| Author | Message | ||
     Oldog |
One of my pet peeves is cagers OTP while driving, I saw this and had to share. From MSN Also part of the problem in North Carolina, he said, is that the ban is little known, particularly among parents. "We know with other traffic-safety laws, visible enforcement makes a difference," Rader said. "Under the cell phone ban, if people don't think they're likely to be stopped, they're not likely to hang up and drive." Cell phones and driving: Laws by state State Handhelds banned All cell phones banned Enforcement* Alabama No No -- Alaska No No -- Arizona No School bus drivers Primary Arkansas No School bus drivers Primary California Yes (effective July 1) Drivers younger than 18 (effective July 1); school bus and transit drivers Primary Colorado No Learner's permit holders Secondary Connecticut Yes Learner's permit holders; drivers younger than 18; school bus drivers Primary Delaware No Learner's permit and intermediate license holders; school bus drivers Primary District of Columbia Yes Learner's permit holders; school bus drivers Primary Florida No No -- Georgia No School bus drivers Primary Hawaii No No -- Idaho No No -- Illinois By jurisdiction Learner's permit holders; drivers younger than 19; school bus drivers Primary Indiana No No -- Iowa No No -- Kansas No No -- Kentucky No School bus drivers Primary Louisiana No No -- Maine No Learner's permit and intermediate license holders Primary Maryland No Learner's permit and intermediate license holders Secondary Massachusetts By jurisdiction School bus drivers Primary Michigan By jurisdiction No -- Minnesota No; text messaging prohibited (effective Aug. 1) Learner's permit holders; provisional license holders during the first 12 months; school bus drivers Primary Mississippi No No -- Missouri No No -- Montana No No -- Nebraska No Learner's permit and intermediate license holders younger than 18 Secondary Nevada No No -- New Hampshire No No -- New Jersey Yes; text messaging also prohibited Learner's permit and intermediate license holders; school bus drivers Primary New Mexico By jurisdiction No -- New York Yes No Primary North Carolina No Drivers younger than 18; school bus drivers Primary North Dakota No No -- Ohio By jurisdiction No -- Oklahoma No No -- Oregon No Learner's permit and intermediate license holders Secondary Pennsylvania By jurisdiction No -- Rhode Island No Drivers younger than 18; school bus drivers Primary South Carolina No No -- South Dakota No No -- Tennessee No Learner's permit and intermediate license holders; school bus drivers Primary Texas No Intermediate license holders for first six months; bus drivers when a passenger younger than 18 is present Primary Utah Yes No Secondary Vermont No No -- Virginia No Drivers younger than 18; school bus drivers (effective July 1) Secondary for teens; primary for school bus drivers (effective July 1) Washington Yes (effective July 1); text messaging prohibited No Secondary West Virginia No Learner's permit and intermediate license holders Secondary Wisconsin No No -- Wyoming No No -- *Under secondary laws, an officer must have some other reason to stop a vehicle before citing a driver for using a cell phone. Laws without this restriction are called primary. California and Utah have unusual provisions. In California, an officer will be able to stop any driver of any age holding a cell phone and talking on it, but officers won't be able to use checkpoints to enforce the ban for under-18 drivers. In Utah, a moving violation other than speeding caused by use of a handheld cell phone is considered careless driving. } Utah has the right idea, please write your reps on this, and oh yes ride safe. | ||
| Firebolt32 |
Make it illegal in all states. I hate using a phone for any purpose. Nextel made it easy with DC...but Nextel is garbage. I use Verizon now and when I'm in the cage I use my Bluetooth. $5 on ebay. | ||
| Djkaplan |
I think anyone that even uses a cell phone in public should be beaten and tattooed. That's the only way they'll learn. Infernal things... why am I the only one with proper cell phone etiquette? They way people use their cell phones is a good indicator of their position in the social strata of people I want to slap the shit out of. | ||
| Darthane |
