Posted on 07/01/2019 1:33:37 AM PDT by Kaslin
Today, Tennessee becomes the 19th state to make de facto criminals out of a significant percentage of its citizens by passing a law that makes it illegal for anyone to touch a cell phone while driving. The law, passed by assumedly well-meaning legislators as an attempt to cut down on deaths from “distracted driving,” nevertheless represents yet another governmental attempt to crush a fly with a sledgehammer, and it’s a trend that isn’t about to end anytime soon.
Sadly, this merely represents the next step for do-gooder social engineers who think laws on the books can somehow fix all of society’s ills. First, they banned texting while driving, then holding a phone up to one’s ear. When those laws proved ineffective (because there will always be bad apples who do stupid things in vehicles), they simply went to the next step on the nanny state slippery slope.
Except, while talking with a phone to one’s ear and texting are relatively easy for police to observe, prove, and enforce, and are generally activities that a vast majority of people agree shouldn’t be done while driving, this latest round of bans are problematic for a variety of reasons, including privacy, subjectivity on the part of police who can now stop someone for merely ‘looking down’ or basically anything they consider a ‘distraction,’ and the fact that they just turned the majority of citizens into law-breakers.
Don’t believe me? Tell me, if you live in Tennessee or another state that bans “touching” your cell phone, are YOU going to comply with this law? Every time? Really?
Let’s go over two of countless scenarios:
You’re on the interstate and your exit is about to come up. Suddenly, your phone glitches, shuts down the maps program, and you don’t know what exit to get off on. You’re on a straight road with little traffic. Do you put your code in and restart the program - an action that involves ‘touching’ your phone more than the allowable one swipe but something you probably can do without even looking down - or do you get off at the next exit, pull into a gas station, and do it then?
Again, you’re on an interstate with little traffic. It’s a long trip and the podcast that was so great at keeping you alert ends. It’ll just take a couple of swipes and your code to move to the next one. Do you stop, or do you assess traffic and quickly glance down to do something you’ve been doing for years with zero issues?
These things and more are actions that involve little more than the currently-legal changing the radio station or adjusting the heat & air, yet because they involve your cell phone they are now illegal. Sure, the “correct” answer to these scenarios is always going to be “pull over,” as plenty of virtue-signallers will doubtless cite in the comments below, but in all reality, will most people really do that?
This law, like so many others, presumes citizens aren’t adults with adult judgement. Most of us can determine when it’s safe to glance down to do anything quickly in a vehicle and when it’s not. I’ve been switching podcasts on my phone for years, and have never once been cited for reckless driving because I’m extremely careful, you know, like an adult. People will say “a few bad apples spoil the whole bunch,” but why not simply punish those bad apples? If someone is doing ANYTHING in a vehicle that causes them to not operate it safely, they should be cited. And the result will be something police can easily observe and deal with - an erratic vehicle.
It’s one thing when a law makes sense, but when a law treats ordinarily law-abiding citizens like juveniles, don’t be surprised when people ignore it. Especially when we’re not even sure such laws even “save lives” in the first place. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety researchers say the overall effect these laws have on crash totals varies “widely” and “despite the proliferation of laws limiting drivers’ cellphone use, it is unclear whether they are having the desired effects on safety,” The Washington Post reported. Yet, of traffic deaths from 2014 - 2017, “only a fraction” were allegedly caused by people manipulating their phones by hand. And I’m guessing most of those were probably the aforementioned bad apples no law would stop anyway.
So far, hands-free usage of devices are still legal, but make no mistake, it’s only a matter of time before they try to take that away too. Why? Because since the current law won’t do a thing to reduce traffic fatalities, and since lawmakers are always looking for a “crisis” to “solve,” they’ll simply move to the next step. Think I’m exaggerating? Florida’s legislature was contemplating verbiage that would have arguably made it illegal to take a sip of coffee while behind the wheel. New Jersey’s law is horribly subjective, making it illegal to “engage in any activity unrelated to the actual operation of a motor vehicle in a manner that interferes with the safe operation of the vehicle on a public road or highway.”
Under such laws, anyone could theoretically be pulled over for anything an observing officer considers a distraction, as this Minnesota woman pulled over for, you guessed it, drinking coffee while driving found out.
“Inattentive driving relates to anything that takes your attention away from those obligations of every driver, which is to pay attention,” a St. Paul cop told media.
So in other words, it’s a slippery slope:
“Drivers who change a radio station, talk to kids in the back seat or take a sip of soda all have something in common: Their attention is being taken off the road,” AAA Oklahoma wrote. “Distracted driving is any activity that diverts a person’s attention away from the task of driving and includes texting; using a cell phone; eating and drinking; talking to passengers; grooming; reading; using a navigation system; adjusting a radio, CD player or MP3 player.”
Researchers quoted by The Washington Post included “shaving, flossing, nose picking, hair brushing or habitual hair twirling; newspaper and book reading; and singing, eating and cigarette lighting” as behaviors that “should be addressed.”
And you can bet your bottom dollar that government will “address” them all right, ad infinitum, and make lots of moolah for state and local governments in the process. You see, despite their repeated insistence otherwise, these laws aren’t really on the books to “save lives.” They are on the books to give cops an excuse to pull anyone over they choose, for virtually any reason whatsoever, and keep those tickets coming.
