NTSB Recommends Ban On Driver Cell Phone Use

For some reason this got me to thinking of a line from Forrest Gump.

"Stupid is as stupid does"

Reply to post by KilrathiLG

If someone was trying to run me off the road, I wouldnt be looking for my phone, I would let my gun do the talking lol ETA: no I wouldnt do that, just joking.

I know its not a good idea, but when you get stuck behind someone doing 80 MPH on a phone you get these ideas, atleast I did.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

Can you say an overbearing government agency that needs to be thrown off our backs?

It's not the only excessively intrusive and oppressive dictatorial bureaucracy.

Texting and driving is about the dumbest thing a person can do. I mean would you get in the car with a typewriter sitting on your lap and try to type up a business letter while heading down the road? It is basically the same thing. IMHO texting period is pretty stupid, it is much easier to just pick up your phone and dial a number and have an actual conversation with a person than to constantly type out a conversation and I'm not talking on just non-qwert phones either.

I have a Driod and the only time I ever use texting is to send or receive pics, if someone texts me trying to have a conversation I simply ignore it, if they want to "talk" to me bad enough then they will call me, if not then the conversation they were trying to have probably wasn't very important anyway and therefore I didn't miss anything. It really makes me wonder if all of our great technological advances are really making us smarter or dumbing us down and therefore making us more dependent upon technology.

There are several issues about this topic that bother me though. First off, in the city I am from I used to see cops driving down the road all the time while using their laptops to look up vehicle tag info for random (unconstitutional by the 4th ammendment) checks. Are these officers going to still be allowed to type and look up info on their laptops while driving, or talk on their phones? I know for a fact that several of them had caused serious accidents while doing this. Or is the farce that they are providing for public safety going to give them a free pass?....I would guess that they will be immune from the law.

Secondly, is this ban going to be morphed to include changing your stereo, adjusting the A/C-Heater controls, looking at your speed, checking your instruments, or talking to passengers? These are all actions that distract you from driving while behind the wheel.

My point is that while it is truly sad to see anyone loose their lives(with the exception of a very few whom have committed crimes and deserve it) it seems that we have all been brainwashed into believing that we should all live in a eutopian world that is 100% free of any pain, sadness, or danger. There will never be a world where people do not get hurt or die, and TPTB are aware of this yet they continue to try and get us to give up our rights and liberties under the guise of creating that perfect world.

As Ben Franklin said "Anyone who is willing to give up a little freedom for a little security deserves niether.".

This may sound as if I am a heartless person with no feelings yet I am not at all, I am very caring and sympathetic to peoples pain. I am simply a realist that understands that no amount of laws written will ever provide for the public safety in the manner in which it is presented. However these same laws will ultimately limit the liberties of the public and ultimately will do so to the point that we are all sheep being led around by the wolves.

No law like this will have any effect. Same with drunk driving, speeding, distracted driving,and whatever the hell else. Maybe if the laws were more tough and actually enforced, but I still wouldn't be so sure. People just do not care. Most drivers will not think twice about putting their need to text, eat, apply cosmetics, or talk to friends over the safety of themselves and other drivers. It is as if they think their right to use the road supersedes other drivers.

Why not just ban fatty foods since heart disease is the leading cause of death?

The laws are already in place. If someone causes an accident, they are held responsible regardless of the reason...

So now the micro managing overlords want to impose a law to ban possible causes?

Make everything illegal.

I hit a woman last year because I looked down at my ringing phone & failed to see that traffic had come to a sudden stop.

Thank God no one was hurt in my car - but I was extremely worried about this woman for weeks, because I had hit her hard from behind. What worries me even more, for the future, is that I live in a country where kids are not usually buckled into seats. If she had been one of those moms with a newborn in her lap... the results could have been more than tragic.

I have always considered myself a careful driver, tried to be careful. It took 2 seconds of not paying attention to put peoples' lives at risk. Now I ignore the phone. And I freak out when I see a weaving driver and find that he/she is typing on a phone.

It just isn't worth it.

when i drove a car, i hated the idea that the government could tell me that i could not do as i pleased when i drove. As a motorcyle rider now, i am constantly trying to be killed by oblivious drivers all the time and am ALL FOR the ban of phones while driving. Let me paint you a picture, I was riding on a six lane road with a median, three on one side, three on the other, this dumba$$ lady pulls out right in front of me in my lane like i wasnt even there. I proceed onto the middle lanes right line, also being the right lanes left. I kick the ladies door, as i am furious, and up to this point she still hadnt even noticed i was there!! She looks up from her lap ( startled kinda shrugging her shoulders) while taking something out of her purse which had been between her legs, and low and behold it was her #$%^& phone!! Now one would think the worst of the story has been told BUT she then proceeded to ANSWER, yes, ANSWER her freaking phone. I then threw her a nice bird while shaking my head and got AS FAR AWAY from that crazy lady as possible.

reply to post by SpartanKingLeonidas


Maybe, just MAYBE, SOME PEOPLE have the mental capacity to talk on the god damn phone and drive at the same time... I know I do, and its not illegal in my state (Ohio). We're not children, and making laws to protect us from ourselves puts us in a pretty bad place, no? Do you not see the incrementalism in taking away our freedoms? By your post, you are advocating it. The technocracy happening in our cars these days to control us is mind boggling, I dont know why ANYONE would stand for it.

Suck your nanny-state's teet, little mouse, and pay your taxes.

