Fight the cell ban!

Hell,No! You shouldn't be doing anything but watching the road while driving!

I don't have a copy of it in front of me, but I believe you are wrong. I believe the current Alabama Dept. of Public Safety Traffic Accident Report lists whether a cell phone (or other electronic device) contributed to the accident.

I'll check tomorrow and post my findings.

The ordinance needs a little tinkering to avoid banning such things as GPS syatems, but we do need an ordinance that prohibits texting, because it is a demonstrably distracting practice that will and does cause accidents. End of story.

Well, not quite. A no-texting ordinance will pass at the next council meeting, ane it should include a ban on hand-held cell phone use as well.

quote:

Originally posted by EthosPathosLogos:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/...-Ban/146003455414176


Did you know that in NY and Connecticut, crash frequencies INCREASED after their cell bans went into effect?

LOL, are you saying talking on the phone while driving makes you a better driver? If that's the best argument you have then you need to hang it up.

This will eliminate many officers talking on their cell phones while driving their cop cars as well right? I see that just as much as regular people. I'm not necessarily against a ban on texting, but if the ordinance is not going to be across the board and apply to officers and other city personnel who are on duty -- then it does need to be tinkered with -- if someone can answer that for me, that will let me know whether I need to truly consider calling or going to the council meeting. I do think that our distractions are the cause of many accidents that could be prevented.

I am all for the ban. I assume that the intent with mp3 players has to do with texting and email as some of them have wireless internet, if that is not the case then the ordinance needs to be tweaked a little.

Ok, here is a copy of the ordinace that the topic starter posted to his facebook page. The ordinance looks fine to me as is. I would love to see the ordinance in the whole area.

http://www.box.net/shared/61p08ip8s7

Just a shot in the dark here, but I am thinking the original poster as well as most opposed to this ban are under 25 years old. Right?
Common sense tells most people that texting is a distraction. Talking on the phone is also.

I won't fight the ban!!!!!! Maybe it does need some "fine tuning" but there is NO WAY that its safe to text and drive!!!! Impossible!!!! I'm for the ban....

Fight the cell ban??? Not on your life or mine or some other innocent person maimed or killed by cell phone use while driving. I hope Sheffield, Tuscumbia, and Muscle Shoals follows suite as soon as possible too.... this is a no brainer and should have been done long ago.

Thinking back 10+ years ago, very few people had cell phones and we were getting along just fine! Texting while someone is driving is just asking for trouble because the inevitable will happen sooner or later. I do kind of miss seeing the pay phones in public places, don't you? Kinda nostalgic now. Bottom line, HANG UP AND DRIVE!

I am all for the ban. Just recently a friend was having car trouble and he was hit from behind while he was working on his vehichle. You guessed it - the girl who hit him was on her cell phone. Time and time again I get behind people who don't know what the hell they are doing because they are too engrossed with that thing on their ear. It drives me crazy.

What I don't understand is why can't they develop a phone that is hands free. Surely such a thing exists!

quote:

Originally posted by Sassy Kims:
I don't have a copy of it in front of me, but I believe you are wrong. I believe the current Alabama Dept. of Public Safety Traffic Accident Report lists whether a cell phone (or other electronic device) contributed to the accident.

I'll check tomorrow and post my findings.

I have a copy. I can send it. I talked to records division. They don't report it, and they all use the same thing.

quote:

Originally posted by BFred07:

quote:

Originally posted by EthosPathosLogos:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/...-Ban/146003455414176


Did you know that in NY and Connecticut, crash frequencies INCREASED after their cell bans went into effect?

LOL, are you saying talking on the phone while driving makes you a better driver? If that's the best argument you have then you need to hang it up.

No. I am saying people are not doing other distracting things when they are talking on their cell phones, or, at least that is the theory of the researchers.

quote:

Originally posted by paw-paw:
Just a shot in the dark here, but I am thinking the original poster as well as most opposed to this ban are under 25 years old. Right?
Common sense tells most people that texting is a distraction. Talking on the phone is also.

Common sense in the 1700's was that slavery was good.

I'm for the ban. Maybe the hands free devices will be illegal too.

Let's make it a national ban.

Ethos -- common sense would tell you that when you are driving you should be focused on the task at hand and not multi-tasking with anything else, but people obviously don't use common sense so the law has to step in. It's unfortunate, but if people would truly police themselves instead of justifying what they do -- it would not be this way.

quote:

Originally posted by EthosPathosLogos:

quote:

Originally posted by paw-paw:
Just a shot in the dark here, but I am thinking the original poster as well as most opposed to this ban are under 25 years old. Right?
Common sense tells most people that texting is a distraction. Talking on the phone is also.

Common sense in the 1700's was that slavery was good.

