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Cell Phone Rudeness!

Started by Tomahawkin, May 06, 2009, 04:45:07 AM

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74/171FAN

VA has banned texting while driving as of July 1
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roadman65

Quote from: 74/171FAN on May 10, 2009, 08:27:45 AM
VA has banned texting while driving as of July 1

Is that going to get people to listen?
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1995hoo

Quote from: roadman65 on June 15, 2022, 10:06:22 AM
Quote from: 74/171FAN on May 10, 2009, 08:27:45 AM
VA has banned texting while driving as of July 1

Is that going to get people to listen?

Talk about a major threadbump! What prompted you to dig up this one and respond?

In the 13 years since the post to which you responded, Virginia has enacted a total handheld phone ban for drivers (I believe calling 911 may be excepted). I know several other states have as well; Maryland comes to mind as the one with which I'm most familiar given where I live, but I know others have done so as well. In my observation, it hasn't made much difference. As usual, American governments were too slow to react to this sort of thing and are now trying to put the horse back in the barn after it's escaped.

In my view, the real potential benefit to handheld phone bans is not whether the police can ticket someone; as others have noted, that's difficult for a host of reasons. The real benefit is that a ban of that sort may be persuasive evidence of the standard of care in a civil suit arising out of a crash, and a ban of that sort might also make a person's cell phone records discoverable so as to determine whether the person was using a phone at the time of a crash (especially if the person denies doing so).
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kphoger

Quote from: 1995hoo on June 15, 2022, 10:14:52 AM
In my view, the real potential benefit to handheld phone bans is not whether the police can ticket someone; as others have noted, that's difficult for a host of reasons. The real benefit is that a ban of that sort may be persuasive evidence of the standard of care in a civil suit arising out of a crash, and a ban of that sort might also make a person's cell phone records discoverable so as to determine whether the person was using a phone at the time of a crash (especially if the person denies doing so).

It also makes it easier for companies to prohibit or discourage cell phone use in company vehicles.  For example, Kansas doesn't have a statewide ban on cell phone use.  But the town of Manhattan does, and my company does business there.  It wasn't long after Manhattan passed that ordinance that my company began discouraging the use of cell phones in company trucks even outside of Manhattan.
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hbelkins

Not sure how I missed this thread when it was originally active, but my thoughts on the subject are well-known. Just because some people can't walk and chew gum at the same time doesn't mean the activity should be prohibited by everyone.

To me, "cell phone rudeness" is exhibited not by people using them while driving, but using them while trying to do other things, such as checking out at a store. Why people can't suspend their phone conversations while they're interacting with a cashier is beyond me. They're yakking while they're unloading their carts, they're yakking while they're paying, they're yakking while they are trying to load their bagged purchases back into the buggy, they're yakking while they're trying to unload the buggy at their vehicles in the parking lot -- and often trying to light cigarettes at the same time.

Whatever happened to "I'll call you back, I'm busy right now?"


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