Thursday, January 22, 2009
Illegal to text while driving? How ridiculous!
What has this state come to? Some one has let our mothers take over legislature in Bismarck! It seems that these days, you no longer have the ability to decide for yourself if something could adversely affect your health. Our nations definition of "freedom" is narrowing. First they make it illegal to drive without wearing your seat belt, than they take away your ability to smoke in a public place, now they want to take away our ability to communicate with others via text message. this has gone too far. Bismarck state representatives have introduced legislation to ban "driving while texting." Offenders would have to pay a $100 fine and get a two-point driver's license penalty. Am I the only one that thinks this is a total violation of our rights? Maybe the people who like to find ways to control our lives should take a look at this pretty important document when going on their rampages. it seems like whenever a new technology is introduced the people that don't understand it, try to eliminate it from their worlds. good thing they haven't been introduced to the navigation systems found in today's newer vehicles! it is harder to pay attention to the road with one of these things compared to the few seconds it takes a person to type the average 50 characters per text message. So the morel of the day is, think things through and listen to both sides of a story before passing judgment. thank you and have a good day.
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Think of it this way: when the average person texts, they hold the phone in their lap and look at it the entire time they are typing. How the heck do people even manage to drive and text at the same time? You have to admit, it sounds pretty unsafe.
ReplyDeleteBefore Dr. Vanhorn asks us both how this relates to PR, I am going to answer her question. I think the legislature needs to market this bill rather than force it upon people. If it is marketed with statistics showing how dangerous it is to drive while texting, it may be more easily accepted by the population.
I know the state has a communications department, and this sounds like the perfect project for them to undertake. People like to have things explained to them rather than forced upon them. Change is often difficult to deal with, but if we know that we are changing to save lives, it makes it a little bit easier.
I agree about the navigation systems, they are also distracting. However, as Heather said, it is hard to text and drive at the same time, unless you can text without looking at your phone at all. That is quite a big fine for texting while driving as well as two points off your license that might be quite much. I think that you shouldn't text while you drive but I don't believe the punishment for doing so should be so high. I must admit that I myself have texted while driving and almost got into an accident, I believe that just over all it's too distracting to text and drive.
ReplyDeleteYou seem very passionate about this and I agree that there are so many laws that restrict us from making our own decisions. But I agree with this law a little bit. Some people might be pros at texting with driving while others are not good at all. I honestly hate it when I'm driving with someone and they are texting.
ReplyDeleteI think that the law is more of a threat then anything. How is the law enforcement really going to be able to make sure people don't text while driving? I also think that the punishment is very harsh. I have not heard of any accidents that have occured because someone was texting, but I have heard of accidents happening because of speeding. Like I said before, I think it is more of a threat then anything.
There is a good and bad side of banning texting. The bad side (if we were still in high school) is that now teenage high school students can't text plans to their buddies while they drive around at night. But the good side is this may cut down some of the accidents, or near accidents that occur. Because all-in-all driving and doing anything else is very distracting. Music, smoking, taking a drink, talking on the phone... etc.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I try not to text too much when I drive, but I have done it countless times. And I know how dangerous it is to detach your eyes from the road for even a few seconds at a time.
Hopefully, if it passes, they don't enforce the points and that large of a fine.
Why is it so hard to wait a few minutes until you arrive at your desination until you text? I don't understand the big deal about why this is so upsetting. We live in a society where people want to be able to do anything on their own terms even if it means putting other people's lives at risk. There are numerous cases of fatal accidents involving talking on cell phones and texting. It's time to learn to care about other people and put our cell phones aside for a few minutes. We can wait to text in order to be better and more courteous drivers, can't we?
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