So now we compare cell phones while driving to slavery? Something along the line of being a slave to your phone so if you're texting and cant do the 10 & 2 thing while watching the road then it's to bad if I am in your way because I might get hit so you can type "LOL, awesome" to one of your friends because it couldn't wait a few minutes till you get where you are going or that you do not have the common decency to at least pull off the road to do it?

quote:

Originally posted by paw-paw:
Just a shot in the dark here, but I am thinking the original poster as well as most opposed to this ban are under 25 years old. Right?
Common sense tells most people that texting is a distraction. Talking on the phone is also.

My guess is the same, almost all young drivers just do not get how much about driving they really do not know which would be why so many young people get killed in wrecks and why most rental companies won't even rent a car to someone younger than 25 and a majority of transport companies will not hire drivers till in the 23 to 25 year old range.
A lot of drivers over 25 don't get it either and several of them should be off the road too.

quote:

Common sense in the 1700's was that slavery was good.

What, pray tell, does this statement have to do with this discussion?

I'm willing to bet that most on here that are for the ban don't have cellphones and have trouble using their remote on their television.

As has been pointed out in other threads, this ordinance is terribly flawed and if taken literally doesn't even allow you to listen to your AM/FM radio in your car.

Thanks for the facebook page, I joined your page and I am well over 25. Most businessmen that use cellphones are well over 25 also. You people scared of technology get a grip.

quote:

Originally posted by jwmurphy:
I'm for the ban. Maybe the hands free devices will be illegal too.

I use a Bluetooth, why should they be made illegal?

quote:

Originally posted by BFred07:

quote:

Originally posted by paw-paw:
Just a shot in the dark here, but I am thinking the original poster as well as most opposed to this ban are under 25 years old. Right?
Common sense tells most people that texting is a distraction. Talking on the phone is also.

My guess is the same, almost all young drivers just do not get how much about driving they really do not know which would be why so many young people get killed in wrecks and why most rental companies won't even rent a car to someone younger than 25 and a majority of transport companies will not hire drivers till in the 23 to 25 year old range.
A lot of drivers over 25 don't get it either and several of them should be off the road too.

Im 35 and I am opposed to it. I think it should be written similiar to the hville ban, which bans texting. To ban an MP3 player is out there, I can push 'next' on an mp3 player to skip a song as easily as I can change the station on a radio. And texting on an MP3 player is just that, texting, and would be illegal under a no texting ban just like on a cell phone, no need to ban the player itself. Whats next, banning the stereos and Sirius radios? After all, I have to look at them half the time to figure out which station I want to listen to. That takes my eyes off the road for a second. If I plug my MP3 player into my car stereo in my car, the stereo controls it, but you do everything on the stereo that you do on the player, so whats the difference?

As for the 'both hands on the wheel' arguement, be honest with yourselves, how many of you: smoke while driving, eat while driving, drink while driving, mess with the stereo while driving, etc etc. How many of you actually drive with both hands on the wheel all the time? When Im not using my other hand, its usually on the shifter. Which reminds me, exactly how do you 'two hands on the wheel at all times' folks actually drive a manual transmission?

Maybe thats why so many people dont use their turn signals around here, they are living by the two hands on the wheel rule and cant figure out a way to move one over to the turn signal handle.

Seriously, though, Florence has found a way to really screw the pooch again. They could have written a texting ban and had the support of 95% (if not 100%) of the community. Instead, they come up with this mess that brings nothing but controversy to their decision. Figures....

Jeepin'

If they make GPS illegal, does this mean that people traveling thru this area that has no idea of the ban, can get a ticket?

quote:

Originally posted by semiannualchick:
If they make GPS illegal, does this mean that people traveling thru this area that has no idea of the ban, can get a ticket?

Exactly, same with talking on the phone. Its going to do wonders for the area, all the people that come here from places like Waynesboro and Savannah to spend their money. Im sure they'll want to come right back after getting a ticket for talking on the phone or using their gps.

And Im sure the person that gets the ticket will run back home and tell 20 or 30 of their friends about how 'friendly' we are here.....

Jeepin'

I don't see a problem with banning texting while driving. I don't think a cell ban is necessary if they make it illegal to HOLD it and talk. Get a blue tooth or a Jupiter Jack or something. Really, it's not that big a deal.

quote:

Originally posted by EvilGenius:
I'm willing to bet that most on here that are for the ban don't have cellphones and have trouble using their remote on their television.

Most businessmen that use cellphones are well over 25 also. You people scared of technology get a grip.

I have a cell phone & I'm for the ban as far as texting goes. I'm not scared of technology at all, but the fool that's texting instead of driving or watching where they're going....those are the ones I'm afraid of. Also the drunks, those high on drugs.....

