States Ban Driving Distractions

Just another way to shack use down some more!!!

Originally posted by WalkInSilence
Oh Lord,
So when we take our between 3 and 10 hour drives to visit friends, we will now be forced to stop to eat, drink or smoke. I consume huge amounts of water on a trip.
Puppy must be locked in a kennel?
Can I hold Hubby's hand or will that be a distraction?
Can I listen to the radio?
Can we talk to each other? Talking can be rather distracting.
We are vigilant bird watchers, can we still gaze into the sky?
Will they ban extremely dark sunglasses?
If kids aren't banned in motor vehicles will they mandate a drug to calm them down?
I guess I will just have to create a savings account for all the tickets I'll be getting

I agree with the cell phone ban though.
Well, let us all enjoy the last few moments of a free America.
I have had 25 years of eating, drinking and smoking on the road around the world, without a single accident.
Who asked us?
WIS

Any good driver focus's on driving I don't even listen to the radio when I drive. When I was a State Trooper I got to see first hand how losing your concentration for even a moment can turn out.

I can smoke, eat and drink at the same time, while driving (not in city traffic, but still...) - whereas some other people I've seen can barely listen to the radio without wrecking up.

So this pisses me off.

Why not ban bad drivers, instead of banning behaviors that good drivers might be able to handle without a problem?

I also don't wear a seatbelt as a matter of habit, because I'd rather be ejected than eviscerated. Isn't that my personal choice?

Putting aside, for a moment, whether or not this is a 'good' thing - how enforceable is it?

Seems like nonsense to me...

Driving is not a Right, it's a Privilege granted by the Government.

I don't see how anyones freedom is being infringed on, unless you see "Maiming and Killing" by distraction as a right....

If the Government were to do such a thing to Horses, then I'd understand the outcry. This however, I just see those doing the complaining as being horrendously and dangerously selfish.

My Parents still have to go to physio therapy due to some a-hole who rear ended them in the 70s because he was distracted due to tuning his radio. He was an A-Hole cuz he fled the scene and never swapped insurance.

All he did was look down for one second and the next thing BOOM! Good thing my parents were in a 2 ton steel van at the time Still doesn't protect from Inertia though. Whiplash is not a fun thing to go through. Good thing they were wearing their seatbelts though or it could've been a bit(or much) worse.

Why not ban bad drivers, instead of banning behaviors that good drivers might be able to handle without a problem?

So do you suggest there be a driving test where citizens are required to drive, eat, smoke, or drink to weed the bad drivers. If you pass the test you are issued a special permit to do so.

The one thing I would like to see a real crackdown on is people who drive with their dogs on their lap. Talk about a rolling time bomb. I also once actually saw a lady with the newspaper opened up across the steering wheel while driving. Truly scary stuff.

When I was a State Trooper I gave tickets all the time for things like that, I also gave warnings when people were eating behind the wheel.

Originally posted by sardion2000
Driving is not a Right, it's a Privilege granted by the Government.

True, but I find myself in a bit of a gray area when thinking about the exact details of that privilege. Having a license means that the state believes you are qualified to operate a motor vehicle. Now, does that belief in your ability to drive, given that you are capable of maintaining control, include what other activities you are allowed to preform? I suppose that is up to them to decide, but is there a line for when it becomes "too much." It is technically a "privilege" yes, but seeing as how it is pretty much a necessity for our way of life, is it ok for them to dictate every last action of ours on the road.

As I said in an earlier post, I can understand the cell phone ban (and certain obvious things), but I have not experienced or seen any reason why activities such as eating and drinking cause a serious distraction. Handing out a $600 ticket as a form of reckless driving for someone taking a swig from a water bottle sort of seems like someone getting a speeding ticket when they weren't actually speeding, but just because they were driving a fast car. Because of what MAY happen.

I dunno, it seems like a tough call. I just hope this isn't a the start of a slippery slope.

