What the HAIL is wrong with people..???

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Author Message   Libralind2 Veteran Poster Username: Libralind2 Post Number: 975 Registered: 09-2004 Rating: N/A Votes: 0 (Vote!) Posted on Thursday, November 15, 2007 - 10:01 pm:        Representatives hope to ban texting while driving By: Briony Clare Posted: 11/15/07 Many people have witnessed incidents of bad driving only to discover a cell phone glued to the driver's ear. What is even scarier is the act of drivers periodically glancing at the road while using their thumbs to type messages onto a keypad the size of a Fig Newton. Text messaging while driving is dangerous, but it is not uncommon: 37 percent of 18-to-27-year-olds reported texting while driving, according to a survey by Nationwide Mutual Insurance. While there are no statistics quantifying the number of road accidents caused by text messaging, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that distracted drivers account for 80 percent of crashes. The most common driver distraction is a cell phone, according to a 2006 study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. Currently in Ohio, except where banned by individual cities, the use of cell phones while driving is legal. This could change as two state representatives, Rep. Michael DeBose and Rep. Diana Fessler said they will to introduce a bill by the end of the year that would make texting while driving illegal. "People are getting seriously injured in accidents because of texting while driving," said Michael Dittoe, Fessler's legislative aid. "We want people to keep their hands on the wheel and not on their cell phone or Blackberry." "We've seen stories in the state of Washington and the state of California where there have been serious accidents involving texting while driving." DeBose said "Driving is a privilege, it's not a right." "And we have a responsibility to regulate all privileges. I think banning texting is important because it saves lives." The bill is still in the drafting phases and considerations are being made as to how the law would be enforced. "We're trying to iron out the best legislation possible," Dittoe said. "Most likely, police will not be able to cite drivers for texting unless they are caught committing another moving violation while texting. "The way we're looking at it right now is specifying the penalties for people who cause accidents while texting while driving." Another issue is it might be considered arbitrary to ban texting but to allow dialing, Dittoe said, adding that Fessler does not want to compromise Ohioans' rights to talk on their cell phones while driving and would not support a bill that would do so. "I'd like to have it (passed) by the end of February," DeBose said. "All like-minded people, Democrats or Republicans, would want to ban it. Texting is dangerous to Republicans and Democrats." Vaughn Hoblet, a senior in psychology, was almost side-swiped recently by a fellow motorist who was texting while driving. He fully supports a ban on texting while driving. "She was swerving all over the road," Hoblet said. "I went to pass her and she almost side-swiped me. I rolled down my window and said, 'What are you doing?' And she said, 'I'm sorry, I was texting.'" "It's stupid and idiotic," Hoblet said. "It's along the lines of drinking and driving." Introducing new Technology Charley Gillespie, a spokesman for Nationwide, said the solution is not creating legislation but rather advancing technology. "Some people argue that banning cell phone use would have a limited impact because it's difficult to enforce. They would have to be caught in the act or admit it afterwards," Gillespie said. "There are technological improvements down the line. Some phone companies are in the process of developing cell phones that you won't be able to activate when the car is moving... So these kinds of technological advances might help with the problem." Gillespie said the use of cell phones while driving is only going to get worse among 18-to-27-year-olds. "We see that the generation Y group (18 to 27) has grown up with multi-tasking and technology," Gillespie said. "The use of cell phones is second life to them. As younger kids grow up and become driver age, they're going to be even more used to this technology." The introduction of new and more advanced technology is also contributing to a culture of technological dependence. "Look at the iPhone. You can do anything with that: watch movies, talk on the phone, use the Internet," she said. Gillespie said the multi-functional are likely to increase technological dependence and tendencies of multi-tasking while driving. Briony Clare can be reached at clare.6@osu.edu. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © Copyright 2007 The Lantern   Cynique "Cyniquian" Level Poster Username: Cynique Post Number: 10685 Registered: 01-2004 Rating: N/A Votes: 0 (Vote!) Posted on Friday, November 16, 2007 - 01:54 pm:        Are you complaining about the people who text while driving or the ones who want to ban them?   Libralind2 Veteran Poster Username: Libralind2 Post Number: 976 Registered: 09-2004 Rating:  Votes: 2 (Vote!) Posted on Saturday, November 17, 2007 - 11:56 am:        Why do we need a law for common sense. Why in the world would you text while driving..? LiLi