More distractions to cause concern than just texting
March 12, 2011 9:49 PM
Texting - and more - while driving is back in the news.
Sen. Al Melvin, R-Tucson, is pushing to get legislation he sponsored to ban texting while driving made Arizona law.
SB 1538 would make it illegal to text and drive and impose a fine of $50 if an officer caught you with your fingers flying on the cell phone keyboard. The fine would be upped to $150 if the person was involved in an accident.
It is the latest attempt to discourage and punish those who text and drive. Each time the legislation has been proposed at the state level in previous years it has failed to become law.
The city of Phoenix was successful in imposing a texting ban about a year ago but there have been less than a dozen arrests, meaning either people have decided not to text and drive or the law just isn't enforced that faithfully by police who have lots of other crimes to worry about.
My guess is there just isn't that much enforcement of the Phoenix ban.
The state, for example, has a law against distracted driving - but we all nevertheless see plenty of that happening all the time. In fact, that same law could be applied to texters without any need for a texting-specific law. But it really isn't enforced as much as it could be, perhaps because it is hard to prove even if you catch someone doing it.
The inherent flaw in this year's texting law and previous proposals is that they try to single out texting rather than addressing distracted driving in general.
Opponents of Melvin's measure point out that it does nothing to address talking on cell phones - something many consider distracting - or surfing the web, watching a movie or playing a game on a cell phone. The newer “smart” phones allow all of that to be done - yes, even while driving.
Some may say no one would do things like that.
Well, they do. USA Today reported recently that one in five drivers said in an online survey that they browsed the Internet while driving. By the way, 35 percent in the same survey said they texted while driving.
Just think of all the things you can do on smart phones - check your Facebook account, see how your favorite sports team is doing, watch a movie or TV show. Oh yes, you can actually use the phone as a phone and call Aunt Maude to see how she is going.
It is likely there is a lot more distracted driving involving cell phones than most of us imagine.
Insurance companies - they did the online survey - have an inherent interest in discouraging it. But really all of us have an interest in addressing it because distracted drivers can cause accidents.
But there are many forms of distraction and trying to address it one piece at a time - as texting laws do - makes no sense. Toughen laws against distracted driving in general.
Terry Ross is director of the Yuma Sun's News and Information Center. E-mail him at tross@yumasun.com or phone him at 539-6870.
Sen. Al Melvin, R-Tucson, is pushing to get legislation he sponsored to ban texting while driving made Arizona law.
SB 1538 would make it illegal to text and drive and impose a fine of $50 if an officer caught you with your fingers flying on the cell phone keyboard. The fine would be upped to $150 if the person was involved in an accident.
It is the latest attempt to discourage and punish those who text and drive. Each time the legislation has been proposed at the state level in previous years it has failed to become law.
The city of Phoenix was successful in imposing a texting ban about a year ago but there have been less than a dozen arrests, meaning either people have decided not to text and drive or the law just isn't enforced that faithfully by police who have lots of other crimes to worry about.
My guess is there just isn't that much enforcement of the Phoenix ban.
The state, for example, has a law against distracted driving - but we all nevertheless see plenty of that happening all the time. In fact, that same law could be applied to texters without any need for a texting-specific law. But it really isn't enforced as much as it could be, perhaps because it is hard to prove even if you catch someone doing it.
The inherent flaw in this year's texting law and previous proposals is that they try to single out texting rather than addressing distracted driving in general.
Opponents of Melvin's measure point out that it does nothing to address talking on cell phones - something many consider distracting - or surfing the web, watching a movie or playing a game on a cell phone. The newer “smart” phones allow all of that to be done - yes, even while driving.
Some may say no one would do things like that.
Well, they do. USA Today reported recently that one in five drivers said in an online survey that they browsed the Internet while driving. By the way, 35 percent in the same survey said they texted while driving.
Just think of all the things you can do on smart phones - check your Facebook account, see how your favorite sports team is doing, watch a movie or TV show. Oh yes, you can actually use the phone as a phone and call Aunt Maude to see how she is going.
It is likely there is a lot more distracted driving involving cell phones than most of us imagine.
Insurance companies - they did the online survey - have an inherent interest in discouraging it. But really all of us have an interest in addressing it because distracted drivers can cause accidents.
But there are many forms of distraction and trying to address it one piece at a time - as texting laws do - makes no sense. Toughen laws against distracted driving in general.
Terry Ross is director of the Yuma Sun's News and Information Center. E-mail him at tross@yumasun.com or phone him at 539-6870.