BTW, would you like for me to show you how to use that remote? It's not hard at all.

semiannual the ordinance is not a banning texting ordinance, that's the problem, if taken literally it bans every wireless device in your car including listening. I'm against texting also but this ordinance is a terribly written ordinance and goes way to far past texting while driving.

quote:

Originally posted by EvilGenius:
I'm willing to bet that most on here that are for the ban don't have cellphones and have trouble using their remote on their television.

In the past I used a blackberry for work and an env for personal use. Both had a lot of nice features but last time I switched in a phone I went for the Palm Pre Plus because of the mobile hotspot feature, the hotspot feature is very important to me because a lot of the emails I need to reply to while away from the office cannot simply be done with the phone and I need on demand web access for my laptop. I hate the palm but the mobile hotspot is very handy and it is now available for the droid too so when I get around to it I will upgrade to the droid. We have definitely come a long ways since the old bag phones haven't we?
For those of you behind the times on tech gadgets (hmmm, EvilGenius), we now have bluetooth features that will go through the speakers on your car so that you can speak and hear clearly without having to have an uncomfortable headset so there is no longer any excuse for thinking you have to have a phone to your ear while driving! If for some reason you do need to take a call while driving and have not bothered to purchase handsfree equipment then simply pull out of traffic. Why should you be allowed to put everyone else on the road at risk when you have not bothered to purchase the proper equipment?
I read the ordinance, I did not take anything from it that makes me think you cannot change the station on your radio but at the same time can that not wait till a red light or stop sign? There have been a lot of wrecks that were caused by people looking down to change the station.

I'm right there with BFred on this issue. EPL, like the PSA says: You can't text and drive-Nobody can.
You are sitting in a two-ton weapon rolling along the pavement eating up distance at a rate of up to 88 feet-per-SECOND. You look at your phone to type "LOL AWESOME" on your lil bitty keypad-especially if you have one of those keypads where you have to hit a key multiple times to get the right characters-at 60 MPH, assuming 15 seconds to type "LOL AWESOME"-That's 1320 (One THOUSAND three-hundred-and twenty) feet you just drove WITHOUT LOOKING WHERE YOU'RE GOING, DUMMY!
A lot can happen in that quarter-mile.
Young folks think they're invincible, smarter and faster than everybody else..The sad truth is-they're more inexperienced than everybody else on the road and it's gonna really suck when they find out the hard way that they'll die just like everybody else for something as stuoid as a phone call.

Don't believe me? Start walking around your house while reading a book or newspaper. Lemme know how many walls you run into or stuff you trip over. Now run like hell and keep reading.
For those who think talking on the phone and driving is OK? Read that same book and listen to a song at the same time. You'd be surprised at how much of the song or the book you miss because of the other.
Newspaper=.75
Portable radio=19.95
The revelation that humans just can't do somethings simultaneously without screwing up either one or both without actually causing death or injury=Priceless.

quote:

Originally posted by BFred07:
For those of you behind the times on tech gadgets, we now have bluetooth features that will go through the speakers on your car so that you can speak and hear clearly without having to have an uncomfortable headset

I must be behind the times.
What's the Bluetooth called that does that, & where do I find one? I have the one that sticks in my ear.

quote:

Originally posted by semiannualchick:

quote:

Originally posted by BFred07:
For those of you behind the times on tech gadgets, we now have bluetooth features that will go through the speakers on your car so that you can speak and hear clearly without having to have an uncomfortable headset

I must be behind the times.
What's the Bluetooth called that does that, & where do I find one? I have the one that sticks in my ear.

Sorry, that was meant as a dig at EG. My car came with it as an option but there are a lot of aftermarket options that you can plug into your lighter or have installed.

i think police could abuse this power to pull someone over with no real cause other than i thought he was texting or he might have been adjusting his radio.
i think kids are more of a distraction than any cell phone.

I am not opposed to a texting ban. I can't speak for members of the Stop the Ban page, but that is my opinion. Banning cell phones while driving is ill-conceived.

There are MANY driving distractions. The following is a small list:

• Cell phone use (hand-held) or hand-free
  
• Children
• eating and drinking
• Smoking
  
• animals
• reading
• Personal hygiene
• visual obscurement
• operation of electronic equipment
• object or person outside the vehicle
• Sun in eyes
• insect
• livestock
  
• animals outside the vehicle
• navigation device

According to an article in Arkansas Times

quote:

Of 98,640 Arkansas drivers involved in crashes in 2008, 787 (0.79 percent) either admitted to being distracted by talking on a cell phone or texting, or were determined by investigating officers to have been so distracted. Ninety-nine drivers were distracted by other electronic devices in their vehicles, such as navigation devices and “palm pilots.” Another 1,850 drivers were beset by non-electronic distractions inside the vehicle (crying babies, putting on lipstick, reading a newspaper, etc.). And 2953 were distracted by things outside the vehicle (looking at the scene of an accident as they passed by, waving at a neighbor, etc.).

http://www.arktimes.com/arkans.../Content?oid=1013668

Seems like we should outlaw waving to neighbors and gawking at traffic accidents before we consider cell bans.

quote:

Originally posted by Road Puppy:
I'm right there with BFred on this issue. EPL, like the PSA says: You can't text and drive-Nobody can.

