Observation #8 - Texting on the Road
Jun 30th, 2009 by Alex
I was driving and saw two kids riding in the opposite direction on bicycles. One of them was talking. The other had no hands on the wheel, busy texting and not looking at the road at all. In the 20 seconds or so that he was in my immediate view, he didn’t look at the road once. I was surprised. I had never seen that. I shouldn’t have been. People text everywhere. I guess it’s no less dangerous than a car/bus driver. On the one hand, anything could happen at any time to cause an accident. On the other hand, a cyclist is more likely only to injure themselves (short of striking a pedestrian) if they run into something. Then again, cars that swerve out of the way to avoid hitting a cyclist have the potential to do a lot of damage.
We had laws restricting hands-free cell phone use. Why on earth don’t we have the same for texting? I know that bicycles count as motor vehicles in some ways, but do these laws even apply to cyclists?
The Governor signed a ban on text messaging into law in May 2009, actually.
I agree with you Alex there should be laws similar to that. I do know that NYS is trying to get something passed, and lots of counties have laws that are either in place or going to be in place. As of July 1 it is a $150 fine if you get caught texting while driving in Monroe county as per http://handsfreeinfo.com/ny-regional-text-message-legislation
Why should we have these laws, and why should they apply further?
I don’t think we should even have laws regulating cell phone use while driving. We have plenty of laws regarding speed limits, vehicle position within a lane, respect for signals, pedestrians, other vehicles, and property. All of them could be used to cite drivers who are driving with any type of distraction (cell phone, texting, pager, fiddling with the radio, driving drunk), but are seldom actually used because they’re apparently harder to prove in a court of law. I don’t fully understand this argument now that video camera technology is so cheap and available (reducing the need to rely on an officer’s testimony).
Unfortunately, after some type of incident/”tragedy”, do-gooder politicians take it upon themselves to try to protect future victims while straying away from allowing individual autonomy.
JJT: That’s what I get for not using Google. The article says “a vehicle” which would make me thing bicycles, unicycles, skateboards, mopeds, and roller skates would be included.
Jordan: In Maryland, it’s up to $500 in fines. See JJT’s comment above. Yikes.
Mike: I suppose we could just ratchet up existing penalties for causing accidents, rather than issue fines. I’m mixed on the issue. I can see how we already have laws to punish those who cause injury/damage with their vehicle, but it’s frustrating to have no preventative measure to take to mold people into being safer drivers (in this case, by having their eyes on the road).
Alex: vigilant police with the incentive of revenue generation? Even as a cocky twenty-something, I learned my lesson after only a (mumble) few speeding tickets that it was not worth being too crazy. Someone who’s weaving (to the point of being a danger) or not properly using signals due to distractions in the car is most likely in violation of some road law. While operating a motorized vehicle, there are minimum speeds within a traffic zone.