Yet, interestingly, police are exempted from Tennessee’s new law, even though a police officer driving distracted can cause an accident that’s just as dangerous or even fatal as one an ordinary citizen can cause. And they do, as these hundreds of police distracted-related crashes in Denver alone attest.
Is distracted driving a problem? Yes, for some people. Some people can walk and chew gum at the same time and some people can barely do one task effectively. Reasonable, responsible adults know when they have to keep their eyes peeled to the road and when they can take a second to reach for their water mug or quickly change their iTunes playlist.
Lawmakers can keep going down this slope and “ban” every single “distraction,” from drinking water to changing the radio station to talking with the person sitting next to you, but instead of saving lives they’ll simply continue to make criminals out of everyone and give unlimited stopping power to police. They’ll also probably cause a whole other major problem for those who actually choose to follow their absurd laws - people falling asleep!
Someone like me who circles the mid state every day seven days a week 150-200 miles
Am I going to pull over now to answer my phone 15-20 times a day
I detest these assholios
Jurisprudence has, over the ages, slipped from addressing actual wrongdoing to addressing the *potential* for wrongdoing.
Creating another opportunity for revenue and your expense.
Used to be you only had to worry at night about intoxicated people crossing the center-stripe.
Now, thanks to texting, it’s a 24/7 concern. Who hasn’t experienced oncoming traffic drift into their lane?
Such laws give the police an all purpose excuse to pull people over. If the cops don’t like your looks, you look out of place, you’re going too slow, there’s something minor wrong with your car, and other things like that, you’re pulled over. Now it’s “distracted” driving.
But cell phone usage is unlike many of the other “distractions” that are often cited, like eating, talking to a passenger, changing a radio station, etc. All of those things can be postponed if a road situation requires it.
But a cell call or an incoming text is impossible for many people to ignore as if somehow a call going to voicemail, or a delayed answer to a text, is some sort of social blunder or an insult to the other party.
People like these:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nYgTM1pPjKQ
It’s funny when these cell phone zombies do stupid stuff to themselves, but it’s not so funny when they do it while driving.
The stupid - it burns!
Could just have same laws as that for truckers. I drove hoppers or grain haulers during the last oil bust. If you get stopped by DOT trooper with cell phone in cab and no headset, it was around a 13,000 dollar fine. People texting are truly dangerous. They could use voice text at least.
Many of those “distractions” are needed breaks to prevent us from falling into road hypnosis. In heavy traffic, people will automatically devote more attention to the road. But in light traffic, where there is no reason to focus so intently on the road, boredom can quickly set in, causing sleepiness or “zoning out”, which is extremely dangerous.
Has there been a study on the effects of completely removing “distractions” on people’s ability to keep as much attention as necessary on the road? I would predict that “distraction-free” driving is just as dangerous as driving around watching your cellphone.
Several years ago, my son and I drove on a straight desert road in California. There was nothing out there, no trees, light poles, or structures. Yet the road was lined with crosses, more than I have ever seen on any other road. I wonder, could some of those crosses be the result of drivers being so bored on a straight and featureless road that they fell asleep and crashed?
billboards are distracting
we should ban them
“billboards are distracting
we should ban them”
Good point.
Thinking is the biggest distraction....and it applies to 100% of our drivers.
I recently gave up my drivers license due to my age. (More about this in a freepmail)
But when I was still driving I never answered my phone when it was ringing, I also did not turn the radio on while driving. I do this not because it is the law, but for my own safety.
Bump for later.
Checking my rear view mirror takes my attention from the road.
Screw ‘em all - I have airbags
“”” Do you put your code in and restart the program “””
“”” It’s a long trip and the podcast that was so great at keeping you alert ends. It’ll just take a couple of swipes and your code to move to the next one. “””
Strange; I have a smart phone and don’t have to put in a code to do anything. To get out of screen lock, we just hold a finger on the screen for a few seconds. Our last pone, we had to swipe a certain way. That and I think all of them these days can be used in hands free mode. Takes a little time to set up and get used to it.
Most people only text while they’re on the cell network and then do everything else when they’re connected to wifi because it all uses data on the cell network and most people don’t have unlimited data plan. I think every plan comes with unlimited text messaging. Of course texting is about the hardest thing to do hands free. That would take a lot of speech to text training.
I tried to use the GPS one time but I couldn’t see the screen as it was daytime. Cheap phone though. I had to pull over and shield the phone with my hands to barely see it.
What about all the new cars with touch screens built into the dashboard? Some of them run the whole car. It’s a smooth screen so you have to look at it. Not like reaching for that fan speed switch or radio button that sticks out from the dash. You can do that without looking.
“Today, Tennessee becomes the 19th state to make de facto criminals out of a significant percentage of its citizens by passing a law that makes it illegal for anyone to touch a cell phone while driving.”
Good for TN! I have been rear-ended TWICE by dumbass kids playing with their ****ing cell phones!
“... talking with the person sitting next to you, ...”
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How sexist! That only applies to women, who have to look at each other when talking. They have to see the reaction to whatever they’re saying. lol
...Don’t believe me? Watch women in cars, walking, in coffee shops, etc.; they have to see the emotional facial expression to what they say.
Men don’t have to look at a passenger when driving and talking.
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