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The Chapel Hill Town Council voted to ban drivers from using cell phones, becoming the first town in the country to approve such a measure. The vote came despite an opinion from the state attorney general's office that a ban would be outside the town's authority.
I don't see how they are going to ban hands free devices that come with cars. Obviously if someone has a phone to their ear, that's obvious, but it's too easy to go hands-free without an earpiece now. One of the council members was shown saying "if you have a car with built-in hands-free you can't use it" ... OK, good luck enforcing that.
My bet: This law gets tossed out at the first court challenge, as an impermissable usurpation of state authority to regulate in such areas.
This is a huge overreach by the town of Chapel Hill.
Thankfully for me, I hate talking on the phone and rarely use my cell phone for actual phone calls. When I do it's almost always my wife or one of my kids - and under the Chapel Hill law it will be perfectly legal for me to be distracted by them while driving.
This is a huge overreach by the town of Chapel Hill.
While it may be an overreach, sometimes local governments need to stir the pot to force the issue with state governments. I personally am VERY tired of the many near accidents that cell phone users inflict on me while I'm driving. In the last month my husband had to run off the road significantly to the avoid a person from hitting us as she veered into our lane around a curve. She was going too fast and talking on her cell phone. If he had not reacted as quickly I'm convinced that one of my family members would either be dead or critically injured. A neighbor was in the car behind us and he too thought we were going to be dead.
So thank you Chapel Hill for forcing this issue!!!!
I don't see how they are going to ban hands free devices that come with cars. Obviously if someone has a phone to their ear, that's obvious, but it's too easy to go hands-free without an earpiece now. One of the council members was shown saying "if you have a car with built-in hands-free you can't use it" ... OK, good luck enforcing that.
Who cares. It is amazing how many people I see texting while driving, and that is already supposed to be illegal. I don't think they will have any shortage of people to hand out tickets to, once they do decide to begin enforcement.
I think that as the years go on, you will see cases with more and more cars with built in blue tooth that will allow them to use their cars as basically one big speaker phone so that they aren't as distracted. Considering most if not all phones not have built in blue tooth technology, it's just a matter of more cars having that feature.
Whether you are holding the phone or talking hands free, I think it is the actual TALKING and THINKING while you talk that is distracting! Your mind is somewhere else when you are talking on the phone, it isn't concentrating on the road.
How many times have you been talking on the phone while driving home and then wonder HOW you got there?!!
Yes, I talk on the phone while I drive. Sometimes hands free, sometimes not. I always go to the far right lane but I am still distracted.
While you are at it, Chapel Hill, make reading a newspaper while driving, illegal!!! I saw that yesterday!
Whether you are holding the phone or talking hands free, I think it is the actual TALKING and THINKING while you talk that is distracting! Your mind is somewhere else when you are talking on the phone, it isn't concentrating on the road.
How many times have you been talking on the phone while driving home and then wonder HOW you got there?!!
Yes, I talk on the phone while I drive. Sometimes hands free, sometimes not. I always go to the far right lane but I am still distracted.
While you are at it, Chapel Hill, make reading a newspaper while driving, illegal!!! I saw that yesterday!
Vicki
But how is this any different than talking to someone in the car with you (assuming you are using hands-free on the cell phone)? I agree that talking on the phone with it up to your ear should be illegal as you taking one hand off the wheel, but with hands-free, its no different than having a conversation with someone next to you.
Thankfully for me, I hate talking on the phone and rarely use my cell phone for actual phone calls. When I do it's almost always my wife or one of my kids - and under the Chapel Hill law it will be perfectly legal for me to be distracted by them while driving.
The exemption for talking to family members makes this law all the more useless. Seems like it is going to lead to a large number of unnecessary stops. Or it will only be used as an additional charge to pile on once somebody has already been stopped for some other infraction or has caused an accident.
It's a secondary offense law right now, which means they can't stop you just for cell phone use - only if they stop you for something else. That's why the whole "Even if you're using the blue tooth" thing useless. Pretty hard to prove that in any case.
And, studies have shown that cell phone talkers are more distracted even if hands free, even as compared to having a person in the car with them. Most people are trying to talk about and idea and they are pcituring the person on the other end. Personally, I find talking to someone even in the car a bit distracting.
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