NTSB Urges Ban of Cell Phone Use While Driving

Well there's another discrepancy in that you can still be prosecuted for being in charge of a stationary motor vehicle with the engine running whilst on the phone. So pull over to the side of the road to take that call and they could still do you. But in a Prius the engine is off so could you still make calls whilst in stationary traffic and get away with it?

 

In the last year I've almost been broadsided twice, in two local(25mph) towns, by police cars running stop signs, looking in the other direction, cell phone to the ear, driving slowly,luckily, no lights flashing, just inattentive drivers, well attentive to whomever they were hustling on the other end of the line.

First thing I look at concerning cars around me is the drivers ears, I want to know who's paying attention... sorta like, I have a Valentine1 and it let's me know where the speed traps are so I can watch the drivers around me when they realize they've been painted by radar while speeding, they always brake and swerve.

I bet you are, I wait to see who's calling

Bottom line, it's all about the money, but the cell phone companies already have the money, if you don't use all your free minutes, oh, to bad, they made a little more profit, oh, no cell phones in cars, to bad, but you still have to pay your cell phone bill. Don't think the cell phone lobby is going to be on the side of the consumer here.

 

iirc, the cell phone lobby stifled an ntsb study a few years ago showing cell phone use in cars to be dangerous.

 

"As far as industry lobbyists are concerned the studies for and against cell phone distractions are inconclusive and possibly erroneous. Many states lack the in-depth crash reports that provide evidence of driver distractions or behavior at the time of a crash. Whether or not cell phones contribute to crashes, near collisions or incidents remain murky statistics gladly embraced by the wireless industry."

http://www.cellphonesafety.org/regulation/lobby.htm

 

I've been having a lot of trouble with that one myself. What do you do to keep the satellite dish aimed correctly?

 

One hand on the steering wheel, the other on the dish.

 

http://m.motherjones.com/environment/2010/07/cell-phone-driving-danger-oprah-winfrey-ray-lahood

The proposed coalition, DRIVE (Drivers for Responsibility, Innovation and Vehicle Education), was conceived by the lobbyists to promote driver education as an alternative to regulations that could dampen demand for mobile devices, leading to billions of dollars in lost sales. According to their memo, DRIVE would shift the focus of the debate away from regulation and toward driver awareness by reaching out to lawmakers, regulators, and the public while "providing industry cover."

... The DRIVE coalition was to be headed, they wrote, by James E. Hall, who chaired the National Transportation Safety Board during most of the Clinton administration. Hall runs the DC consulting firm Hall & Associates and acts as an adviser to Seward Square Group.

A timeline was included: The first step was a recruitment effort targeting top marketers of cell phones and GPS devices, auto makers, wireless carriers, and insurance companies, including names like Motorola, Nokia, General Motors, Ford, AT&T, Microsoft and TomTom...

 

This brings back memories of the tobacco lobby on the health effects of smoking.

 

http://www.avst.com/downloads/news/industrynews/IndustryNews_20030920.pdf

If it sounds as if the automotive industry cares little about driver safety and the effect that new technology may bring into a vehicle cockpit, the auto companies’ scientific projects speak otherwise. Some of the most interesting research into driver distraction is actually being conducted by automakers:

Ford’s auto simulator, named Virttexx, immerses drivers in a virtual reality that for all intents and purposes feels and sounds like a real world driving event. Then researchers ask drivers to make phone calls, answer incoming calls and participate in other popular distractions. On-board cameras measure visual responses and other mechanisms measure driver reaction times to braking, signaling, and stopping.

A Chrysler-sponsored concept car built by Massachusetts Institute of Technology students automatically disables incoming and outgoing cell phone calls when drivers are in demanding situations, such as bad weather and heavy traffic.

 

Easy... $1,519.99 ...

KVH Industries Tracvision R6ST Antenna System W/Directv Mobile Box - KVH 01026304 - KVH Satellite - Campersland

 

Interesting that the Insurance industry has been relatively quiet on this issue. One would think that of all the stakeholders, insurance companies are the ones with the most risk.

 

Message from our sponsor...

