school zone cell phone ban in dallas

[roach]

yeah. turns out.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent ... 9c76d.html

[aquaphase]

I noticed the signs and was confused.

[monet2u]

July 1st is handsfree in CA only (unless for a 911 call). I wish they could ban all phone use hands free or otherwise. People cannot drive while talking on the phone. Everytime I see a stupid driver do a stupid driving move...they're just about always on the freakin' phone. UGH. Not to mention people aren't very good drivers these days anyway. Too many distractions in general (cd, radio, curling irons, etc.).

[katie]

i bet a lot of these laws are pushed through by people who have invested money in hands-free sets.

[monet2u]

or by people that have been hurt by drivers not paying attention.

[katie]

i'd like to see some statistics on this. if it's so dangerous, why just in school zones? kids are the only lives worth saving, then?

let's outlaw eating in the car, messing with the radio, talking to passengers, smoking cigarettes, etc, then. i'm not really saying it's a bad law, i think it's a no brainer that texting and talking on the phone in the car are not the best of ideas. i just want to see statistics on how many kids have been injured in school zones because of drivers on their phones, and i also want to see what kind of lobby is behind this bill.

maybe i'm just cynical, but you can't tell me that the handsfree companies stand to make a huge fortune from these kinds of laws if they go nation-wide. i would just like to see some facts.

[monet2u]

well perhaps in Dallas it's just school zone, but as I've state above. we go handsfree here in all of CA. that's 58 counties and endless school zones.

and as I've also stated...I wish they could outlaw other things people do while driving...because simply said, it detracts from the act of driving! As well I think that no calls should be taken or made while driving even handsfree calls.

just googled some statistics for use in general. there's plenty out there...you might find some for dallas on tehre. Honestly this time I don't think it's the handsfree product makers out to make more money (they just got lucky)...this is a movement in saftey...like the seatbelt was way back when.

http://www.iii.org/media/hottopics/insu ... ellphones/

http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30 ... 809967.pdf

http://www.newsdial.com/technology/comm ... stics.html

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/07/12/cells. ... index.html

[katie]

thanks for the info, a lot of the things you posted were really interesting to read. i'm not disagreeing with you that it's a good law to pass. i'm just saying that outlawing other things (eating in the car, putting on makeup in the car, smoking cigarettes in the car, having a tv in the car) can be just as dangerous as talking on your cell phone, but there hasn't been a big push to outlaw any of that, which strikes me as a little curious. when i think of why perhaps none of that has a big lobby behind it, the first answer that comes to mind is that someone is standing to make money from these handsfree laws.

The new study found that the most common distraction is the use of cellphones, followed by drowsiness. However, cellphone use is far less likely to be the cause of a crash or near-miss than other distractions, according to the study. For example, while reaching for a moving object such as a falling cup increased the risk of a crash or near-crash by nine times, talking or listening on a hand-held cellphone only increased the risk by 1.3 times.

These findings confirm an August 2003 report from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety that concluded that drivers are far less distracted by their cellphones than by other common activities, such as reaching for items on the seat or glove compartment or talking to passengers. That study was based on the analysis of videotapes from cameras installed in the vehicles of 70 drivers in North Carolina and Pennsylvania.

yet these other things, which have been shown to be more dangerous have not been outlawed, and as far as i know, there is no push to outlaw them. it's just curious, is all i'm trying to say.

and then, i saw this!

As of late 2001, an additional 20 states were debating laws related to cell phones and motor vehicles. However, these study results suggest that banning hand-held phone use won’t necessarily enhance safety if users just change to hands-free phones. Injury crash risk did not differ from one type of phone use to another.

This new cell phone statistics from this study are consistent with research conducted in 1997 that also showed phone use was associated with a fourfold increase in the risk of property damage crash. A study by the National Safety Council found that drivers talking on cell phones missed twice as many simulated traffic signals and took longer to react to those signals they detected. Again, the results were the same for hand-held and hands-free devices.

so, according to these guys, it doesn't even work to go hands-free! i know you say you're against even the handsfree stuff, and according to that study, you're absolutely right. i'm really not trying to attack you or anything, i'm just looking into all this stuff for the first time and coming up with questions as to why this recent push for handsfree.

[mere1975]

"The ban went into effect June 1"

Just wondering how we're supposed to know these things. Unless, of course, you're a Forker and Roach posted it like a good citizen.

- Mere "guess I haven't driven through a DISD school zone lately, or maybe missed the signs?!" 1975

[Phyllis]

i just had this conversation with someone while i was driving over here. however the person was actually with me in the car, i wasn't talking to her on a cellphone.

but yeah, no one is SOOOO important that they have to talk on the phone while they're driving. like, srsly? you're so important you can't wait until you get home/to the gastation/to the important people place? if you're that important plz hire a personal driver who isn't a dumbass so you can talk on the phone all day and NOT cut me off and be a dumb bitch. thx.

[sam]

So one of our clients is telling us about this friend of his that is on the blackberry while in traffic in Houston, hits a truck, and, wait for it...DIES! It sounded totally like a joke until we got the "punchline." Then the awkward pause, and on to business. Strange stuff.

[Dalya]

i'm sorry but a fucking child (or worse, multiple children) is more distracting than any cell phone conversation will ever be. I could probably text while driving better than I could drive with screaming children in the back. until they require parents to have sound-proof partitions they can't really ban anything else...

p.s. I have almost gotten in several accidents because of eating, never because of answering or talking on the phone.

dal "damn ketchup drips on my white pants" ya

[katie]

So one of our clients is telling us about this friend of his that is on the blackberry while in traffic in Houston, hits a truck, and, wait for it...DIES!

you know who talked on his cell phone in the car? JIMI HENDRIX. you know what happened to him? HE DIED!

k"f&g 4lyfe"tie

[eebs]

the law over here is a bit wider than just banning mobile phones - if the police think that you're driving without due care and attention they can give you a fine and put some points on your licence.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... dwich.html

You could also be fined for using a handsfree set if it means you are driving carelessly.

[Sybil]

I seem to recall that the town of Highland Park, which I think was the first in this area to ban cell phones in school zones, did a study before passing the law. They found that in about 70% of the traffic violations occurring in school zones, the driver was on the phone - that's what spurred them to propose the ban in the first place. Not a surprising statistic.

As for children - pffft! If they're YOUR children, you won't even hear the screaming and squabbling. It must be something evolutionary that ensures the survival of the species. Parents develop a unique ability to filter the annoying sounds their children make, as well as those of other young children. You can observe this phenomenon in any public place where parents and children congregate - you're thinking "WHY DON'T THEY DO SOMETHING ABOUT THOSE KIDS!", and the parents are blithely enjoying their pizza.

BTW, this ability disappears about the time your children hit puberty. I guess new coping mechanisms become necessary to keep you from killing them.

Sybil