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Hang up phone or be fined? (CA)
LA Daily News ^ | 26 AUG. 2006 | STEVE GEISSINGER,

Posted on 08/26/2006 11:13:18 AM PDT by radar101

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To: radar101

I can't count the number of times I have seen distracted drivers swerving or braking suddenly because they were busy talking, swatting or otherwise dealing with their passengers/kids. Maybe we should ban passengers and or/require that kids be placed in separate compartments? LOL


21 posted on 08/26/2006 12:03:26 PM PDT by mollynme (cogito, ergo freepum)
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To: HereInTheHeartland
Democrats love to tell us how to behave. We should just ban cars or have a 5 mph speed limit to ensure everyones safety.
---
If you're talking on the telephone, you aren't paying attention to your driving.

I don't have any problem with you killing yourself when you drive. I do NOT want you to kill ME because you're too stupid to GET OFF THE D--- PHONE.

But as long as the only person you kill is yourself, hey, that's fine with me.
22 posted on 08/26/2006 12:10:35 PM PDT by Cheburashka (World's only Spatula City certified spatula repair and maintenance specialist!!!)
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To: sgtbono2002

you're right, microphones need to be placed inside the car passenger compartment and any voices sensed, used to trigger a flashing light to alert police to lock the driver up. Radios and conversations with passengers verboten!

IMHO, sufficient legislation/regulation exists as 'driving under the influence' or 'reckless behavior' to provide law enforcement sufficient authority to arrest and fine an inattentive motorist.

It has also been my experience that some people, myself included, are distracted by cell phones and/or conversations while driving, however, I do know some women who may have their attention diminished slightly, but still are able to carry on several conversations at once, while driving, without any noticable difference in their driving skills. (Note I didn't quantify what those driving skills might be without cell phones)

Granted, they are female drivers. and those skills obviously don't match up to their male counterparts, but I do give them credit for being able to gab and drive concurrently.


23 posted on 08/26/2006 12:10:53 PM PDT by Cvengr
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To: Cvengr

It isnt that flashing lights need to be attached anywhere and yes there are laws that would work. The problem is that when these inattentive people using these cellphones crash into others there isnt a cop around.

The perfect answer would be for everyone to sense the dangers and pull over for their conversations, then no new laws would benecessary. The problem is that the person doing the talking believes he or she is perfectly capable of driving and talking. Right Up until the time they
realise that you are stopped and they are 5 feet from driving your neck into the back seat.


24 posted on 08/26/2006 12:18:51 PM PDT by sgtbono2002 (The fourth estate is a fifth column.)
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To: radar101
$20 for the first offense

It will cost at least $50 per citation to process. The state will lose money on first offenders.

25 posted on 08/26/2006 12:21:06 PM PDT by Cobra64 (All we get are lame ideas from Republicans and lame criticism from dems about those lame ideas.)
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To: radar101
In the past three weeks I have witnessed : a guy blowing through a red light, a car next to me veering into my lane, a car blowing through a stop sign, and a freeway lane chance that missed an accident by inches. The common thread is (drum roll please): a cell phone. In EVERY case the the driver wasn't paying attention because they were on the phone.

I have a foreign exchange student that just joined us two weeks ago today. Every time we see someone driving erratic, we check to confirm that a cell phone is in the hands of the driver. It took him only a few days to be able to spot a drive that is DUICP (Driving under the influence of a cell phone).

It is so bad in our area that most people feel that if they are driving that they should be on the phone. I would say that at least 30 to 50% of all drivers on the road are DUICP.

I totally agree that anything that distracts or diverts the drivers attention that results in an accident is a worthy of a ticket. A few months ago I witnessed an erratic driver on a freeway interchange. He was driving a clubcab pickup pulling a large cargo trailer. Not only was he on the phone, he was having lunch. He had the cell phone squeezed between his shoulder and his left ear. The large drink was in the left hand perched on the steering wheel, with the hamburger in right hand. Unbelievable.
26 posted on 08/26/2006 12:21:57 PM PDT by notpoliticallycorewrecked (California : home of the fruits, nuts and flakes.)
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To: Hannibal Hamlin

Personally, I think kids (screaming babies, fighting siblings, etc) should be banned from cars because they are my biggest distraction.


27 posted on 08/26/2006 12:24:16 PM PDT by luckystarmom
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To: Cobra64

50 cents to process perhaps, the rest is pure profit merely justifying a noncompetitive socialist environment.


28 posted on 08/26/2006 12:26:02 PM PDT by Cvengr
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To: AlexandriaDuke
Absolutely! And good looking women walking down the sidewalk should be arrested. Can't have possible distractions, y'know.

Honestly, that is even more dangerous than cell phones for some of us. ;)

29 posted on 08/26/2006 12:27:58 PM PDT by Mr. Jeeves ("When the government is invasive, the people are wanting." -- Tao Te Ching)
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To: radar101

Can they not just STAY OUT OF OUR LIVES!


