Feds ban texting while driving.

It's a start.

http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/oct/02/obama-enacts-texting-ban-on-federal-employees/

good...

Fed-ex employee's get fired for even answering their cells if in the truck (running or not)

Yet another unenforceable law. Don't get me wrong; I'm all for punishing morons who text while driving. But I don't think you're going to catch too many until they've already crashed.

I've seen cops pull people over for talking on a cell, how could you miss someone thumbing all over the steering wheel at 12 o'clock?

They got seat belts to work for the most part and people said that would never be enforceable

ddavidv wrote: Yet another unenforceable law. Don't get me wrong; I'm all for punishing morons who text while driving. But I don't think you're going to catch too many until they've already crashed.

Agreed, I can hear the arguements now. "I wasn't texting, I was dialing", which isn't illeagal in most states.

The phone I got for free does voice dialing. Besides, it would only take a few moments of observation to distinguish between pushing 7 numbers or picking out a contact, and texting.

Even if it means someone can be charged with texting while driving after an accident ("the police found this phone in the car, with a half completed text message that read WUT RU DOIN AAA WTF CRASHING BLUD") it'll help somewhat. My sister in law loves to text while she drives, and she is exactly the sort of person who needs no help with being a crappy driver.

good, now i dont have to worry about Barbie texting these little 17 year old girls telling them to go to the mall...

I'm a little fuzzy on the precedent here: how exactly does the President ban something? Is he making a rule or a law?

He is banning it for federal employees, not the country. Federal employees are his subordinates. Not really any different than a company president setting restrictions on the employees of the company..

Heard this story on the radio news this morning. Apparently the O Decree contained 200 more words than the entire Bill of Rights.

That's because it has to be lawyer-proof.

i favor the banning the "texting while driving" in general. there are to many distractions as it is driving on public roads. If you are behind the wheel driving, pay attention driving, not texting!

Personally I feel that if you are doing anything other than driving while driving I should be able to run you off the road legally.

I say we ban banning stuff that is common sense not to do. Just create a "slap the piss out of" rule for anyone not conforming to my idea of common sense.

I nearly rear-ended a driver this morning who was dialing his 'phone/or maybe texting while BARELY moving in the LEFT lane of a very busy multi-lane street. The light turned green and he started to move, but SO SLOWLY, the Geo Metro in the right hand lane was leaving him in the dust.

I have a cellphone but have never used it (yet) while driving.

Unlike most of the replies, I have HUGE issues with banning specific behavior. Making texting while driving, non-hands-free cell use and other behavior that is distracting, illegal, is a smokescreen of the real issue. Punish bad driving. Find bad drivers at fault and suspend their licenses for a month or two. Otherwise we'll have to have a huge list of forbidden behaviors.

I told you guys that at the high school my dad taught at, Compton High, when a new principal came in she really laid down the rules, one of which was: No more fornicating on the front lawn of the school. The girls could "do their thing" in the burned out science building, but no more on the front lawn. Then just to make sure, they turned the sprinklers on the front lawn every afternoon.

So, maybe we should pass a presidential decree that there be no federal employees fornicating while driving. Hey, you know, if you didn't tell them not to, you know they going to anyway, right?

I think it's funny that all the stories I hear about this on the radio talk about "young people" and that states and municipalities are putting restrictions on people under 21.

Newsflash...those young people (who may happen to be the majority of the problem NOW) are not going to grow out of texting. It's a new phenomenon that started with young poeple. Todays teenagers will be texting (if it's not completely antiquated by whatever 8 iterations surpass it) when they're 30.

Clem

I've had this banner on my car for about a year and a half now:

I text while driving and if I got pulled over I'd take it to court and make em prove I was texting. Gonna be pretty hard to do, IMO.

And when I don't text that doesn't mean I'm not emailing, playing texas hold em, or browsing facebook. Kinda hard to legislate all of that. What are you gonna do, criminalize me holding a cell phone?

I'm 27, good driving record, consider myself a safe driver. But like last night, drove from asheville nc to morgantown, wv, all interstate, set the cruise control and played a few hands of poker. Cause the alternative was falling asleep.

andrave wrote: I text while driving and if I got pulled over I'd take it to court and make em prove I was texting. Gonna be pretty hard to do, IMO.

The guy in Cali that crashed a train full of people got caught because they looked at the time of the crash vs the time of his last outogoing.

It's not rocket science.

Welcome to the Nanny State.

andrave wrote: I'm 27, good driving record, consider myself a safe driver. But like last night, drove from asheville nc to morgantown, wv, all interstate, set the cruise control and played a few hands of poker. Cause the alternative was falling asleep.

Wow! Um.......wow. Thought about typing a snappy comeback, but wow.

Joe Gearin wrote:

andrave wrote: I'm 27, good driving record, consider myself a safe driver. But like last night, drove from asheville nc to morgantown, wv, all interstate, set the cruise control and played a few hands of poker. Cause the alternative was falling asleep.

Wow! Um.......wow. Thought about typing a snappy comeback, but wow.

I can only pray you were joking, andrave. If not, you should turn in your license TODAY! Wow!