The headset's a must if I care to be accessible while driving my car - I refuse to actually have anything to do with my phone while driving, but I can manage to press the button and talk. No different than holding a conversation with someone in the car at that point (which, by the way, studies have shown to be nearly as distracting as holding a telephone conversation, though at least you're not using a damned hand to do so...unless you're Italian...). What really, REALLY pisses me off is people who TEXT while driving. At least the phone is generally a press one button kind of operation (and who among us keeps both hands on the steering wheel at all times to begin with), but the idea of staring at that stupid little screen while typing letters with multiple number presses just burns my britches. The very thought of doing so frightens the piss out of me, but then, most of the people I see doing it are still in their moronic Superman/Superwoman life stage. | ||
| Djkaplan |
"I hate using a phone for any purpose." I only use my cell phone to screen messages anyway - I never answer a call unless I expect one. Having all those satellites orbiting the earth and my handy dandy cell phone lets me not answer the damn phone all the time now. | ||
| Blackbelt |
They are trying to pass a law in Michigan that if you are caught w/o a hands free device it would be up to $100 fine... If you are caught Texting it is a $500.00 FINE!! HOLY CRUD!!! That is a GREAT Idea. one of my students was in an accident and I asked her how it happened.. she admitted she was texting a friend and wasn't paying attention.. I was dumbfounded.. She was "unsure" why it happened... My response was PAY ATTENTION TO THE ROAD and leave the cell phone ALONE! | ||
| Cruzinonline |
I hate the damn things. Sunday I went for a ride and was passed going down the highway by a young mom in a mini van who was talking on the phone,brushing her hair and passing out McD.s happy meals to three little kids in the back all while driving 75+ mph. | ||
| Ratbuell |
Maryland actually keeps losing the bill to get handhelds made illegal while driving. I completely fail to understand what pea-brained mentality could possibly prevail to make folks in the legislature think it'd be a *bad* idea to keep people off the goddamned phone while driving. ESPECIALLY when an earbud is what, $8? If you want a wireless one they're all of what, $25? And the worst part about it here in MD is, the bill that keeps getting presented proposes to make it a *secondary* offense. Make it primary, with a $500 fine first time out. Maybe then some folks will pony up the eight freakin' bucks to get an earbud. | ||
| Darthane |
They are trying to pass a law in Michigan that if you are caught w/o a hands free device it would be up to $100 fine... If you are caught Texting it is a $500.00 FINE!! HOLY CRUD!!! ~~~>Blackbelt ...and good riddance - make it a damned Primary Offense, too, so you can actually get pulled over for it in the first place! I just don't understand. I don't care that this is the digital age and people want to be connected and available. There's a goddamned time and place and on the road with the 100 other assholes who are also out to get you isn't it. | ||
| Kyrocket |
Here here! I was at a Steak & Shake last year with the family and some butthead was talking loudly two tables over interrupting everyone. After he receives his order he has the audacity to put it on speaker so everyone can hear both sides of the conversation. After a few minutes I think the other side figured out what was going on and abruptly ended the conversation. I almost stood and applauded. The only reason I take my phone in the car or bike is in case of an accident. I don't even have a personal phone but work is pretty cool if I use theirs for personal calls. I may use it three or four times a month to call the wife after hours. But I digress, my question is, what on God's green earth do they have to talk so much about? | ||
| Oldog |
But I digress, my question is, what on God's green earth do they have to talk so much about? And If you ever figure it out let me know! HTFU = Hang The @#$@#$ Up! (Message edited by oldog on June 17, 2008) | ||
| Firebolt32 |
...unless you're Italian...) I resemble that remark!  | ||
| No_rice |
i only text occasionally while riding down the highway on the motorcycle  | ||
| Teeps |
Kyrocket Posted on Tuesday, June 17, 2008 But I digress, my question is, what on God's green earth do they have to talk so much about? That's a good question. IMO, if your finger is not on the (nuke) launch button; you don't need a stink'n cell phone. | ||
| Sarodude |
