Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Cell phone law called tricky

39 states have done it and they say it is tricky here. Why are the words too big. The point is that in the 39 other states there are consequences, here it is encouraged. Thanks Derek for the link.
From al.com it is not too tricky considering it is written at the 4th grade level.

Safer driving effort raises questions over enforcement

Eleven states do virtually nothing to prevent drivers from talking and texting on cell phones while driving.

Alabama is one of them.

Other states' laws range from disallowing only school bus drivers or those under 18 from using cell phones; some ban all drivers from the use of hand-held phones when behind the wheel.

"It's one of the hottest topics out there," said Jonathan Adkins, spokesman for the Governors Highway Safety Association in Washington, D.C.

Though Alabama has no laws on the books, the subject has seen debate in the Legislature. Last spring, the House overwhelmingly passed a bill to prohibit motorists from sending or reading text messages while driving. The Senate Judiciary Committee prevented the measure from coming up for a vote.

As the Scottsboro community continues to mourn the death of 49-year-old businessman Carlos Serrano, killed July 29 on his bicycle by a driver reaching in her purse for her cell phone, some ask when Alabama will do more to protect citizens.

But even those who say they want nothing more than safe highways don't believe that an all-out cell phone ban is practical.

State Sen. Paul Sanford, R-Huntsville, said he posed the question on his Facebook Web site last week, asking constituents how they felt about cell phone bans for drivers. Almost 30 people "engaged in lengthy conversation" about the issue.

"There is a general consensus that there's an inability to enforce a law," he said. "A lot of people mentioned that there is a law against speeding, but people speed by me every day. read more here

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

It might hurt the economy

the milkman said...

When people and my friends get killed by assholes who have no respect for anyone else when they drive, it HURTS my feelings.

Wanna damage the economy further? Build another jail. Or better yet, keep doing nothing at all. Your good at that.

Anonymous said...

The old white money standard is on the decline and guys like Sanford and the rest of the GOP and AL lawmakers know it. They really are grasping at straws to hold on to the power that has steadily begun to slip from their hands.

THIS is a slippery slope argument? Using a cell phone while driving is just as much a behavior as wearing a seat belt. Does Mr. Sanford think that seat belt enforcement constitutes an infringement of his rights and personal freedoms? This has got to be the most asinine use of the "any-government-is-bad-government" principle.

Why do we continue to elect these douchenozzles? Are the majority of us really not voting?