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Transportation board proposes sweeping ban on cell/auto use
A woman watches television through her mobile phone in the car during a photocall in Tokyo July 10, 2009.
Credit: Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon
(Reuters) - Safety investigators called on Tuesday for a nationwide ban on texting and cell phone use while driving, a prohibition that would include certain applications of hands-free technology becoming more common in new cars.
The National Transportation Safety Board recommendation goes beyond measures proposed or imposed to date by regulators and states, most of which already ban texting while behind the wheel.
"When it comes to using electronic devices, it may seem like it's a quick call or a quick text or a tweet, but accidents happen in the blink of an eye," said NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman. "No emails, no texts, no calls. It's worth a human life."
More than 3,000 people were killed in distracted driving crashes in the United States in 2010, according to Transportation Department figures.
The board's recommendation follows an investigation of a Missouri chain-reaction crash that killed two people last year, an accident blamed on a driver who was texting.
The five-member board's watershed recommendation for states to impose a sweeping ban is not binding but the panel's views are often influential.
Congress has shown no interest in banning cell phone use or texting while driving. The Transportation Department has waged a public campaign on the issue under Secretary Ray LaHood that has included limited bans for federal workers and truckers.
The agency has raised concerns about distracted driving and hands-free technology with auto companies but has not called for a prohibition or asked industry to stop putting it into new vehicles.
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POLL: Should talking on a cell phone while driving be illegal?
Vote: http://www.wepolls.com/p/6408758
But a ban on talking or texting while driving isn’t likely to happen because these days too many people are so totally spoiled that they require and demand constant entertainment, like over-indulged 2-year olds. So they speed along while messing with their cellphones or i-Pads, paying less than minimal attention to their driving.
But if you try to prohibit this PROVEN deadly behaviour, they’ll squeal about their “rights”. But what about the right not to get splattered by a distracted driver?
Here in Texas, renowned genius Governor Rick Perry complained that a ban on texting-while-driving would amount to “micromanaging” people’s lives, and since he believes strongly in the freedom to splatter people if it pleases you, he vetoed such a ban in Texas.
It doesn’t bother these reckless drivers that they’re supposed to be paying attention to DRIVING. It doesn’t bother them that they could KILL somebody while yakking on the phone. They wanna do what they wanna, do, or else a noisy political tantrum about individual liberties.
Well, so far I’ve managed to barely survive quite a lot of drama in my 60+ years, and really don’t like the idea of being splattered by someone in love with their cell phone.
So, YES, we absolutely need the ban on the use of electronic devices like cell phones and i-Pads while driving. And we need serious penalties for distracted drivers, even the rich white ones.
I’ll contact my representatives, but I’m not holding my breath.
If their careless, selfish actions only hurt or killed THEMSELVES, it’d be perfect. Let ‘em talk, text, drive and die. But that’s not how it works. YES, we need the ban.
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