There's No Way to Enforce a Texting While Driving Ban

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Patrice of WA 5:48PM November 04, 2009

It's funny to hear about these new laws where the topic consists of such udderly rediculous situations. Is texting while driving safe? Absolutely not...and I am quite guilty of this. However, I just cannot see how law enforcement is going to be able to enforce this law. If I were to be pulled over and asked to relinquish my phone for this accusation, I would be inclined to refuse based on principle. Besides, distractability while driving can happen on so many levels besides texting. Is there going to be a law that says I cannot drive my children around? Trust me that is so much more distracting sometimes.
As with anything there is a risk you assume by getting behind the wheel, and there is no ultimate law that will protect everyone from an accident. That's why we call them accidents. I can't imagine the laws we will have in the next 10 years as technology seems to evolve quicker than our ability to socially control and accept the changes. More and more laws, until suddently we can no longer think for ourselves, as our laws will do the thinking for us. Forget teaching our children right or wrong...it will just be "the law".

Julia of OH 12:29PM October 20, 2009

I agree wholeheartedly on this entire subject. First, our lawmakers don't pass these new laws for us and our safety. They pass these laws for them and their high and mighty egos. They sit back and think what kind of new law can I introduce and have my name on it.
It is getting to the point that you can not even walk out your back door without risking breaking some kind of law. It has gotten to the point that you can be pulled over now for the silliest things that is not the main intention of the officer when the blue lights come on. They want a reason to check you out. They want to look in your vehicle.
My friend was pulled over at night, on a two lane road, by a cop going the opposite direction then turned around and pulled him over. It wasn't speeding as the reason. Get this now, it was for an expired tag. That cop has some better than perfect vision to spot a one inch wide sticker in the corner of a license plate by looking in his rear view mirror. That is hogwash.
Law enforcement today already has way more power than they deserve, or need, and they sure do NOT need any more.

Tom of GA 11:50AM October 20, 2009

Radley Balko is correct. Accident statistics must be on a million-mile basis as the basis risk reduction decisions. Instead and perversely auto insurance statistics are kept on a 100 car-year basis.
2nd Ciruit Appeals Court Judge and former Yale Law School dean Guido Calabresi's celebrated book "The Costs of Accidents: A Legal and Economic Analysis" demonstrated why automobile risk must be measured on a per-mile basis, and not annual basis the way automobile insurers do. He also showed why risk reduction devices like antilock brakes and air bags cannot be mandated withour doing economic harm.
However it took my later auto insurance analysis to make this clear, which he agrees to. Read my paper "Driving with the Brakes On: Guido Calabresi's Failed 1970 Auto Insurance Case against Safety-Device Mandates," which is available at www.centspermilenow.org.

Patrick Butler of VA 4:01PM October 16, 2009

B. Fair of KS -
you are the enemy of the liberty in this country! How do you imagine this?- my husband and I own 2 cars or more, we each have a cell phone, we sometimes drive each other's cars, so when we are together in the car - he is driving my car, - am I not allowed to make a call to a friend? to a neighbor to ask them to check on my dogs?
Get yourself out of the mess!

L Myers of VA 3:31PM October 16, 2009

I'm not a lawyer, but if reading while driving isn't illegal, it should be.
It is not uncommon to legislate based on society's trends. Overused? Perhaps. I think texting while driving's a pretty serious deal. All of my "holy $hit" close calls lately have been drivers using a cellphone.

David of ND 2:31PM October 15, 2009

The thing that kills me about this debate is that it was already illegal in Virginia. The citation would read 'failure to pay full time attention while driving'.I'd be shocked if other states didn't have comparable laws. Does texting need to be singled out, over say playing a tuba or violin while driving? Or shall we have a separate offense for every instrument in the orchestra?

Duncan of MD 11:08AM October 15, 2009

...should be enforce electronically. If the vehicle's gear shift lever is moved out of "park" any cellphone or texting device within 3' of the center of the steering wheel should be disabled to the point that the only thing it can do is call '911' If the car is already in motion and a cell phone is handed to the driver by a passenger it won't work. I'm sure we have the capability to design and install such sensors in new vehicles to accomplish this. Passengers would still be able to use such devices.
Face it folks, we are not that important nor is our work as compared to the safety of everyone operating tons of metal in motion on our highways.

B. Fair of KS 8:26AM October 15, 2009

i don't think many people would vote for whoever made the cellphone driving ban. anyway someone has started a petition to un-ban texting while driving here:
http://www.petitiononline.com/654f65f6/petition.html

callum of CA 10:21PM October 14, 2009

It seems to me that actual enforcement of this law is going to require either (1) examination of cell phones by law enforcement at time of citation or (2) pulling the cell phone records to determine when text messages were sent.
Either solution has significant privacy implications, and it was unfortunate that Mr. Balko missed this point entirely -- he even suggested that drivers who are "checking baseball scores" before an accident should be punished for it.
How would we find that out? A new enforcement regime that gives officers access to personal cell phones or phone records? How would that even work?

RickRussellTX of CA 7:07PM October 14, 2009