Quote:
Originally Posted by Whosdaman
California's law is for all cel phone use except bluetooth....that will most likely be the law, not just texting....cause how will an officer beable to tell if your dialing a number or texting? Exactly, the law will be for all use of a cell phone except hands free operations
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That seems to be a step in the right direction, but I still think it is bad law.
Innocent until proven guilty; take the minute statement and texting records to court for the day in question and prove that I was not texting nor was I talking on my cell phone. I don't know what the LEO thinks s/he observed, but I wasn't texting or talking on my cell phone. Based on the evidence presented, the judge wouldn't have much choice but to dismiss the charges.
However, if the legislation writes law that is based on observed behavior as opposed to a particular device, then it's a little more difficult to get a case thrown out in the scenario described above.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Whosdaman
I'm so thankful they are finally bringing this to Florida....it is the worse place for accidents with cell phones involved
I do it as well, but no where near as much as my friends....they scare me when i ride with them :'(
And for the people who think this is stupid....your stupid because when you or a loved one gets killed by a person texting, NOT A DRUNK DRIVER, youll see the good in this....hopefully
Because the rates of getting in an accident while texting is much worse than a drunk driver doing it....and drinking a can of soda or smoking cant compare, you can pay attention to the road and do those easily, try looking down at your phone and text then trying drinking a can of soda. Amazing you can see the road when drinking the soda, unless you made some new way to drink a can of soda looking down?
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According to statistics from the National Insurance Institute, the accident rate does not differ appreciably between drivers engaging in the use of bluetooth hands-free devices and those holding the handset to their ear. I don't necessarily believe the statistics, but it is purportedly recognized as a scientific study.
In the hopes of stating my goal clearly; I believe that any (clearly observable) activity, which could serve to distract a driver, should be something that LEO is permitted to pull over and investigate. I don't want them put in a box that only covers cell phone use, texting, ect.
The point being that I have acquaintances who can tx9 on their cell phone without looking at the keyboard or screen of their phone. They need to see the messages they receive, but they can compose and send without looking at their phones. I can quite easily drink a McDonald's Sweet Tea with a straw and not in any way be distracted by the road. Making either of those activities explicitly illegal is bad law. However, giving the LEO a discretionary ability to stop any driver that appears to be distracted by whatever they are doing behind the wheel is a step in the right direction.
IMHO ...
Best regards,
-boggsie