30 posted on 08/26/2006 12:28:50 PM PDT by RichRepublican (Some days you're the windshield--some days you're the bug.)
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To: mkjessup
I don't use my cell phone in the car. There's no reason to.

But your analogy of a pilot at 35,000 feet talking is not accurate. The higher the altitude, the better. Further, when they're actually flying the aircraft, they're on the horn with air traffic controllers. On long flights, 90+% of flight time is auto-pilot.

BTW, it's usually very easy to spot a cell phone user. Just stay away from them.

31 posted on 08/26/2006 12:31:23 PM PDT by Cobra64 (All we get are lame ideas from Republicans and lame criticism from dems about those lame ideas.)
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To: radar101

The headline here is about the trial of a local woman who broadsided another vehicle. killing the driver. The woman was talking on a cell phone.

She was convicted of negligent man slaughter fined and sentenced to 200 hours community service..... the maximum allowed by Tennessee law.


32 posted on 08/26/2006 12:32:13 PM PDT by bert (K.E. N.P. Slay Pinch)
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To: mkjessup

"Ask yourself how you would feel about your airline pilot on any commercial flight, talking away on a cellphone while transporting you from point A to point B at about 35,000 feet? You want him talking, or do you want him flying?"

As a pilot I say your full of s**t!!!!

We don't use cell phones but are talking on the radio constantly, if we refused we would lose our licences.


33 posted on 08/26/2006 12:32:16 PM PDT by dalereed
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To: radar101

Such misguided people having fooled themselves want to be seen using a cellphone to make others think they are important!They should pay higher insurance rates as well.


34 posted on 08/26/2006 12:47:53 PM PDT by INSENSITIVE GUY
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To: radar101

I've got a better idea - just hold drivers responsible COMPLETELY When they are at fault in an accident. A cell phone to the ear can be one of many distractions that drivers face that they create themselves.

What about women putting on make-up while driving?

I guess we should also ban children in the vehicle - as they can be a much larger distraction that cell phones.

What about outlawing mosquitoes and stinging insects? They have been the cause of many accidents because of their distracting nature.

Lets go ahead and outlaw stupidity while we are at it - since laws are so effective...


35 posted on 08/26/2006 1:24:47 PM PDT by TheBattman (Islam (and liberalism)- the cult of a Cancer on Society)
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To: radar101
Bad driving is more likely from many thinking they learned how to drive playing CRASH & BURN or QUAD POWER RACING on their X-BOX! At least that's how it looks on my morning commute.
36 posted on 08/26/2006 1:30:16 PM PDT by SweetCaroline (....If God brings you to it - He will bring you through it.)
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To: mkjessup; RichRepublican; notpoliticallycorewrecked; TheBattman; SweetCaroline; sgtbono2002

1.http://www.statefarm.com/learning/be_safe/road/learning_besafe_ontheroad_cell.asp
Cell phone users were four to five times more likely to have crashes than non-users.
Cell phone units that allow the hands to be free offer no safety advantage over hand-held units.

2. As a former State Officer dealing with anywhere from one to three crashes a day:
a. In 2000, the State included these questions on the Collision Reporting Form..
1. Was there a cell phone in the car?
2. Was the Cell phone in use?
(Better not lie on this one. Plaintiff's attorneys subpoena your phone records--which have a time-stamp)

3. The issue becomes one of "Greater Negligence", both criminally and civilly.
If you kill someone due to your total attention being on a phone conversation, that puts you somewhere between manslaughter and 2nd degree murder.
If your car was broadsided by someone pulling out, and usually you would not be at fault, the issue now is "Were you so engaged that you missed a chance to avoid a collision?" Attorneys like to make "Contributorily negligent".


37 posted on 08/26/2006 1:53:55 PM PDT by radar101 (The two hallmarks of Liberals: Fantasy and Hypocrisy)
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To: Cheburashka

" If you're talking on the telephone, you aren't paying attention to your driving."

That's fine. Just make sure that you don't eat in your car, drink in your car, argue with kids in a car, get to engrossed in a radio or CD in a car, etc...
Some folks just have an irrational hatred of those who use cell phones, and want to lump everyone; responsible or not, into one catagory.


38 posted on 08/26/2006 1:56:59 PM PDT by HereInTheHeartland (Never bring a knife to a gun fight, or a Democrat to do serious work...)
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To: szweig

"So....help me Nanny."

Lots of people on FR love the nanny-state and wouldn't part with it for anything.


39 posted on 08/26/2006 1:59:00 PM PDT by webstersII
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To: radar101
How many states do not already have a law against not paying full time and attention to driving?

"The more corrupt the state, the more numerous the laws."
- Tacitus, Roman Senator and Historian (A.D. c.56 - c. 115)

40 posted on 08/26/2006 2:45:38 PM PDT by MosesKnows
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