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Agreed, fines for texting should be higher. As high as a DUI, not likely. Drinking is mind altering. As another poster said, people are distracted by many things, kids, eating, putting on make-up, etc. With that said, if it can be proven that someone was on their phone and it caused an accident the fine should triple or license should be suspended. If it kills someone, jail time.
Yes, I am aware of that. But there are limits to what we can expect. It's like states in which it's illegal to drink from a water bottle when you're driving. That's an unreasonable limitation, in my view.
You can also be distracted by looking at some building passing. Shall we make "looking" illegal, also? If you look at a billboard should you get 3 points?
Talking on the phone, hands free or not, is a different kind of distraction than looking at a billboard. When talking to someone who is not in the car you tend to visualize the person as if you are having a face-to-face conversation. It is that visualization that is dangerous to driving. You have put your mind in another place. All phone conversations should be outlawed, IMO.
Texting is different from a phone convo - there is no visualization going on but your eyes are not on the road. Many phones have voice texting which is a good compromise.
Texting/using the phone occurs in intervals whereas diving while intoxicated is constant.
How are these numbers, texting is 8 time as dangerous as DUI, calculated?
Is conversing with someone on a cell phone more dangerous than conversing with someone in the car?
If we eliminate all phone related accidents, we'll still have accidents. Not counting the DUI accidents, what will be the cause of most of the other accidents? I'd guess driver inattentiveness of some sort. Passengers, radios, heaters, AC, reclining seats, windows, kid, etc all distract drivers.
No calls to make these things illegal.
Is this supported by evidence or just your opinion?
It doesn't feel true in my experience. I'd say I'm just as likely to visualize the beach that my friend and I are talking about while in the car together as I am to visualize the person that I'm talking to on my phone (unless its a phone sex conversation )
It's my opinion, not supported by evidence, that part of the resistance to cell phone use while driving and DUI is that it's easily identifiable: phone records, blood tests. Whereas other distractions are not. I'm not sure that's a good way (though I'm not sure that it's not) to enact punishments - ease of identification.
Now something just doesn't add up here on my calculator! You would think, given the comparison, that the former fine should be close to $4000-$5000.
What do you think?
This is one of my biggest pet peeves people do while driving. I don't think that's enough I want the cop too have the legal right to shove their cellphone up the drivers arse & they when they have to have it removed at the hospital they pay for it & have their name put on the news.
Talking on the phone, hands free or not, is a different kind of distraction than looking at a billboard. When talking to someone who is not in the car you tend to visualize the person as if you are having a face-to-face conversation. It is that visualization that is dangerous to driving. You have put your mind in another place. All phone conversations should be outlawed, IMO.
Texting is different from a phone convo - there is no visualization going on but your eyes are not on the road. Many phones have voice texting which is a good compromise.
so hands-free calling is bad
but hands-free texting is okay.
that makes no sense.
Too many people today think we should micromanage EVERYTHING to eliminate ALL risk. It has to be reasonable.
I think driving while not looking at the road for 5-10 seconds at a time is madness.I'm surprised a device isnt incorporated into cars that prevents cell phone use from the drivers seat while the car is in motion.
Expense and they'd find a way to get around it.
Frankly I think that if they can show you caused an accident due to cell use then you should face some penalty similar to DUI.
so hands-free calling is bad
but hands-free texting is okay.
that makes no sense.
Too many people today think we should micromanage EVERYTHING to eliminate ALL risk. It has to be reasonable.
The problem is one driver may be willing to assume the risks associated with texting/calling while driving, but s/he has ZERO right to impose those risks on other drivers on the road.
Exactly which conversations do people think are important enough that they can't wait until you can get off the road? Dinner plans? What your GF's BBF's brother's teammate said about blah blah blah? Rescheduling your dentist appt? Are those worth the risks imposed by texting/talking about them?
And what do you all do if you call someone and find out they're driving a car? Do you go ahead and talk about all that stuff, or do you tell them to return your call when they're off the road? How would you feel if you continued the conversation and heard the crash that occurred during the call?
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I don't think that's enough I want the cop too have the legal right to shove their cellphone up the drivers arse & they when they have to have it removed at the hospital they pay for it & have their name put on the news. 