 

Bumping topic for this reason: A Massachusetts 18-year-old was just convicted under our new no-texting-while-driving law. He was texting, crossed into oncoming traffic and killed the driver of the car he hit head-on. He was sentenced to 2-1/2 years for vehicular homicide and two years for texting while driving, to run concurrently, with all but one year suspended (he's now 18 and has an otherwise clean record).

At least some people are serious about this.

 

I am in favor of banning cell phone use in moving vehicles.

It should be handled like incapacitation from alcohol or other inebriates.
(FWIW, IIRC, it is also illegal to carry an opened bottle or can of intoxicant
in the passenger cabin.)

There is a non-enforcement deterrent; make it impossible to make a call.
There is a simple $60 dollar fix, the short- range cell phone jammer



With this personal cell phone jamer you can prevent the use of cell phones
in your Car, Class Rooms, Office, Home, Theaters and so on.

This model will block cell phones on the radius of up to 10 Meter or 32ft
(Depending on the mobile service provider’s network condition)
Cell Phone Jammer Mobile Phone Jammers Cell Phone Blockers Mobiles phone Blockers

Permanently nstalled in a way that is virtually tamperproof -- like odometers
-- in every new vehicle (trucks, SUVs, and motorcycles included) and
activated when the ignition/Power is ON, there would be no cell phone/
texting distractions. Period.

Sure, the kiddies/spouse couldn't call either. Just like having to contend with
a kid threatening to wet his/her pants and the upholstery; if a call "has" to be
made, stop the car and deal with it.
(NB: Calls to/from buses. trains, bicycles, etc would not be effected.)

IIRC, the Feds are contemplating or have enacted a requirement for rear-view
cameras on future cars; people say it will save lives and cost ~$50.

So would this. What are we/they waiting for?

 

What is the legal penalty for using this in the U.S.?

Last I heard, even prisons cannot get permission to use these to prevent inmates from using contraband cell phones to continue their illegal enterprises and enforcement hits from inside.

 

Driving on public roadways is a privilege, not a fundamental right.
Restriction of individual freedoms are already reflected in public safety laws and regulations,
ie, licensing of the vehicle and driver, traffic safety markings and restrictions, prohibitions from
leaving an accident scene, drunk driving laws, etc.

Currently it is illegal to possess a cell phone jammer, or to use one in pubic places.
IIRC,, a car is not a public space, it is an extension of one's "castle."
A driver would agree to the presence of a jammer in his/her vehicle as a condition of being
extended the privilege of using the vehicle on a public roadway.
So, laws would have to be changed. Which has been done before.

That said, to answer your question, currently:
Privacy rights of property owners may affect the policy and application of law within
buildings. The FCC may issue a permit that waives the law for private use. For radio
communications, it is illegal to operate, manufacture, import, or offer for sale, including
advertising (Communications Act of 1934). Blocking radio communications in public
can carry fines of up to $112,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year.The Homeland
Security Act of 2002 may override the Communications Act of 1934.
Mobile phone jammer - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Anyone caught manufacturing, selling, owning, or using a jammer in the U.S. is
punishable by an $11,000 fine and up to a year in prison for each offense.
But the stiff penalty hasn't stopped proliferation of the devices, perhaps because the
FCC has not held anyone accountable. According to one interview with Richard Welch,
associate chief of the FCC's Enforcement Bureau, no actions have been taken by the
FCC because "nobody has complained." This isn't surprising considering people can't
tell the difference between being jammed and simply having poor signal strength
which comes and goes with the best of phones even under normal circumstances.


SpyGear4U.com

 

Just keep jacking up the fines for texting and handheld phone use while driving and then maybe it will sink in.

 

I can think of another reason.

Bob Wilson

 

I think we need to make it sociably unacceptable to talk/text while driving. Remember that there is always another person in on this.
Whenever I get a "will be late" message from someone who is driving, I always ask if they sent the message while driving and I become furious if I learned that they did so. I'm also not allowing any driver to talk on the phone while I'm a passenger and try not to talk to them unless the road is straight and clear.

It's only common sense.