Just leave the driving to the chauffeur.
Posted on 09/10/2006 8:35:46 AM PDT by calcowgirl
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger hinted last week that he might sign a bill by state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, that would prohibit hand-held cell phone use while driving.
During a stop in Palo Alto, Gov. Schwarzenegger said, in response to a question about the bill: "We have to do something about the accident rate."
He said use of cell phones while driving has surpassed alcohol as a cause of accidents.
"It's the job of government to protect people," Gov. Schwarzenegger said, adding that he plans to enforce the proposed law within his own family. He said he has threatened his daughter with loss of her new car "if I ever catch her using a cell phone" while driving.
I hope he does sign it. I have have been lucky to steer my way out of accidents due to idiots on cell phones who were not paying attention. A high majority of them were women.
NYS did this. And they aren't enforcing it. I see it violated on a daily, sometimes hourly, basis. All CA is going to do, if they have no intention of enforcing this and I'd be amazed if they did, is encourage people to develop a further contempt for the law.
I usually drive with four small children in the backseat, and they are far more distracting than my cell phone.
So perhaps children will be banned next.
I thought it had already been well established that “hands free” didn’t cause a significant reduction in accidents (or even any noticeable reduction).
IOW, it’s the act of chit-chatting with your head in the clouds that’s the problem - not holding a phone to your ear.
That’s what I remember the last study I read concluding.
And let's make sure the governor bans putting on make-up, eating, drinking coffee, or listening to the radio while driving too. The government can never pass too many laws to stop stupid people from doing stupid things. /sarc
Fascinating....it is not considered a waste of time for police to enforce telephone use while driving, but a waste to detain illegal aliens pulled over by police. AMAZING!
Police should be banned from using their radios while driving.
I wish I could ride my bike around where I live. Too many cars and horrible roads make it a perilous thing to do. And as a once avid cyclist, it pisses me off when I see people on bikes run thru stop signs and disobey the laws of the road. Many cyclists don't realize that being on a bike is like being in a car; you have to obey the same traffic laws as someone in a car.
...every new car sold in California have a six inch steel spike sticking out of the steering wheel.
While I use a headset while driving because I recognize that cell phones are dangerous to use while driving, I'm calling bullshit here (yes, I spelled it out). No way I'm going to believe that cell phones are the cause of more accidents than alcohol. No way. Nice try at bogus statistics to back up a politically correct cause, but I ain't buyin' it.
Here's a reference to the study. Not exactly conclusive.
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,71288-0.html?tw=wn_index_5
Just leave the driving to the chauffeur.
It will be just another California law that I will ignore. For instance, who in California takes flashlight batteries to the dump?! Besides, with the walkie-talkie feature, I can keep the phone out of view. Sorry, Mad-As-Hell, I'll keep talkin' and no one will catch me.
Prepare for those idiots to show up on this thread and call you a "Nanny Stater."
I even had one tell me that drunk driving (which is the same as using the cell phone) should be OK!
Some people think thsir silly-ass little phone call is more important than other people's lives. The word for these self-important jerks is: Criminal.
At least drunk drivers TRY to pay attention. Cell Phone users who drive are self-absorbed jerks.
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