Mandatory jail time for texting and driving (car crash, 2010, Audi)
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I dont condone texting while driving whatsoever, but if you're going to impose fines/imprisonment for texting while driving, then shouldnt the same apply to changing your radio station while driving?...adjusting the hvac controls while driving?....adjusting your mirror while driving?...holding on to and drinking a beverage while driving?....talking to any passengers in the car while driving?....etc. All those mentioned fall under "distracted driving". Many people like to single out cell phone use as the main reason for accidents yet distracted driving accidents have been happening for many years before the cell phone even existed!
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes--absolutely, dead on, spot on, totally 100% correct.
I will also say it--those who make out like texting is different are full of bologna. Period. I'd even say they're bigots.
If the person has to go to jail for three days, they have to have their cell phone in jail. Otherwise it would be cruel and unusual punishment, which is unconstitutional.
I notice the statistics mentioned in this thread are for numbers of cell phones that cause accidents, not numbers of text messaging incidents. I bet voice phone usage causes 100 times more accidents than the text messages. With text messages, you can type 1 letter at a time, with 1 hand, then glance at the phone to verify the letter, so you're never distracted for more than a fraction of a second. With voice calls, you have to pay attention in real time, no matter what's happening on the road, or you will miss what's being said. Some accidents are caused by not seeing what's happening, but some are caused by seeing it but not thinking about its implications.
Allowing cell phones while going 5 MPH would not work. A small child could be using a cell phone while walking on the sidewalk, and could wander into the street while distracted by the conversation. It only takes one tire running over a small head to make a very graphic fatal accident scene. Or a bicycle. Even if you could stop your car when it hit the bicycle at close to zero MPH, just making the rider lose his balance could cause a fatal accident.
And cell phones are gradually becoming obsolete, being replaced by iPads and the like. Those could distract a driver just as much or more. So no cell phone law is going to solve the problem. Even a paper map distracts drivers.
The only solution is self-driving cars. And those are coming much faster than most people imagine. The very next car you buy might be self-driving, depending on when you buy it. They could reduce the accident rate to its lowest level ever, by ending most accidents caused by driver error, drunk driving, and drivers distracted by devices, maps, passengers, etc. They could also reduce traffic jams, by keeping the traffic moving at the optimum speed for the situation.
By the time laws are changed to put cell phone users in jail, such laws will probably be obsolete.
This post makes absolutely no sense at all. Texting, by its very nature, requires repeated breaks in attention to the road. A phone call allows one to tune out the talker if one chooses. (BUT it's still a distraction, and I will sometimes pull over to talk on the phone, especially in heavy traffic. I would NEVER text, despite having been tempted to several times).
Texting while driving needs to bring the hammer down on offenders. Big time.
LOL the logic of the bozos who replied to my thread is clearly displayed here. what bozos!
Why is everyone a BOZO to you? Were you raised in a circus and relate to such? Go to McDonld's a lot just to play on the kiddie gym and sit on Ronald's lap? The Mcdonald's down the road closed up their play area and have one of those big old play trees inside. I want to buy it from them.
Ok, if not jail for the driver what would you guys say to the car being impounded for 5 days first offense?
1 Month second offense.
Forfeiture of vehicle 3rd offense and revocation of driver's license for life.
Can I borrow your car?
Probably ought to explain that one, as it can be interpreted several ways.. The way I meant it was.. Say I borrow your car and get caught texting while driving. And it's my third offense. You just lost your car.
Would you necessarily know that I had been convicted twice of TWD?
I don't agree with the fact that some police departments will go for vehicle forfeiture for someone picking up a hooker, in a borrowed car. Property forfeiture should only be used in felony cases. IMO.
I just keep going back to priorities.. As the quote goes.. Need a license to drive, license to fish, etc.. But any old a-hole can be a parent. There's better places we can and should be focusing.
Not sure if its been posted, but Werner Herzog did a PSA called "From One Second to the Next," which is about texting while driving. There are interviews with both victims, victim's families and the people that caused the accident. It's a very powerful documentary. I highly recommend it to anyone, as well as those who text and drive.
I agree, if you're going to endanger the lives of of others, a little jail time won't hurt you
better not take your eyes off the road for a couple seconds to change the station or adjust the a/c, because it's the same thing. A little jail time won't hurt you right?
Probably ought to explain that one, as it can be interpreted several ways.. The way I meant it was.. Say I borrow your car and get caught texting while driving. And it's my third offense. You just lost your car.
Would you necessarily know that I had been convicted twice of TWD?
I don't agree with the fact that some police departments will go for vehicle forfeiture for someone picking up a hooker, in a borrowed car. Property forfeiture should only be used in felony cases. IMO.
I just keep going back to priorities.. As the quote goes.. Need a license to drive, license to fish, etc.. But any old a-hole can be a parent. There's better places we can and should be focusing.
They can check who the vehicle is registered to... If it's someone else's car then have someone else retrieve it and loss of license makes sense
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