NY Tragedy High-Lights Need for Texting While Driving Ban

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Link: Text-message ban for drivers mulled in NY state.

The death of five teenagers in a horrific auto accident that text messages sent just prior to the collision on the driver’s phone suggests could be due to a combonation of driver inexperience and inattention due to cell phone text messaging means that there will likely be additional impetus behind Representative Steve Farley’s Arizona bill to ban texting while driving next session.

As the bodies pile up, the dangers of divided attention while driving are becoming undeniable. This is important and beneficial public safety legislation, if only to put the public on notice of the dangers inherent in driving with divided attention. Call your state legislators and let them know that this is an important priority for the next session.

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7 thoughts on “NY Tragedy High-Lights Need for Texting While Driving Ban”

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  4. The main force and effect of such laws is their normative social value. People learn that it is wrong and dangerous to do the thing that is restricted. A surprisingly small amount of enforcement is needed to spread that message, so I’m not worried about difficulties with enforcement any more than I would worry about the enforceability of seatbelt or baby seat laws.

    As to generic ‘distracted driver’ laws, I don’t disagree that such a thing would be useful, but I think it would fail a constitutional Due Process test for being too vague to put a person on notice as to what is allowed and what is not. Would having a fascinating and animated conversation in ALS with your passenger be included? Would fiddling with your car stereo constantly qualify? Specific technologies might be harder to keep up with, but that approach really puts people on notice as to what is allowed and what is not.

  5. I think that what is really needed is a ‘distracted driver’ law. Instead of targeting specific current technology and having to revisit the law to catch up to new technologies when they come out, make the law cover anything that distracts the drivers eyes and/or hands from the task of driving. This would include texting, making phone calls, putting on make-up, video games, DVDs or other videos, etc. Write the law so that it applies while the vehicle is in motion, so as not to preclude such actions while the vehicle is at rest such as at stoplights.

    It may be hard to enforce, but not impossible. it would allow for citation of the driver in an accident. It won’t stopp all from doing such things while driving, but it will help some and give law enforcement another tool to help make driving a bit safer.

  6. Enforcement would be either from observation by the officer (which is how bans, already in place in a # of states, on cell phone conversations are now enforced)or from checking the cell phone after an accident (I believe that’s how it was determined that the N.Y. kids were texting). When I was recently in southern Cal. the # of drivers around me texting while doing 90 on the freeway was astonishing, and appalling.

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