Texting while driving bans are failures
Andrew Mangan
Issue date: 11/5/09 Section: Forum
Texting while driving is just the newest legislative craze that has taken over the public and mainstream media. Many claim there ought to be a law against it, but why?
Supposedly, it's more dangerous when a person texts and drives-and it actually can be-but it's hard to find much evidence that people who text and drive are causing the huge amounts of accidents most want you to believe is happening. According to Richard Balko of "Reason" magazine, "Since 1995, there's been an eightfold increase in cell phone subscribers in the United States, and we've increased the number of minutes spent on cell phones by a factor of 58." Since then traffic fatalities have dropped, as have the number of traffic collisions.
Many may claim this is evidence of better and downright safer cars since the mid-90s and the statistics would have dropped more if people weren't indeed texting and driving, but that's still not entirely accurate. Because when one looks at more of the statistics it is easy to dismiss their claims.
Looking at deaths in proportion to miles driven show a better indicator of safety, due to the fact we drive more now then we ever did in the 90s. Balko explains, "In 1995, there were 1.72 deaths for every 100 million miles traveled. By 2007, the figure had dropped to 1.36, a 21 percent decline."
This shows even though we drive more now than ever before, less people are dying due to traffic collisions. Further, this is hardly a slight decrease-this is a huge one.
Banning texting while driving won't make us any safer, one needs only look at current laws in effect to see that. In Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, and Maryland, the sending of text messages is banned while one is driving, but reading texts while driving is fine.
When you're flying at 70 mph down a highway how is a police officer supposed to know whether you're reading or sending a text message? The government can't actually enforce such a law.
But let's say the government takes it one step further, banning reading texts too. Would looking at your cell phone be considered an offense? But when it comes to things like this, how many other things pose just as much of a threat to the driver's concentration? What about GPS units? What if the GPS unit is in the driver's phone? Mine is. What about kids in the back seat, or any passengers in general? What about eating or drinking and driving?
Don't forget messing with the CDs or iPod in the car, they too can pose a threat. And how would one actually prove that the driver was looking at their cell phone and not something else in the car? One cannot sanely enforce these laws.
I'm fine if the government wants to ramp up charges on a person who caused a collision due to them texting and driving, but only after the fact, such laws that can't be enforced only because there ought to be a law against it.
Let me just put it like this, most of the time when someone says, "there ought to be a law against that," there oughtn't.
Supposedly, it's more dangerous when a person texts and drives-and it actually can be-but it's hard to find much evidence that people who text and drive are causing the huge amounts of accidents most want you to believe is happening. According to Richard Balko of "Reason" magazine, "Since 1995, there's been an eightfold increase in cell phone subscribers in the United States, and we've increased the number of minutes spent on cell phones by a factor of 58." Since then traffic fatalities have dropped, as have the number of traffic collisions.
Many may claim this is evidence of better and downright safer cars since the mid-90s and the statistics would have dropped more if people weren't indeed texting and driving, but that's still not entirely accurate. Because when one looks at more of the statistics it is easy to dismiss their claims.
Looking at deaths in proportion to miles driven show a better indicator of safety, due to the fact we drive more now then we ever did in the 90s. Balko explains, "In 1995, there were 1.72 deaths for every 100 million miles traveled. By 2007, the figure had dropped to 1.36, a 21 percent decline."
This shows even though we drive more now than ever before, less people are dying due to traffic collisions. Further, this is hardly a slight decrease-this is a huge one.
Banning texting while driving won't make us any safer, one needs only look at current laws in effect to see that. In Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, and Maryland, the sending of text messages is banned while one is driving, but reading texts while driving is fine.
When you're flying at 70 mph down a highway how is a police officer supposed to know whether you're reading or sending a text message? The government can't actually enforce such a law.
But let's say the government takes it one step further, banning reading texts too. Would looking at your cell phone be considered an offense? But when it comes to things like this, how many other things pose just as much of a threat to the driver's concentration? What about GPS units? What if the GPS unit is in the driver's phone? Mine is. What about kids in the back seat, or any passengers in general? What about eating or drinking and driving?
Don't forget messing with the CDs or iPod in the car, they too can pose a threat. And how would one actually prove that the driver was looking at their cell phone and not something else in the car? One cannot sanely enforce these laws.
I'm fine if the government wants to ramp up charges on a person who caused a collision due to them texting and driving, but only after the fact, such laws that can't be enforced only because there ought to be a law against it.
Let me just put it like this, most of the time when someone says, "there ought to be a law against that," there oughtn't.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
John Rob
posted 11/15/09 @ 4:15 AM CST
When I relax I do not go across the room to read text messages and respond. With drivesafe.ly application the auto responder delivers immediate response to the message received. (Continued…)
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