory span of a fruit fly on crack

I'm not saying you took no action, but effectively, you did nothing. You going up there and talking to them made absolutely no difference whatsoever. They listened to what you were saying, and it went in one ear and out the other.

And I was talking about the '10 elections, not the '12.

[Forever_frost]

And as this was decided this year, I was unaware of it last year (it didn't exist) thus I couldn't base my decision off of it. Kind of circular isn't it?

[racrguy]

And as this was decided this year, I was unaware of it last year (it didn't exist) thus I couldn't base my decision off of it. Kind of circular isn't it?

Jebus. I'm not attacking you here, I'm just offering you a viewpoint, which you've missed. Please reread the second sentence of my first reply to you.

[Forever_frost]

Jebus. I'm not attacking you here, I'm just offering you a viewpoint, which you've missed. Please reread the second sentence of my first reply to you.

Duly noted. Sorry for coming off like I thought you were attacking me.

[bcoop]

Pat your self on the back much?
waawaaa I drive a 80,000 truck around town all day guess you don't mind if I talk on the phone while your in front of me? Dam I didn't know our whole economy depend on you selling a oven.
As some one who sees the stupity out there I hope it does get through.

I'm not patting myself on the back at all. I was simply making the point that not everyone talking on the phone is talking about "omgwtfdidyouhearaboutblahblahblah". I'm on the phone for business purposes. Lol @ "just selling an oven". Im just a fraction of people that conduct business in the car. I run from site to site, customer to customer, etc. sometimes stops are 10 mins apart, sometimes they are 4 hours apart. My phone rings constantly. If I can't answer immediately, I'm affecting another business bottom line. 70% of the calls i get are emergencies. Not a good way to keep relationships in good standing. If a truck driver can remain alert, and aware, and maintain speed and the lane, I've got no issues with them being on the phone while driving. They have a job to do to, and there sre legitimate reasons for them to be on the phone at times. They just aren't on it half as much as I am. That's not a brag. I wish I could ditch this phone all together. But I'd be out of a job if I did. If they can't do those things, that's another issue. You can't legislate to the lowest common denominator. It screws with the freedoms of the majority.

[bcoop]

I do stuff about it. Not only do I write and call my congressmen, I also have gone to DC and talked to them face to face. What have YOU done about the encroachment of the federal government into our private lives and it's violation of the Constitution?

Calm down killer. I don't disagree with you on this. You just constantly crow about "they don't have the power to do this", yet there they are, doing it every day. So why even mention it? We all know they don't gar the right, but they have the power because they are in charge.

[Baba Ganoush]

Bottom line is there is still no justification for cell phone use while driving.

Just think of being in an accident that results in the death of an individual and you are called to the stand in court to defend your alleged cell phone use during the time of the accident. If your defense sounds like, say bcoop's, I don't think a jury will excuse your negligence on behalf of maintaining your business, or because it's simply your right to be a distracted driver. Maybe they would excuse negligence because they too want to talk and drive one handed, and they'll be damned if one idiot killing another might limit their freedom to do so.

I guess we shall see. Until then, drive safely!

[racrguy]

Bottom line is there is still no justification for cell phone use while driving.

Just think of being in an accident that results in the death of an individual and you are called to the stand in court to defend your alleged cell phone use during the time of the accident. If your defense sounds like, say bcoop's, I don't think a jury will excuse your negligence on behalf of maintaining your business, or because it's simply your right to be a distracted driver. Maybe they would excuse negligence because they too want to talk and drive one handed, and they'll be damned if one idiot killing another might limit their freedom to do so.

I guess we shall see. Until then, drive safely!

Just like some people think there's no justification for owning a firearm of any sorts. Your argument doesn't hold water. With freedom come certain risks, risks like not liking what some people say, or knowing that sometimes shit happens. If you don't want your freedoms, that's fine. I, however, intend to keep every freedom I can in spite of people like you, who since you see no point in doing/having it, think the government can and should take it away. There are two things you can't legislate and be successful, morality, and to the lowest common denominator.