We can all get pissed off at cell phone usage, but really, we're really just addressing a symptom here. In the US, driving is viewed as a right. Licensing is trivial. It doesn't test for squat. Honestly, an activity like every day ho-hum joe-schmoe driving is not really an exercise in vehicle dynamics as much as it is in situational awareness and management. If a simple distraction like a cell-phone is enough to upset your abilities - and if you ALLOW it to - you have no business driving in the first place. Do you have any of those electronic traffic signs where you drive? Ever notice how they CAUSE more traffic than they help with? Why the EFF is it that people need to slow below the speed limit to read 3 words? I'm just tired of everyone's life getting beaten down to a lower and lower standard so that the lowest common denominator may be accommodated. Maybe the LCD shouldn't be doing certain things at all - like driving. Today we're banning cell phone useage. Next we won't let people twiddle with the A/C controls. Then the radio. Wanna roll down the windows? Too bad. Pull over, shut down the car, then roll 'em down. -Saro | ||
| Darthane |
Heh...closer than you think, Saro, Automatic A/C and Voice Activated/Controlled [everything] are already here. If history is any indicator, they will trickle down to even the compacts and econoboxes inside ten years.  | ||
| Xl1200r |
I think anyone that even uses a cell phone in public should be beaten and tattooed. That's the only way they'll learn. Infernal things... why am I the only one with proper cell phone etiquette? Yeah, f*** technology. Who needs fuel injection? And who dares use an electric light in public! Damn, if I wanted light, I would wait 'till morning! No offense, but get real. I'm not defending people who talk on the phone while driving, but for all those who are on the preacher block about it, you have better not ever eaten or drank anything while on the road. Or check the clock, or change the radio station, or light a cigarette. Or have done anything that takes the least bit of your attention away from driving. | ||
| Badlionsfan |
+1 Xl1200r. The reason people get so worked up about the cell phone as a distraction is they can see the offending driver holding the phone. If someone is playing with their radio, gps, watching their kids fight in the back seat in the mirror, you can't see that. I talk on the phone every night with a hands free while I'm at work. Me and several of my co-workers who also drive all night will BS about nothing just to stay alert and not get sleepy. same deal with truck drivers and cb radios. most conversations are about nothing at all, just to pass time and stay alert. | ||
| Seanp |
I actually have my cell phone hooked up through my Zumo and Autocom on my bike so I can talk while riding. I never make calls out, and the only time I answer a call is when I'm in a calm area where there aren't a lot of cars around. And if I am on the phone, (really the only person I ever talk to is my wife) and get into a situation, I just stop talking. Same thing if she's actually sitting in the car with me while we drive. If I have to concentrate on driving, I stop talking. But XL1200r and Badlionsfan have it right - there are plenty of distractions other than cell phones. I mean, how many people, when driving their car, drive with your hands at 10 and 2, and never look inside the cockpit to touch the climate controls, radio controls, lights, etc... Cell phones are a distraction, and it definitely takes some processing power away from your brain. But they're not the only distraction out there... (Message edited by SeanP on June 17, 2008) | ||
| Mr_grumpy |
Europe. UK Yes Don't know Primary. France Yes Don't know Primary. | ||
| Azxb9r |
Some states already have laws concerning "distracted driving", but they don't seem to get enforced much. I would like to see cell phones banned while driving(at least hand helds), but I am afraid it would just end up being another un-enforced law. | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
"my question is, what on God's green earth do they have to talk so much about?" What they're going to buy on their way to the mall in a minivan full of kids and what they bought at the mall in a mini van full of kids. Just this season alone I've had 2 close calls with drivers making left hand turns while yapping with the mistress on their cell and not looking over their right shoulder. | ||
| Sparky |
Speaking about CB's, I take along a CB whenever I travel long distance (in the cage) just because the truckers know what's happening on the highway. Glad they're not banning CB's! | ||
| Badlionsfan |
Speaking about CB's, I take along a CB whenever I travel long distance (in the cage) just because the truckers know what's happening on the highway. Glad they're not banning CB's! Best radar/ laser detector in the world, and legal in every state! | ||
| Just_ziptab |
