• American Drivers May Face Nationwide Cell Phone Ban

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    Cabalo
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    Published on 12-15-2011 03:28 AM    
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    Phone addicts may have their days of chatting and texting while driving numbered.

    The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a recommendation Tuesday that urged a nationwide ban of all non-driving-related use of portable electronic devices, including ones that can be operated hands-free, while driving a vehicle.

    The NTSB cannot actually issue regulations, but its input can influence lawmakers. If the government takes this week’s recommendation to heart, any resulting restrictions would be the most sweeping yet. Use of portable electronic devices, such as cell phones, would be outlawed for drivers of all vehicles. The recommendation does not include the ban of pre-installed devices, such as a built-in GPS, however.

    [Adults Text While Driving Just as Much as Teenagers]

    The Governors Highway Safety Association says nine states, Washington, D.C. and the Virgin Islands currently outlaw handheld phone use while driving, while 35 states, D.C. and Guam forbid texting while driving.

    The Wireless Association CTIA, which represents several entities within the wireless telecommunications industry in the U.S., including cellular providers and manufacturers, has been a proponent of making it illegal to text while driving.

    In a press release, CTIA President and CEO Steve Largent released an official comment on today’s NTSB recommendation: “Manual texting while driving is clearly incompatible with safety, which is why we have historically supported a ban on texting while driving. As far as talking on wireless devices while driving, we defer to state and local lawmakers and their constituents as to what they believe are the most appropriate laws where they live.”

    According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 1,200 people are injured and 15 people are killed daily in road accidents involving distractive driving. A major contributor to distractive driving is using an electronic device, like a cell phone, while at the wheel. The CDC says that 25 percent of American drivers admitted to talking on their cell phones “regularly or fairly often” while driving, and 9 percent said they texted the same amount.
    Currently, no states ban both handheld and hands-free cell phone use while driving, as the NTSB recommended today.
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    Comments 13 Comments
    1. nless00's Avatar
      nless00 - 12-16-2011, 02:24 AM
      this country turning into giant whinnies little pussies ban this, ban that... omfg.
    1. IdolEyes787's Avatar
      IdolEyes787 - 12-16-2011, 02:52 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by nless00 View Post
      this country turning into giant whinnies little pussies ban this, ban that... omfg.
      Over 70 countries have some form of ban on talking on a mobile phone while driving.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_...driving_safety
      I suppose everyone in those countries are also "little pussies" and just like in the good ole U.S. of A. there ignorance should always have precedence over safety as well.
    1. mjmacky's Avatar
      mjmacky - 12-16-2011, 11:35 AM
      You know I handle texting and driving much better after I've had a few drinks, loosens me up for some multitasking.
    1. dlukym's Avatar
      dlukym - 12-16-2011, 04:59 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by mjmacky View Post
      You know I handle texting and driving much better after I've had a few drinks, loosens me up for some multitasking.
      Awesome
    1. eyekey's Avatar
      eyekey - 12-18-2011, 06:03 PM
      even banning hands free communication??? what next?? no passenger communication???
    1. megabyteme's Avatar
      megabyteme - 12-19-2011, 01:40 AM
      more than 1,200 people are injured and 15 people are killed daily in road accidents involving distractive driving.
      They can take my cell phone when they pry it from my cold, dead hand. And with statistics like that, it seems quite likely... Anyone else picture a Carmageddon-like scenario going on? It seems like a miricle that we even make it to the grocery store, and back alive.
    1. mjmacky's Avatar
      mjmacky - 12-19-2011, 04:50 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by megabyteme View Post
      It seems like a miracle that we even make it to the grocery store, and back alive.
      I've avoided over 50 accidents through attentive and skilled driving. There were 3 I wasn't able to avoid, but was able to respond enough to minimize damage (vehicular and body), one of them could have been potentially fatal (drunk driver + red light + 50 mph speed limit).

      If you're wondering why I've had to avoid so many accidents, I do a lot of driving and there's a particular blend of mess here in Florida. We have a mix of elderly drivers whose visions have expired a decade prior, vacationers that have no idea where they're going, and 16 year olds with driver's licenses, and they are all either drunk or high.

      I have seen it all, right turns from the far left lane, dead stops and driving in reverse on the interstate, U-turns from the far right lane, full speed collisions into the back of stopped cars (no brakes applied), merging vehicles (not merging lanes, they seem to be trying to merge their vehicle with yours). It's atrocious the number of things that people try to do in their moving cars; eating while on the phone, reading books/magazines, applying make-up, moving their upper body to the back seat to look for something. I think a cell phone ban to make the roads safer is the equivalent of banning children from wearing tank tops to prevent child abduction and pedophilia.
    1. tombrady's Avatar
      tombrady - 12-19-2011, 07:56 AM
      I've seen to many near misses for me to argue with this. 90% of the the shitty driving I see is done by someone talking on a phone.
    1. Cabalo's Avatar
      Cabalo - 12-19-2011, 08:04 AM
      We have a similar law around here for the past 6 years, which is strictly enforced on drivers. It's the one thing cops will never let you slip by.
      If you're caught on the phone, texting or calling, you get a 150€ ticket (around 200$) AND you get your license apprehended for a month.

      You can only use the phone with a bluetooth headset, and even those may be banned soon. No wired headsets are allowed too already.
    1. mjmacky's Avatar
      mjmacky - 12-19-2011, 08:35 AM
      Hands free is easily defensible though. Just act a little cuckoo and say you were talking to yourself, then ask if that's weird... then start mumbling something to yourself.
    1. Skiz's Avatar
      Skiz - 12-20-2011, 07:59 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by IdolEyes787 View Post
      Quote Originally Posted by nless00 View Post
      this country turning into giant whinnies little pussies ban this, ban that... omfg.
      Over 70 countries have some form of ban on talking on a mobile phone while driving.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_...driving_safety
      I suppose everyone in those countries are also "little pussies" and just like in the good ole U.S. of A. there ignorance should always have precedence over safety as well.
    1. mjmacky's Avatar
      mjmacky - 12-20-2011, 10:21 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by Skiz View Post
      Quote Originally Posted by IdolEyes787 View Post

      Over 70 countries have some form of ban on talking on a mobile phone while driving.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_...driving_safety
      I suppose everyone in those countries are also "little pussies" and just like in the good ole U.S. of A.; there, ignorance should always have precedence over safety as well.
      Since it's Idol, it must clearly be a comma situation.
      /fixed
    1. Pwner101's Avatar
      Pwner101 - 12-22-2011, 12:16 AM
      If they are planning on banning talking on the phone while driving... lets not forget they will be unable to enforce this with the help of the police. They use electronic devices while driving as well. Their radios... TBH around here where I live. The cops generally drive worse than the elderly or the drunk. I can't think of the last time I went a day without seeing a cop run a red light for no reason, run through a 4 way stop without breaking, or take a wide turn from right lane into the 3 left lane without even using a directional or looking to see if any cars are in the 2 left lanes. Heck... I quite regularly see cops pulling uturns on busy streets where uturns are not allowed and posted on multiple signs. I would be rather shocked if you told me these guys could pass a driving test. I think alot of the issues with people getting in accidents is just general stupidity or ignorance.
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