People like to forget that when you are driving, you are operating heavy equipment. So pay attention to operating your vehicle and worry about talking on the phone later. It is a public road, so you are there to drive and share it with other drivers. Even if cell phones are banned its not the phones that are the problem. Bad drivers will find other ways to nearly kill you, cell phones just ad another noisy distraction.
I live in an Urban area so the main problem here is there is no way to actually enforce traffic laws effectively. There are far more #ty drivers than troopers. To be honest I'm actually amazed that the interstate isn't a river of carnage every rush hour. I think considering the people on the road here, we do quite well not to all die in a fire daily.

Originally posted by camaro68ss
one person screws up and they ban it from the rest of us.

Actually, it's a lot of people just like you that are taking lives on the road through selfishness and stupidity!

IRM

reply to post by Tanulis


No see: laws like this are to protect people like me from people like you.... not to protect me from myself. I see idiots everyday making bad decisions on the road. And low and behold they are talking on their dumb phone. I'm just trying to get my kids safely to school. Our highways have a speed limit of 75. At that speed, what happens to my kids (and me) when someone doesn't see something because their idiot brain is more focused on their social life than the road? No. suck it up. Call the girl you're stalking later; when you are not a danger to everyone else.

I can't believe this hasn't been banned yet in America, this is a huge problem.

I'm in road construction and I've seen mangled bodies from car accidents where basically the only thing you can logically make out is the person having a grip of death holding their cell phone.

reply to post by fredats


Get over yourself, stop acting like you need to make a new law every time you get scared. As someone earlier has said, why not make a law to stop you from changing your A/C? Radio? or yelling at your whiny kids when they wont stop wiping snot on your hair? If thats your logic, I need to be protected from on-edge soccer moms with road rage.

Be aware and drive.. and shut the hell up.

reply to post by Tanulis


I agree that SOME people have the mental capacity to use their phones while driving, BUT there are alot more idiots out there. Make the law for the idiots and punish them for their life threatening stupid actions. If your as intelligent as you would like to think you are you will have no problem hiding a small device from the dimwitted cops.

Originally posted by welcometoreality
when i drove a car, i hated the idea that the government could tell me that i could not do as i pleased when i drove. As a motorcyle rider now, i am constantly trying to be killed by oblivious drivers all the time and am ALL FOR the ban of phones while driving. Let me paint you a picture, I was riding on a six lane road with a median, three on one side, three on the other, this dumba$$ lady pulls out right in front of me in my lane like i wasnt even there. I proceed onto the middle lanes right line, also being the right lanes left. I kick the ladies door, as i am furious, and up to this point she still hadnt even noticed i was there!! She looks up from her lap ( startled kinda shrugging her shoulders) while taking something out of her purse which had been between her legs, and low and behold it was her #$%^& phone!! Now one would think the worst of the story has been told BUT she then proceeded to ANSWER, yes, ANSWER her freaking phone. I then threw her a nice bird while shaking my head and got AS FAR AWAY from that crazy lady as possible.

edit on 14-12-2011 by welcometoreality because: typo

Welcome to the world of two wheels, as soon as you are on that bike, you are invisible to the oblivious idiots texting away, yelling at their kids, tuning the radio etc. I have gone down twice and lost two friends to people just not paying attention to the world around them because they are safe in their little metal airbag assisted coffin on wheels. What most motorists don't realise is, if we get it wrong, there's generally not much of a second chance.
As far as mobile phones go, it has been law in Australia for many years, and comes with quite a stiff fine for getting caught, even to go so far as you only have to have the phone in your lap to receive a fine for it.
At this point I think hands-free is still legal, but they are either trying or have made it illegal to even use those.
I have to agree if even not by law, doing anything that is distracting you while driving is generally stupid, and has the potential to cause accidents, as far as loss of life to yourself or the others around you.
Anyone who has seen the aftermath of an accident or buried a friend due to the carelessness of a road user should consider this before considering the use of texting or talking on a phone.
Simple answer IMO - Pull over... The life you save may well be your own.

Ok, i agree that people should NOT be texting and using their phones while driving. It's irresponsible and could not only end your life buy someone else's.

Now, with that being said, the federal government is trying to extend their corrupted, authoritarian hand into every facet of our lives. As the years fly by more and more laws are added that try to control everything from the way we travel, where we go, when we go, or how we act while we are going.

It's ridiculous, i'm all for safety, but there are some things you cannot control. Common sense people, we all could use a heavy dose of it.

edit:

I guess i was taking out my frustration on yet another law telling us what to do. But really, i do think this is a major problem, people should not be purposely distracting themselves while they are driving. I think a message does need to be sent to people that are this idiotic. So although i said what i said, i think it was really just a reflection of my frustration with "big brother"

Originally posted by fredats
reply to post by Tanulis

 

\ No. suck it up. Call the girl you're stalking later; when you are not a danger to everyone else.

edit on 14-12-2011 by fredats because: (no reason given)

edit on 14-12-2011 by fredats because: (no reason given)

edit on 14-12-2011 by fredats because: (no reason given)

hahaha. Oh boy, you nailed it.



And it IS as simple as that.

New Zealand did that long ago.

YAY! NZ is ahead of America!

Originally posted by Vardoger
Handheld devices are already banned in BC and for good reason. It's scary as **** driving behind someone texting on their phone.

Hell yeah it is.

I drive a truck and have a great view of the console area of cars in front of me. They are all over the road, brake late and usually don't even know the light has turned green until I blast them with the horn.

They are the sole reason I won't ride a pushbike to work (which I really would like to do).