[edit on 2/10/2007 by somedude]

I might sound crazy but. How about making lanes wider? How about adding more lanes? How about making turning ramps wider? How about not making car's drive so damn close to eachother on the highway. How about bluetooth phones

So do you suggest there be a driving test where citizens are required to drive, eat, smoke, or drink to weed the bad drivers. If you pass the test you are issued a special permit to do so.

No, I'm suggesting we don't allow drunks and idiots and careless people to get behind the wheel time after time, even after they've repeatedly proven themselves incapable of shouldering the tremendous responsibility that driving entails.

What's wrong with eating, drinking, or smoking if you keep your damn eyes on the road?

Lots of people don't pay attention to the road when they drive, and that causes accidents. Don't blame the cigarettes, or the radio, or the cheeseburger - since some people are quite capable of enjoying those things while still keeping their attention where it belongs.

I have seen women using their rear-view mirror to apply makeup, men with newspapers across their steering wheel, and two teenagers sucking face, all doing 70mph and just a couple feet off of the next car's bumper during the morning commute.

Common sense, people!

Simple, have common sense. I have never once even been pulled over. I don't speed, I don't drink and drive, and I don't even talk on the cell phone. But if driving is a privlage granted by the government, then why don't we give all power to the government to control us. I thought we were suppose to control the government.

My car is my private property, where I drive on the roads I helped pay to make, where I served my country, and in my country. This country is you and me, not the damn politicians.

The car is your private property, your taxes did pave the streets as well, but who is to protect you, your family, and everyone else from the people who do not use their common sense and insist on reading or texting while driving. Is it their right to kill us just to keep politicians from our lives. If people used common sense I could agree with this, but in a society where individuals seem to have none I must say that I would feel much more secure knowing there is a law to protect me from those who don't seem to know better.

Wait a second...

How does the law protect you?

We have laws against all kinds of things, and they still go on every day. Murder is illegal, but stupid people still make bad choices because they can't see the consequences or they don't care.

The same mentality that allows dangerous, negligent behavior also scoffs at laws and threats of fines or punishment.

Think about it for a second.

If someone is too stupid or too careless to act right behind the wheel of 2 tons of steel moving at high speeds, and is either unaware of the consequences or uncaring, what makes anyone think the fine is going to dissuade them?

Anybody with a brain in their head is more afraid of decapitation than a ticket, but people still drive like maniacs and put lives at risk.

I have NO PROBLEM penalizing citizens who endanger others with reckless behavior, but I fail to see how a law against eating a cheeseburger will help anyone. All it will do is annoy and control the good, law-abiding folks a little more, and bring the government a little farther into our personal sphere.

Originally posted by WyrdeOne
If someone is too stupid or too careless to act right behind the wheel of 2 tons of steel moving at high speeds, and is either unaware of the consequences or uncaring, what makes anyone think the fine is going to dissuade them?

Anybody with a brain in their head is more afraid of decapitation than a ticket, but people still drive like maniacs and put lives at risk.

I have NO PROBLEM penalizing citizens who endanger others with reckless behavior, but I fail to see how a law against eating a cheeseburger will help anyone. All it will do is annoy and control the good, law-abiding folks a little more, and bring the government a little farther into our personal sphere.

I agree. The key is to act responsibly. I travel with a cup of coffee that I sip while driving, and I won't stop doing that. But before I sip, I look around to see what's going on in front, in back, and on both sides of me. And if it's not safe, I wait till it is.

Originally posted by jsobecky

I agree. The key is to act responsibly. I travel with a cup of coffee that I sip while driving, and I won't stop doing that. But before I sip, I look around to see what's going on in front, in back, and on both sides of me. And if it's not safe, I wait till it is.

If it is from McDonalds dont keep it between your legs either, they are not honoring those law suits anymore! It says "Caution Hot!" all over it now.

Common sense isn’t very common any more. A few years ago we were hit by a car driven by an idiot too busy talking on her cell phone to notice that the light had changed. She swore that she did not run the red. Fortunately, we had witnesses to the contrary.

