10 Mar 10 Texting & Driving Ban

Reading about a possible anti texting while driving in today’s Digitel leads me to put fingers to keyboard here.

I’ve long felt that not only are there too many distractions for drivers these days, but that too many drivers simply don’t take driving seriously enough.

It’s potentially a lethal weapon in careless hands, and one reason just about everywhere in the world a driving test of some kind is required before one is allowed a license to drive, first.

Apparently, lawmakers are concerned over two main issues.

The first is that any new law is almost certainly to infringe on the individual’s civil liberties. While I would agree that there are already many petty rules and regulations that do just this, those that text and drive are not only putting their own safety, and indeed life, at risk but the safety and life of those around them – both other drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. You want to increase your own chances of dying in a wreck by not wearing a seat belt, go right ahead; you know the risks. Texting-while-driving is different for  the reasons stated above. If so many people can’t be responsible drivers then legislation is probably the only way to attempt to make them drop this dangerous practice.

The second issue is that it would be hard to enforce. There is some truth in this, as has been seen in the UK. Texting while driving (and even talking on a non-hands free cellphone) has been illegal for a half dozen years or so now, and yet people still do it.

The fines have been increased as have the number of penalty points on the license, and it has had some effect.

It’s often teenagers, who have less driving experience, and less speed/distance pereception, that are performing this dangerous practice the most.

Still, do we not pass other laws because they might be difficult to enforce? It can be difficult to track down a murderer or a rapist. The drug laws in most countries are quite ineffective, but there are still laws against murder, rape, and drug taking.

The sooner that the message is pushed out there to everyone, that texting and driving is as bad as drinking and driving, the more chance we have of reducing its occurrence.

People still drink and drive, but it’s arguably not nearly as prevalent as it was years ago, when there were no real DUI laws in place.

Tags: careless hands, civil liberties, dangerous practice, driving experience, fingers, free cellphone, lethal weapon, pedestrians, penalty points, responsible drivers, teenagers, texting