The National Transportation Safety Board is seeking a first-ever nationwide ban of personal electronic devices for drivers, according to a news release published Tuesday.
This would even include hands-free cellphones.
"According to NHTSA, more than 3,000 people lost their lives last year in distraction-related accidents," said Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman in the release. "It is time for all of us to stand up for safety by turning off electronic devices when driving.
"No call, no text, no update, is worth a human life."
The recommendation — which is nonbinding and leaves it up to each state to decide — was announced the same day the board discussed an August 2010 multiple vehicle crash blamed on texting that involved a school bus on I-44 in Missouri. Two died and 38 were injured.
"The NTSB's investigation revealed that the pickup driver sent and received 11 text messages in the 11 minutes preceding the accident," the news release said. "The last text was received moments before the pickup struck the truck-tractor."
The proposal also calls for increased enforcement and public campaigns to publicize any new law, the release said.
"The data is clear; the time to act is now. How many more lives will be lost before we, as a society, change our attitudes about the deadliness of distractions?" Hersman said.
Multi-tasking isn't a zero-sum equation, no matter how sharp you think you are. Brain activity used to process dialogue + respond = Less brain activity devoted to driving. It's been studied by nerdier folks than us, and it's a stone cold fact, Let those calls wait or pull over, unless you want to feel and hear an air bag deploy.
The same could be said for eating, playing with the radio, checking your hairdo, etc, all of which I regularly see while driving. During my morning commute I've seen a person try to balance a bowl of cereal to eat from while driving! While I won't argue that there is a level of distraction even with the use of hands-free devices, I think that common sense is what should prevail and that most people adopt use of such devices to help them to more safely use this technology. Having occupants in your vehicle is more distracting than not having them there, as anyone with young children will tell you, yet I think the majority of people would agree that it would ludicrous to suggest that we ban transporting children. While I agree that there are many laws enacted that, while inconvenient, provide safety for the greater good, but in this case I think a reasonable ban of hand-held devices (and certainly a ban on texting) should go far enough. We need to teach new drivers (and remind experienced ones) that distractions of ANY kind can be dangerous and sometimes deadly, but I think we shouldn't let the slippery-slope argument make us go overboard with full banishment of hands-free devices.
In some ways, I feel the proposal was designed to make a "compromise" more appealing. I can't imagine that hands-free phone usage will actually be banned, but something that is more strict than the status quo will probably be passed. Personally, I do not like when the political game is played that way. I would not support banning hands-free devices. I think that the cost/benefit analysis of doing so would not be tilted in favor of the ban enough to justify the restriction on our freedoms. That is a very subjective process though, so another reasonable person could easily disagree.
Do I think seat belts are a good idea???? Of course! Should it be a law? NO!!!!!!!!!! That is just the tip of the iceberg. Stop the madness! You can not legislate the populace to perfect safety and good behavior. End the attack on liberty with victimless crimes. Outlawing cell phone use in and of itself is philosophically ludicrous. Prosecuting someone for negligent driving after injuring someone else by using a cell phone inappropriately as a component of that negligence is the proper legal route. Though it may be unpopular in our skewed societal perception even drunk or impaired driving should be treated in this same, constitutionally consistent way. There are risks in a free society. The loss of liberty and empowerment of government is far more frightening than the risks associated with interacting with free citizens. Even the stupid or evil ones... In the words of Dennis Miller - 'Life is tough, wear a cup"