Out here in Calfornia, it's hard to remember how it was. Back in the bad old days, before the state banned the use of handheld cell phones while driving. Sure you see the occasional fool holding a mobile phone to his ear, but for the most part people here have accepted that phone calls can wait until the drive's over. Too bad we can't quantify the quite apparent but subjective truth that the freeways are better and safer with the cell phone and text messaging bans. It was gratifying, then, to read this bit of confirmation in a letter to the editor of the Baltimore Sun: I just returned from … [Read more...]
Archives for March 2010
NSC looks inside ‘distracted brain’
March 28, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Drivers talking on cell phones often enter a state of "inattention blindness" in which they fail to see up to 50 percent of what's ahead of them, according to a new report from the National Safety Council. The NSC once again makes the case against driving and using cell phones -- including those with hands-free devices -- this time backed by about 30 research studies. The NSC estimates that 25 percent of the U.S. crashes in 2008 involved cell phone use. "Driver distractions have joined alcohol and speeding as leading factors in fatal and serious injury crashes," the NSC said. The white … [Read more...]
Wyoming to round up texting drivers
March 13, 2010 by Leave a Comment
Wyoming became the 20th state to ban text messaging while driving, as its governor signed legislation that will go into effect on July 1. The anti-texting legislation (Senate File 20), was sponsored by Sen. Floyd Esquibel, D-Cheyenne, who has authored multiple distracted driving bills in the past. The law calls for primary enforcement (police can stop and cite violators when spotted) with fines of $75. Esquibel noted that his newly minted law does apply to all drivers, it is mostly aimed at the young generation that's hooked on texting. It's “primarily for an age group that is already at … [Read more...]
Wash. state gets primary enforcement
March 8, 2010 by 1 Comment
One of 2010's fiercest legislative battles over distracted driving raged in Washington -- a state that already has banned handheld cell phone use and texting by drivers. Gov. Chris Gregoire signed the distracted driving legislation on March 26, clearing the way for enforcement to begin June 10. “To those who have said to me that it’s no different than having a cup of coffee, the coffee doesn’t talk back to me," Gregoire said at the signing. "Coffee doesn’t have anything to say to me. A cell phone does,” she said. (This story has been updated twice.) On March 11, the civil war ended as the … [Read more...]
Your texting & driving rights, defended by patriots
March 3, 2010 by 3 Comments
Strangest beginning to a news story we've seen in a while: "PHOENIX -- Arizona drivers' right to compose and send text messages from behind the wheel of a moving vehicle has successfully been defended." This from a report on the defeat of a distracted driving bill, written by Howard Fischer Capitol Media Services. The headline in the Arizona Star noted that the bill "was sent packing." Guess the Arizona cops would have to pry the text messaging devices from freedom lovers' cold dead hands. A distinct possibility, if you think about it. … [Read more...]
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