Employees of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority are having a tough time grasping the concept of absolutely no cell phones on the job. In early June, The Boston transit agency suspended its first worker for a violation of its strict cell phone policy. He exited a train wearing a Bluetooth wireless device and had a cell phone in a bag. A second offense means termination. Now comes word that a bus driver found a way to bypass the MBTA policy. He stopped his bus, borrowed a cell phone from a passenger and then started yapping away. As he wandered on and off the bus with the … [Read more...]
Fighting ‘lone wolves’ in Pennsylvania
May 29, 2009 by Leave a Comment
And now a word from the Pennsylvania state lawmaker who wants to slam Philadelphia and any other rogue cities and counties that enact vehicle laws regarding cell phones and texting. No municipality should take the ''lone wolf'' approach, Rep. Richard Geist declares. This all started when Philly's mayor recently signed off on a ban on handheld cell phone use by drivers and cyclists. State legislators led by Geist threatened the city to the tune of $90 million. “We are doing what we think is in our best interest,” Mayor Mike Nutter said. In fact, Geist points out that the fine for a local … [Read more...]
N.Y. legislator snubs mom of texting fatality
May 21, 2009 by Leave a Comment
The chairman of the Transportation Committee in New York's Assembly has been previously cited as an impediment to texting and handheld cell phone bans for drivers. Now, the gloves are off. (Published on: May 21, 2009. Update: Gantt's driver safety bill that includes a ban on New York State text messaging while driving cleared the Assembly on June 17 and was sent to the Senate.) Assemblyman David Gantt infuriated some legislators Tuesday as he refused to meet with the mother whose son died as he was texting and driving. Kelly Cline was in Albany to lobby for a bill that would ban text … [Read more...]
Cell phones, text messaging & trouble
May 18, 2009 by Leave a Comment
Here's a roundup of deaths, injuries and legal activity resulting from drivers who allegedly were chatting on cell phones or text messaging as they crashed. The lead item, of course, is the rail crash in Boston, in which 50 people were injured. The operator was text messaging his girlfriend at the time. The incident brought back memories of the deadly Los Angeles rail crash in which the operator was texting friends. These reports from police and the courts were gathered in the past two weeks. BOSTON -- The Boston transit authority immediately banned operators of train, trolleys and buses … [Read more...]
Bowling Green voters strike cell law
May 5, 2009 by Leave a Comment
(Originally posted May 2009) The voters of Bowling Green, Ohio, have spoken on mobile phones and driving -- kind of. The city of about 30,000 decided to put to voters the issue of whether to ban handheld cell phone use by motorists. On Tuesday, 56 percent voted no, killing the plan. “Fifty six percent of people aren’t against a ban, they are just against a local ban,” the legislation's sponsor, Robert McOmber said. But there's more. Turns out the ballot didn't actually state what a vote either way would accomplish. Here's the ballot text: "An ordinance proposing to create and adopt … [Read more...]
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