Local girl was killed last winter while traveling in a storm. She was killed instantly and was found with an unfinished text message on her phone. You do the math. Things would have been a lot better in general if the technology stopped with the bag phone. The convenience is way over rated.....you really can survive any crisis or day to day activities without a cell phone. My cell phone conversations typically last about a minute........"what do you want..........OK .......goodbye". My scanner used to pick up cell phone conversations...............it was sickening to listen in. Nothing but filth ,garbage and arguing. One dude was talking about what bar they was going to go to with the wives that night and was taking a crap at the same time.................complete with all the grunts and ah's | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
I hate to sound cruel, callous, old and like George Carlin but maybe some of these waterheads need to be drummed out of the gene pool. I mean, we've practically regulated every movement of a person's life from sun up till sundown and from cradle to grave. I get tired of being told what to do, how and when because some selfish prick who doesn't give a rat's ass can't handle a firearm, a cellphone or simple instructions. I do a lot of driving on the highway and I've seen everything from a woman doing her makeup and reading a book to a man getting a "hummer" from his passenger. So, it's not so much the cell phone as it is the moronic people using them. Please, allow me to be a mature adult and make decisions for myself and suffer any repercussions, accordingly. (Message edited by ferris_von_bueller on June 17, 2008) | ||
| Ratbuell |
Ferris, I agree completely. Unfortunately there is the very strong possibility that the texting moron will take one of us with them when they go, or worse yet, take one of us out and be perfectly fine to go about their lives. Our society has litigated natural selection (rather, natural de-selection) right out of existance. If I can't manage the complex sequence of left-right-left and stumble and trip on your sidewalk, I can sue you for all you're worth...and our legal system LETS ME. If someone pushes hard enough, the cell phone company will be the one who pays for their stupidity and injury from texting while driving. "If you didn't make the technology, I wouldn't have been using it". "Better judgement" and "common sense" are gone. If it were a case of putting all the yakkers, texters, makeup-appliers, meals-on-wheels-ers, and hummers (both the activity and the ridiculous, worthless SUVs in my opinion) on their own roads so all they killed or maimed was each other? Fine. Let 'em go at it and send me the videotape. On the road I have to travel to work every day? FU, clean up your act before you kill someone...namely ME. | ||
| Buellinachinashop |
"maybe some of these waterheads need to be drummed out of the gene pool." That's all well and good as long as they don't take somebody out with them. | ||
| Ferris_von_bueller |
That's all well and good as long as they don't take somebody out with them." On the face of it your argument is valid but in my opinion it's facetious. Just about everything people do has an inherent risk of harming or killing another person. That's just a fact of life. In fact, even if no other people were around and you lived in the woods there would be risks. At what point do we give up all semblance of control over our lives in order to be cocooned in a bubble of safety? There are those that believe motorcycles ought to be outlawed because they are dangerous. Others feel it's selfish and unwise to ride a motorcycle if you have children for fear of leaving them without a parent. Furthermore, motorcycle accidents tend to inflict serious injury placing a disproportunate burden on the cost of healthcare which is the impetus for helmet laws. (Message edited by ferris_von_bueller on June 17, 2008) | ||
| Oldog |
Please, allow me to be a mature adult and make decisions for myself and suffer any repercussions, accordingly. Thats part of the problem, things like Texting while driving! "mature adult!" the problem is FBDO We the motorcyclists and bicyclists pay for that privledge with our flesh and at times with our lives. Do I want a nanny state #@#$% NO. I will tell this again I was on my way to work last year, I came up behind a blond woman mid twenties in a gold honda sedan. she was all over her lane ( still in it ) speed erratic, head turning back and forth road seat road seat. I thought that she may have had a sick child in the front seat next to her, I was on my bike and decided to move up next to her so that I could offer to drive her to her destination, when I got there I see. A laptop on the passengers seat open and running, papers layed out all over the front of the car and an open book laying over her leg. I see too many distracted folks driving these days, Is there any thing that you need to talk about to any one that is worth risking the life of another? ban phones or make destracted driving while using a phone a fellony |
