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Allow the communication only in non-driver seats, and in driver's seat when the vehicle is parked.
Now I am picturing people hold their phone over their passenger seat or way up near the headliner to send/exchange texts. That can't be dangerous at all.
you can't separate data out from text, or out from the normal communication to and from the cell towers telling the towers where the phones are, especially on LTE networks. So there's no way of detecting or cutting off just texting. An even though I don't use texting hardly ever, and never while driving, I do use data while driving, due to Pandora, iHeartRadio, nav (with real time traffic) and the like, as well as the occasioanl hands free call. So cutting off my phone while driving from being able to communicate from it's mount on the console or even sitting in my pocket, is a big red flag for me. And there's no way of telling from outside if that cell phone signal is coming from teh driver, teh pasenger or even just a pocket or purse inside the car (becaeu a cell phone that is on is in constant communication with the cell towers, just to determine where it's at)
Actually, car wrecks, deaths, and injuries are at an all time low.
It is obvious from a statistics point that the texting issue has not been that much of an impact as people perceive, a person was much more likely to be involved in a car wreck two decades ago when cell phones were not around.
Not saying texting while driving should not be dealt with, but pointing out it is not the end of the world epidemic some people (not saying you specifically) are making it out to be.
See, people such as yourself are fooled into thinking the stats tell the whole story. Well here are a few things you probably did not consider. Many laws prohibiting texting are new and the stats are just now starting to be tabulated. Remember when people were maiming and killing others, if it was not against the law, no stats were being kept.
I personally know a person who was killed by a texting driver, but they did not even list it that way because it was not against the law at that time. The judge would not even allow it to be admitted at trial since it had no legal bearing on the case.
So before you assume the thoughts in your post are accurate, consider the aforementioned.
As much as I absolutely hate Texting and driving, I don't see why any information on the data sent to and from my vehicle should is any business of my government.
From a privacy standpoint we agree. However here are two things to consider.
One, most everything you send and receive might very well be monitored by a government or private agency, having nothing to do with you driving. I am not agreeing with it, but it is a reality people had better realize if they want to try and put a stop to it.
Second, as it relates to this topic, you can have your cake and eat it too if your concern is genuinely about privacy.
The laws should be set up to where LE need not look at the specifics of the text, rather just that texting was being conducted(i.e. received-sent). So the specifics of the content should not be made available to LE, just the generic fact that you were texting and driving when an accident occurred.
My aunt was rear-ended while stopped at a red light by a young person texting. She suffered a severe whiplash and has neck, back and headache issues because of it to this day (it happened 2 years ago). Young drivers have the highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes (per the CDC website). I don't know the answer for how to best deal with this issue, but unless people wise up and just stop the friggin texting while driving, a device will be coming along to make you stop (insurance companies will make sure of it). Speaking of insurance companies, my son (a young adult) volunteered to have a device installed in his car to lower his insurance rates. It beeps everytime he brakes or accelerates suddenly, swerves, or anytime it detects any other swift/sudden movements. I guess there is a margin of allowance (probably because other drivers can cause you to brake fast, swerve to avoid an accident, etc.)---so he's allowed some wiggle room. But, overall it's working for him--and he's kept his rates low -- and is driving more safely, too.
The laws should be set up to where LE need not look at the specifics of the text, rather just that texting was being conducted(i.e. received-sent). So the specifics of the content should not be made available to LE, just the generic fact that you were texting and driving when an accident occurred.
Are you with me?
Except that you can't separate texting from the general data that is being sent back and forth between the cell tower and the phone... Because text messages are in wedged as infill between the constant "here's cellphone 532! wassup!- this is tower 149, how's it hanging?" chatter that's constantly going on between handsets and base stations. Unless you want to intercept all of those bits with a portable fake tower (IMSI catcher) and do some deep packet inspection, there's no way you can distinguish between messages sent from the phone to other users and messages send between the phone and the base station. And you certainly can't distinguish automatically sent messages from the passenger's or random pedestrian's phone or from a fleet tracker device, from manually sent ones from the driver's phone.
See, people such as yourself are fooled into thinking the stats tell the whole story. Well here are a few things you probably did not consider. Many laws prohibiting texting are new and the stats are just now starting to be tabulated. Remember when people were maiming and killing others, if it was not against the law, no stats were being kept.
I personally know a person who was killed by a texting driver, but they did not even list it that way because it was not against the law at that time. The judge would not even allow it to be admitted at trial since it had no legal bearing on the case.
So before you assume the thoughts in your post are accurate, consider the aforementioned.
Not even close; traffic wrecks, injuries, and deaths are not calculated based off if the situation was due to a violation of the law. I have no idea where you even get this from, except to make it up to justify your own opinion in the matter.
The fact is; traffic accidents, injuries, and deaths have been decreasing, they were even decreasing before cell phones became the norm. The problem with this for people like you is, it counters what you want to believe/perceive, like all those people who think crime is at an all time high.
This is not at all saying that the text while driving should not be addressed, it should be, but traffic accidents are not at epidemic levels they way some people act/think it is.
Really, there other issues that cause way more traffic accidents that should be addressed, rather than get hyped up over texting.
"I personally know a person who was killed by a texting driver, but they did not even list it that way because it was not against the law at that time. The judge would not even allow it to be admitted at trial since it had no legal bearing on the case."
Either the story is BS, or you have the most incompetent judge in the US; whether a person is texting, eating, putting on cosmetics, etc, it is against the law in some form or another in all states to be distracted while driving. A person can be cited for distracted driving for eating a hamburger and crashing into someone. The wreck I was in the driver was cited for distracted driving because he admitted to having his head turned talking to the people in the back seat and blowing through a stop sign, and this happened long before cell phones.
The laws should be set up to where LE need not look at the specifics of the text, rather just that texting was being conducted(i.e. received-sent). ....
Are you with me?
A received text? So if I am driving somewhere and someone texts ME, but I do not answer because I am driving, you still want the law to say because my phone RECEIVED a text, I should be stopped? Uh, NO!
No, I am not with you.
I just got back from driving 150 miles today. I never texted at all while driving, but my phone was on the entire time. I was using the Waze app and I was streaming some music for a time.
I still think my idea is better.
Make it mandatory that all mobile electronic devices have a chip installed that shuts down and locks the device when it senses motion, and that includes walking.
It will only allow the device to work when it is not picking up motion.
Bob.
My new Camry XLE has this on the built-in navigation system. Problem is, not even the passengers can use it if the car is rolling.
As to the OP, it's time to do something about texting while driving, because it's causing a lot of horrible traffic accidents. Frankly, I think it's shocking that there are THAT manner stupid people in the world, who think it's okay to text and drive.
My mother's car was totaled the other day as she stopped for a bus that had its lights flashing across the street. The woman who hit her never put the brakes on. My mother survived, but she suffered a slight concussion, bruised pretty badly from the seat belt saving her life and whip lash. Eye witnesses said the woman who hit her had her head down before the crash. Hmmmm. Wonder what she was doing? She couldn't wait to text or read her response. Look at all the damage she has done to my mother and herself. Her car was badly damaged too. What a huge price to pay!
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