Tomorrow marks the first day of the new cell phone law. It is a secondary offense to use a cell phone while driving, unless it’s hands-free. Secondary offense means the police have to find another reason to stop you.
About time. But it should be a primary offense. Who among us has not seen countless drivers taking stupid chances or motoring slowly down the freeway, 15 mph slower than traffic, deep in a phone call?
Of course the police will continue to use them, at speeds well above the limit. There’s ALWAYS a reason to stop you.
Well, lets see. There was the guy I suffered behind today on the Interstate for a good 5 miles. Riding the left lane no matter what. Doing anything from 60-65 every time he passed someone. Then about 80 every time he wasn’t. So then there’s the big and growing pileup of cars and that characteristic surge and flow of traffic that is always so mysterious. And all the while this guy is totally clueless of the complete mess he is making of the roadway.
He was not on the phone.
I see it everyday. I’ll go 50/50 with the phone being involved - b/c it is so often not.
Phone laws are fine. They just miss the bigger issue. We do it all of the time.
It will be interesting to see if it is actually enforced in your state.
In NJ, we began with a similar law (secondary offense) several years ago, and very few tickets were issued. Within the past year, they ramped it up to a primary offense (making it possible to stop you just for talking on the hand-held phone), and yet, I still see a HUGE percentage of drivers talking on hand-held phones while steering with one hand.
The stereotype for women drivers in my area is one who is driving a Nissan Armada (or similarly oversized SUV) with one hand and yakking on a hand-held phone, while she drives to the school bus stop to pick up her overweight kids, rather than allow them to waddle two blocks to their home.
You hit the nail on the head.
I actually like it being a secondary offense. That way the people who are capable of walking and chewing gum at the same time can, while those who drive like morons because the phonecall is so much more important than not hitting other cars, will get pulled over.
BTW, through my work I talk with a LOT of cops - they’ll all say the same thing. Follow someone for 5 minutes and they’ll give you a reason to pull them over. So it being a secondary offense really just increases the likelihood that the cell user driving like an idiot will wind up with 2 tickets instead of just one.
We used to drive our kids everywhere, unless we could see them walking down the street from a window or the yard. Well, mostly my wife, but it was a safety issue. She was always concerned about safety, and not from passing traffic. The woman you speak of may have similar concerns. Hey, my kids still ist for one family that lives about one block away, and the Mrs feels better when they drive there.
If you saw the area where I live, you would realize that anyone’s fears about child safety are overblown and unrealistic. I could see this fear with very young children, and it would probably be a very good idea with young children–even in the area where I live.
My next door neighbor still drives her kids–of high school age, strong, and very athletic–two blocks to and from the school bus. Go figure!
No Texting in MA went into effect today…It’s ABOUT time…
He was not on the phone.
From my experience in driving in MA and NH…for every driver who’s driving like that while NOT on a cell…I see 20-30 who ARE on a cell…and once they hang up the cell their driving drastically improves…One nice thing about being in a SUV…I can usually see what the person is doing…And then there’s the little twerps who will play with their game-boy while driving…
It was mostly when they were very young, but the youngest was quite small for her age until recently.
Amen…sort of.
IMHO texting should be included in strict laws against driving while distracted. Thes laws should include (but not be limited to) things like reading while driving and driving with your pet on your lap. And they should be enforced.
And the regulars here all know my feelings on DUI. Anyone caught driving under the influence should have the car impounded, to be coffiscated upon conviction…even if the car isn’t theirs. AND they should face a minimum of a large fine and an evening in jail, a maximum to be based upon the situation as well as how many prior convictions they’ve had. If personal injury is involved, the penalties should skyrocket.
All I’m trying to say is that it doesn’t take a cell phone to make someone drive like an idiot.
I’m fine with cell phone laws. But why so obsessed with it? You can get a driver’s license in pretty much every state without having a clue as to how to drive. You see it every day and it is obvious in the process of getting a license.
In addition to cell phones you also see the game boys, fast food, radio control fiddlers, total space cadets, etc. etc. etc. But you also see people who are simply clueless as to the actual rules and laws - whether they are fiddling with anything or not. Stupid and careless driving was not ushered in by the cell phone.
I’m just tired of the cell phone rant - as if that’s THE problem on the roadways. Its one of those gross oversimplifications like thinking that if we take soda out of schools everybody will get thin again. Hey - taking out the soda can’t hurt, but holy cow. Don’t we think there’s a little more to it?
So there I was tonight walking up to Walgreens, pushed the walk light, and started crossing the street with the walk light, 2 feet into the intersection had to jump back 2 feet to avoid getting hit by a bimbo on a cell phone turning right on red, she never slowed, never looked, and had a kid in a car seat. Well I jumped back, did not get hit but backhanded the car with a pretty good thump, all I could see in the tail light glow was her still talking on the cell, never slowed never stopped as I was going to give her a piece of my mind. Silly me. My knuckles still hurt a little but it was worth it to me.
I concur 100%…