Driving is not a multi-task, but smoking or drinking (non-alcoholic) is less distracting than looking for your favorite CD or changing the radio station. I have spent many years driving long distances. I have smoked, eaten and drank all across the U.S. in my vehicle. The only accident I ever had (that could be considered my fault) was when I hit a patch of ice in southern Florida. I spun out and hit the car that was trying to pass me.

Most of us can’t afford to replace a totaled vehicle with the pay off from the insurance company. When people refuse to act responsibly, the rest of us have to pay.

"You've come a long way, baby"

Is how I would describe this. In my younger years a nice day would find me in my '67 Stang Fastback with an open fifth tucked between my legs, a loaded revolver in the passenger seat, stereo blaring, and the speedometer pegged at 120.

And no seat belts.

No accidents either.

Now I regulary wear my seatbelt, been sober for fifteen years, never do more than 20 over the posted limit, carry a steering wheel lock "club", and carry full coverage. But I smoke.

Now watch me get pulled over and cited for smoking.

And no accidents either.

I know your concern with the government and their control. Most of the time I agree with that, but in this case I feel the law will benefit us. Sure, stupid people will break the law. But they are less likely to do so. You mention murders, it is illegal, stupid people still do it. Think about the murder rate if there was no law against it, what would be there to prevent the guy who gets angry with you from killing you, right now it's the fact that he knows it's illegal and he must face the consequences of his actions. Just like the stupid people and driving, it will still happen, just maybe not so frequently. Hopefully resulting in less accidents and deaths.

Take the lady who sips her coffee on the way to work, she is careful, she has done this many times before. She always checks around to see if it's safe, then takes a sip. Just at that moment, the car behind her nudges her bumper causing the coffee to spill. Trying to keep control of the car and dealing with the spilt coffee could be too much to handle for a person with only one hand on the wheel. Control could be lost and the hot coffee could make a small situation increasingly bad.

You could be the best and most careful driver on the road but that doesn't mean the guy behind you is.

[edit on 2/11/2007 by dirty_underground]

In my opinion, it's all B.S.

If a person can't talk on the phone and drive at the same time, they should not be driving to begin with, if they can't concentrate on driving and talk at the same time.

Of course the statistics are going to go up with people talking on the phone and having accidents, because there are more people driving on the roads and driving with cell phones now!

And the ones that push the hardest for these laws, ...insurance companies! Imagine that, and think of why? Is it because they are thinking about our well being or their profit margins?

And how about the seatbelt law ...insurance companies. It's not even a legal choice if you want to wear a seat belt anymore. If you don't wear one, you are breaking the law. Come on, shouldn't it be a personal choice if a grown person, an adult, wants to wear a seatbelt or not? (And, YES, I myself do choose to wear a seatbelt, but I don't think it should be illegal or subject to a fine if an adult chooses not to.)

Not that they (the insurance companies) have any lobbying powers or anything.

I'm sorry, but what is going to be outlawed next, crossing a road because you might get hit by a car, or sushi or oysters because it might get you sick? (Hey, you never know, the way things are going, wait a couple years)

I am so tired of the government invading everybody's life for the good of "the people".

Life is full of risks.

Do we want the government to be in charge of all the risks we may encounter in everyday life and create laws to protect us from every imaginable threat to our well being.

I am worried about what kind of laws we are going to have 10 or 15 years from now!

I AM scared of how much the government is going to be controlling our lives 10 years from now.

I am worried about our country, "The Land of the Free."

It seems to me that it is soon going to be "The Land Of The Laws That Are Going To Govern Everything You Do". (i.e., smoking in city limits, I'm sure that's coming soon, and NO, I am not a smoker, but, ... insurance companies don't like smokers, they might cost them money)

Are we heading towards a country with laws like Sylvester Stallone's movie, "Demolition Man "?

I sure hope not!


[edit on 11/2/07 by Keyhole]