3 thoughts on “Technology 1, Legislation 0

  1. See, here is the irony: multiple studies have shown it is not the lack of hands free that causes cell phones to increase accident risks, it is the conversations on the phone. If you’re talking to someone in the car, there will be natural pauses in conversation by both people because they are aware of the driving situation. Whereas someone on the other end of the phone will not pause because they can’t see what the driver sees. Trying to concentrate on the conversation while driving causes the biggest distraction. Now they’ve legislated hands free, it is so easy to talk in the car it literally encourages drivers to be more distracted. Kudos to our government to putting some thought into that one…

  2. I don’t know… I can see the distraction but I tend to phase people out while they’re talking anyway 😛

    It all depends on the individual’s abilities. Let’s face it, some people (me) can’t even walk and eat at the same time.

    1. Obviously our government could not possibly create less broad based legislation of such things because it wouldn’t be “fair” to cite one person with an offense because they were seen not controlling their vehicle while using their phone while ignoring someone that is using their phone and clearly in control of their vehicle. So they broadly “outlaw” using your phone in a traditional manner while driving, insisting hands free be used – except they’ve found this hasn’t actually reduced accidents caused by phone distractions so now they want to outlaw using them altogether.

      Why is this? Because outlawing using phones while driving will have no negative impact on the economy and will help boost municipal revenues. People will have cell phones because they are amazing pieces of technology, whether the can use them while driving or not.

      Meanwhile, if you outlaw things that are equally as distracting like lighting and smoking a cigarette while driving or plowing through a Whopper with extra mayo and a 64oz Coke while driving, that could negatively impact the economy, and those industries, which are huge lobbyists in Washington, will protest such actions with fervor.

      So, they broadly pass a law saying “No one can use their phone while driving” because being more specific would be cumbersome to enforce and difficult for people to understand. Legislation with a lot of specifics are frowned upon and the government just won’t do it…

      Like the tax code, for example… oh, wait. That is ludicrously specific and leaves tons of loopholes that people that can afford highly specialized accountants can use to avoid paying taxes. Taxes are where the government is being overly specific for the sole intention of screwing over as much of the middle class as possible… so I guess that is a bad example since that shows just how specific the government is willing to be when it serves their best interests and the interests of those that line their pockets.

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