Intentional Observation: Cell phones and drivers
10 January 2010 1 Comment
It’s funny how I can nearly always tell if a driver is on their cell phone. They’re half in their lane, half not. Realizing they’re only half in their lane and over-correcting. Sluggish to take off after a light turns green, or ignoring the light in the first place. The following is a friend’s Facebook status of gratefulness I noticed in my news feed this morning:
. . . is grateful for the ice on Happy Hollow. If it hadn’t taken my car about 10 seconds to get some traction after stopping at a red light, I would have been broad-sided by the moron talking on his cell phone that blew through a VERY red light. I don’t think he even saw that there *was* a light, he was so oblivious. Never thought icy roads would help me *avoid* being in an accident!
Approximately 90% of the time I observe a driver driving distractedly and I come up next to or behind them they will have a cell phone pressed to their ear. A month or so ago I heard a news bit suggesting Nebraska may soon enact a law prohibiting cell phone use while driving (or at least requiring a hands free device). That’s all well and good, but I’m skeptical at how well local authorities will be able to enforce such a law.
Here in Canada such laws have been very recently implemented. But they are at first enforcing them with warnings, and then they will gradually move on to penalties. Typically I would think such preventative measures useless; just more bureaucracy, but I’m totally for cell-phone bans for drivers (including head sets). Restaurants and other public places should look into banning them from their premises too. A simple sign with a cell phone in a circle with a slash through it might work wonders.