Saturday, January 03, 2009

california's cell phone law is ineffective

"While traffic officials applaud a new law that makes it illegal for drivers to read, write or send text messages, they admit there is little evidence that last year's ban against talking on a hand-held cellphone has actually prevented accidents."

yep. no data to actually prove that banning cell phone use or texting prevented accidents. i love these reactionary laws that we make. i'm wondering when they'll outlaw changing the channel on my radio, or searching through my ipod? soon enough it will be illegal to even talk in the car because that will cause you to be distracted and could get in an accident.

it's funny, in the article they have quotes from cops and legislators about how they've seen less people talking on the phone. so what? have you seen less accidents? are our roadways safer now? and of course you get stories from people who almost got hit by someone on the phone. ever almost been hit by someone who wasn't on the phone? sure, but you probably just called them a jackass and went on with your life. you didn't harbor your little cell phone aversion.

who am i kidding? i ride a motorcycle. i don't talk to people. i don't talk on the phone or text while moving. i don't change things on my ipod. and, i don't pay attention.

7 comments:

auritus said...

I think it's definitely a case of people only remembering the bad driver if the bad driver was on a cell phone because it reinforces a preconceived notion.

Same with people who think women are bad drivers. About half of shitty drivers are going to be women so it's easy to come up with examples of shitty women drivers if you already think that women are bad drivers.

Incidentally, I just got an iPhone and I can't wait to email and drive at the same time!

(Just kidding, I ride the bus so I can e-mail and commute in safety).

Scott and Malisa Johnson said...

Isn't there already driving law that pertains to anything that could cause reckless driving? I understand that some people don't want a passing cop to interpret that law to their discretion to include things like you suggest (changing radio, talking to passengers...) but isn't that what the courts will do anyhow through over-legislation?

As a SC driver I see far too many tailgaters on the interstate. And yes, I have seen two different crashes right in front of me that I believe were due to the tailgating. I wish cop energy could be devoted driving behaviors, not behaviors while driving.

edluv said...

well, you could be sited for reckless driving for just about anything. so, yeah, you could get a ticket for eating a burger, putting on makeup, goofing with your ipod, whatever.

this is another reason why it's silly to legislate things like texting. it's already implicitly covered. it's also silly that you can talk on the phone still, as long as you're not holding it.

so, i can drive with one hand, while talking on the phone, as long as my other hand isn't holding a phone.

also, there was an opinion piece in the bee about this nonsense, and basically the author yammered out the same tired old things like, "it's dangerous" without demonstrating how it leads to anything. or, a stat about how many people admitted to texting while driving. so what? i've sent thousands of messages while driving. number of accidents i've been in while texting - 0.

Scott and Malisa Johnson said...

I shared this article with my kids last year.

I love how the title says he "took his eyes off the road for a second..." That's the point. He could have been doing anything when he took his eyes off the road.
http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20061510,00.html
We got into a great conversation just like this one here about over legislation, and responsibility. Sometimes I think 9 year-olds make more sense than adults.

Anonymous said...

I think it's only the cell phone users and texters who cause accidents. Oh yeah, it might not look like it, but even the ones who didn't have a cellphone near them at the time were *thinking* about texting. You just ask 'em. And while you're at it, look up the stats. There were actually no car accidents before the advent of cell phones (except for maybe people who were sort of imagining what a cell phone would be like, or were actively inventing them in their minds as they drove.)

duble-u said...

boooooooooo to you. texting while i'm driving sure doesn't make me feel like i'm driving safer. have i ever gotten into an accident while texting? NO, but that does not mean it should be legal. in the words of chris rock, "You can drive a car with your feet, but that don't make it a good f****** idea." driving laws are meant to raise the safety level of everyone, especially those people who may not have it all together. if not everyone can text, then maybe no one should allowed. will i never do it again?...

flowgun said...

Isn't the goal of these laws to bring in a few more bucks through tickets?

Accidents ensure jobs for a lot of people. I'm not sure the govt. is that concerned with the number of accidents.