The no-texting-while-driving law and the one demanding that gabby cell phone drivers use hands-free devices in California is a joke and many driving on the Cal State Long Beach campus laugh heartily at it.
It’s not like the law has any teeth or anything. In fact, it doesn’t even wear dentures.
President Barack Obama saw texting while driving as such a transportation hazard, he signed an Executive Order last week banning federal employees from text messaging when they are driving on the job or in a government-owned vehicle.
The announcement was made during a two-day summit in Washington, D.C on distracted driving.
Obama’s order is one of pragmatism but, unfortunately, the federal government can’t force states to enact similar laws. At least not the general driving public.
Being a mobile society means we accept certain responsibilities for the safety of other people when we’re behind the wheel. Just because we have the technological means to thumb-blab with our BFF while barreling down the highway, doesn’t give us the right to put others at risk.
Nine people were killed and 70 injured in June when two trains collided in Washington, D.C. An engineer on the train admitted text messaging just seconds before the crash.
Last September, a Los Angeles Metrolink train plowed head on into an oncoming commuter train killing 25 people instantly and injuring about 135. The engineer on that train, who died instantly, was shown to have been texting some teenagers just seconds before.
But many people think, “Those were trains, though. What does it have to do with driving a car and sending a quick OMG to mom?” A lot.
A study by the National Center for Statistics and Analysis estimates people driving while texting avert their eyes from the road for five seconds per text. That could be a recipe for disaster in the best of worlds.
A recent study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute shows that “the risk of a crash is 23 times greater while texting compared with non-distracted driving.”
The federal government could twist the arms of any state institution, like CSULB, that gets federal funding, like Pell Grants for instance. Perhaps that could be the carrot on the stick to wake people up.
It’s pretty sad that the majority needs laws passed in order to protect us from the few who don’t care whether the rest of us live or die, but that’s the nature of the driving animal. We need laws to protect us from drunk, negligent and reckless drivers.
Many states, including California, have already passed anti-text messaging laws. These follow the numerous states that passed laws banning using cell phones without hands-free devices. It’s illegal for school and transit bus drivers to use a cell phone while driving, as well.
The problem with state laws is they aren’t practiced or enforced enough. This is why the current administration is considering a stricter policy toward states by tying a ban to federal highway funds. If a state doesn’t pass the law, it could lose 25 percent of it infrastructure money from the feds. Good.
It’s clear the current fines imposed by individual states isn’t hefty enough. Many people, including law enforcement agencies, ignore it completely. Drivers are still yacking on their cell phones and texting as if the laws are a joke.
The federal ban is important, but it needs to be backed up by similar city and state regulations.