RP,

I dont think there are very many here disagreeing with the ban on texting. Looks more to me like folks are complaining about how much more this ordinance bans beyond texting.....

Jeepin'

seems the more things we collec...the more compicated life becomes...and the more insensitve we become...we are becoming self-centered.. iss their anyonne else here that thinks its rude to talk on the phone while in the company of another?

quote:

Originally posted by EthosPathosLogos:


Did you know that in NY and Connecticut, crash frequencies INCREASED after their cell bans went into effect?

I just moved here last year from Connecticut and that is NOT true atall.

Statistics there show that there has not yet been a NOTICEABLE decrese in accidents due to the handheld device ban. Mainly because the fines are too low. Just like the mandatory seatbelt use law didn't start working until the fines got heavier. The handheld device ban in NY and CT is still a fairly new thing. People in CT used to pass stopped school buses too even though there was a fine-until they increased the fine to $450 PER BUS PASSED. Now it rarely happens.

It's a NO BRAINER, PEOPLE!
If you're texting while driving-YOU'RE NOT LOOKING WHERE YOU'RE GOING, DUMMY!

If you've got a phone in your hand-you've only got one hand on the wheel and only half your mind on the primary task of driving.

Don't worry though-I got a pocket fulla 1/2" ball bearings and a bad attitude that'll wake ya up.

I read the ordinance twice before I commented to make sure I understood it. For those of you who talk about it going beyond the scope of texting and talking without a hands free device here is the way I understood it (just read it a third time to be sure).

No talking on your cell without a hands free.
No using skype to talk from your Itouch, notebook, netbook, etc unless you have a way of doing it hands free.
No watching video on your phone, computer, or mp3 player while driving.
No messing with your device to download music while you are driving.
No emailing while you drive.
No punching in addresses and stuff on your gps while you drive (this should be done before you leave home anyway)
No instant messaging while you drive which can be done from cell phones, lap tops, netbooks, and some mp3 players.
No texting while driving which can also be done from not only cell phones but some mp3 players, netbooks, etc.

Sounds like they covered their bases pretty well so that someone would not beat a ticket on a technicality saying something along the line of "I was not texting, I was sending an email" or "the law says cell phones, I was using my itouch"

It is not often that I agree with city of Florence on much of anything but I can throw my full support behind this one. There is nothing there to indicate that you cannot listen to your radio or even change the stations, there is nothing about listening to your mp3 player, you can still talk if you have hands free equipment which is not all that expensive. If you still want to text and drive, I hear tell that voice recognition software has really come a long way in the past year or so.

quote:

Originally posted by Road Puppy:

quote:

Originally posted by EthosPathosLogos:


Did you know that in NY and Connecticut, crash frequencies INCREASED after their cell bans went into effect?

I just moved here last year from Connecticut and that is NOT true atall.

Statistics there show that there has not yet been a NOTICEABLE decrese in accidents due to the handheld device ban. Mainly because the fines are too low. Just like the mandatory seatbelt use law didn't start working until the fines got heavier. The handheld device ban in NY and CT is still a fairly new thing. People in CT used to pass stopped school buses too even though there was a fine-until they increased the fine to $450 PER BUS PASSED. Now it rarely happens.

It's a NO BRAINER, PEOPLE!
If you're texting while driving-YOU'RE NOT LOOKING WHERE YOU'RE GOING, DUMMY!

If you've got a phone in your hand-you've only got one hand on the wheel and only half your mind on the primary task of driving.

Don't worry though-I got a pocket fulla 1/2" ball bearings and a bad attitude that'll wake ya up.

quote:

Only two of the ten estimates were statistically significant: all drivers in New York and all drivers in Connecticut. Positive
estimates for the interaction of StateType and BanStatus indicate cellphone bans in these states were associated with higher collision claim frequencies. It is possible the predictions were a statistical artifact rather than an indication of a true disbenefit of hand-held cellphone laws. However, it is noteworthy that the model did not detect a benefit of hand-held cellphone laws on collision claim frequency for any of the states or any age group within the states.

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Hand-Held Cellphone Laws and Collision Claim Frequencies, VOL. 26, NO. 17 DECEMBER 2009