[Baba Ganoush]

Just like some people think there's no justification for owning a firearm of any sorts. Your argument doesn't hold water. With freedom come certain risks, risks like not liking what some people say, or knowing that sometimes shit happens. If you don't want your freedoms, that's fine. I, however, intend to keep every freedom I can in spite of people like you, who since you see no point in doing/having it, think the government can and should take it away. There are two things you can't legislate and be successful, morality, and to the lowest common denominator.

Did you just compare cell phone usage while driving to......gun ownership? LoL! You have got to be joking.

Next you'll say it's your right to drink and drive. Well, sure it is, but there are legal consequences. It's simmular to misuse of your legal firearm. You can keep your gun, just don't use it in traffic.

You can still do whatever you want man, the government doesn't control you, mkay? This includes murdering someone. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should. Also, be prepared to defend your actions in front of a jury of your peers.

[bjtheman1]

I don't mind this ban at all, I personally can't stand some people on their phones while driving. Speed limit is 40mph and their driving about 20mph b/c they are too busy talking on their phone. Or the typical car swerving all over the place b/c they are tryin to text and not paying attention to the road. I've seen these things get worse & worse over the years as cell phones have become so much more popular.

Now, I understand not everyone does these things but I see at least 4-5 of these people per day while driving.

[ceyko]

Duly noted. Sorry for coming off like I thought you were attacking me.

In a way though you do what they are saying. i.e. you're probably a member of at least the VFW, AL, ...etc They lobby with your membership money on your behalf. Far more powerful than a single voice (lets face it, with no money in comparison to the bigger groups). Just like the NRA gets action on behalf of concerned gun owners or people who may not even own guns but believe in our rights.

It's a bummer it has to be that way, but it is that way. Paid membership to these groups is like an effective online petition.

With that said, I ended up being an idiot on a cell phone. Now I keep a hands free ear piece in my truck and only talk on that. My next step is an effective mount for my phone so it's similar to glancing at what radio station you're on to see who is calling.

I can't support these sort of laws on principle alone. I do support...

-Companies banning the use of a phone for business purposes while driving. Although they'll NEVER do it. An employee being reachable 24x7 is their desire for a lot of jobs. I know some people may not agree or even understand this thought process, but it is the truth. An extreme example of a job I had was being a part of a team that runs systems that do process a million dollars in transactions every 1-5 seconds. If something puts that at risk or stops it, it's critical to that company. Hell, people were fired over an 11 second outage once and that's all the ammo that was needed. (it was a mistake that caused the outage)

-People taking it upon themselves to make their phones less of distraction. Most people I see having major issues either have one or both hands on the phone while driving. Utilizing hands free devices, speech to text...etc really helps. Hell, that's one of the big things I love about droid phones - the speech to text is great.

Maybe instead of typing responses they call people back instead. Often I'll say..."Sorry, I'm driving and calling you is easier for me right now." No one ever complains.

-People then using common sense. I'd wager a small amount that most people who are sort of cornered into taking business/personal critical calls while driving on a daily basis - know to let it be if they are in tough areas. i.e. those construction zones where you can't tell where the hell the lanes are going ahead of time and other situations where you have to be more alert. Even if on phone, simply saying - "Hold on just a minute, have to negotiate traffic - or I can call you back." works wonders.

Banning cell phones won't do anything really. People have to make better decisions.

I agree though, even with hands free, a good mount and using common sense I'm still distracted more than with a passenger, or radio going...etc. I can break that all down if someone disagrees - but it's the truth.

[krazy kris]

I can see a ban on texting but talking on the phone seems a bit much

[no4njnk]

First of all how are they going to enforce it? I know someone came up with soft software or something but does it block the whole car or just one person? How many more wrecks are there going to be when someone sees they are missing an important call and swerves over to the shoulder?

I know common sense is fading quickly in this world but get out of my life. Of course there are those people trying to type a paragraph while drinking coffee and driving but I would say most people are being safe on the road. Plus the figures they use in these kind of articles have been proven incorrect as in too high.

And last thing, most of the cops I see drive down the road are always on their cell phone. Are you going to try and enforce the law on the law?