2008 Woodie Awards
Our View: Ban on using cell phones while driving makes sense
Issue date: 11/9/07 Section: Opinion
While professors who have had a lecture interrupted by some blaring ringtone may not necessarily agree, the cellular telephone, like a variety of other technological developments that have entered our collective conscience in the last 15 or 20 years, has been a generally "good" thing.
Students no longer have to worry about punching in multi-digit numbers to activate calling cards to phone home on weekends. Crime victims can dial 9-1-1 within seconds of an attack. And some phones are now even equipped with special GPS-enabled software, which allows parents to know the location of their children.
But one issue relating to cell phone use-and no, it's not the lecture interruptions-has been the cause of debate in Pennsylvania of late: the use of cell phones by drivers.
An e-mail was sent out in early October alerting those on the receiving end that as of Nov. 10, in Pennsylvania, using a cell phone while operating a moving vehicle would be illegal and subject to fine. Though the e-mail has since been confirmed as a hoax, the possibility of banning the use of cell phones while driving is being considered at the state level.
As it should be.
The legislation being debated in Pennsylvania, in the form of House Bill No. 1827, which is currently in the state House Transportation Committee. If passed, Pennsylvania would join California, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York as the only states with such a ban. The District of Columbia also has a ban in place.
To us, the question at hand isn't so much "How can our government even try such a thing?" but rather, "What took the government so long to consider it?"
According to a survey performed in January by Nationwide Insurance, 73 percent of drivers polled said they talk on the phone while driving. Further, another study, executed last spring by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, indicates that nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of what are considered "near crashes" are the result of driver inattention, the leading cause of which is the use of cell phones.
In short, considering that evidence points to the fact that talking on the phone while driving is unsafe, it's hard to believe that more states haven't taken steps toward passing similar laws.
If anything, House Bill No. 1827 may be a bit too lenient. This is because the use of hands-free phones, which studies indicate may or may not be any safer than handheld phones when used while driving, would still be permitted. Additionally, those violating the law would be subject to a fine of just $50, a far cry from the $100-plus those exceeding the speed limit are fined.
Though some people may claim that banning the use of cell phones while driving is just another way the government is overstepping its bounds into the daily lives of Joe and Jane Citizen, the idea of a speed limit probably seemed like an assault on drivers' rights way back when, too.
And if the bill never passes?
Do yourself a favor, anyway, folks: Shut up and drive.
Students no longer have to worry about punching in multi-digit numbers to activate calling cards to phone home on weekends. Crime victims can dial 9-1-1 within seconds of an attack. And some phones are now even equipped with special GPS-enabled software, which allows parents to know the location of their children.
But one issue relating to cell phone use-and no, it's not the lecture interruptions-has been the cause of debate in Pennsylvania of late: the use of cell phones by drivers.
An e-mail was sent out in early October alerting those on the receiving end that as of Nov. 10, in Pennsylvania, using a cell phone while operating a moving vehicle would be illegal and subject to fine. Though the e-mail has since been confirmed as a hoax, the possibility of banning the use of cell phones while driving is being considered at the state level.
As it should be.
The legislation being debated in Pennsylvania, in the form of House Bill No. 1827, which is currently in the state House Transportation Committee. If passed, Pennsylvania would join California, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York as the only states with such a ban. The District of Columbia also has a ban in place.
To us, the question at hand isn't so much "How can our government even try such a thing?" but rather, "What took the government so long to consider it?"
According to a survey performed in January by Nationwide Insurance, 73 percent of drivers polled said they talk on the phone while driving. Further, another study, executed last spring by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, indicates that nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of what are considered "near crashes" are the result of driver inattention, the leading cause of which is the use of cell phones.
In short, considering that evidence points to the fact that talking on the phone while driving is unsafe, it's hard to believe that more states haven't taken steps toward passing similar laws.
If anything, House Bill No. 1827 may be a bit too lenient. This is because the use of hands-free phones, which studies indicate may or may not be any safer than handheld phones when used while driving, would still be permitted. Additionally, those violating the law would be subject to a fine of just $50, a far cry from the $100-plus those exceeding the speed limit are fined.
Though some people may claim that banning the use of cell phones while driving is just another way the government is overstepping its bounds into the daily lives of Joe and Jane Citizen, the idea of a speed limit probably seemed like an assault on drivers' rights way back when, too.
And if the bill never passes?
Do yourself a favor, anyway, folks: Shut up and drive.
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