Thread: The Illegality Of Driving While Talking On A Cell Phone

I'm original from Md Wash DC area,.. its been illegal there for quite some time. 10 yrs ago I bought a place here in Fla and its perfectly legal to text/talk on the phone and drive. Its on the books to make it illegal but they cant seem to make their mind up and for the past 2 yrs it keeps getting shoved back.

I think it should be illegal. I cant even begin to count how many people I have come up on swerving or driving 30 mph in the fast lane in a 50 mph zone,.. just not paying attention to their driving. It frustrates me to no end. They yak on the phone with out a care in the world completely oblivious to their surroundings.

Myth Busters did some tests and found that talking on the phone while driving was more dangerous than drinking and driving. 2 yrs ago I was at a red light and a guy slammed into the back of the car next to me pushing it out into the intersection where it was hit by another car. It was later discovered the girl that hit them was trying to type out a text message.



I cant wait for them to make it illegal. There are so many other options like voice dialing and bluetooth head sets. There is no excuse for drivers to neglect their responsibility to pay attention while driving.

Hurst

While I strongly agree with not texting/driving, I must admit I am a hypocrite.

I guess when you're in the moment, you can't just stop driving to make/answer a phone call or wait on a text. When accidents happen, that's when you regret it

I didn't know it's still legal in developed country lol.
In my country if they catch you few times with it you loose your driving license

I dont know how it is in other states,.. but in Md. Va and wash DC they can confiscate your phone plus a fine and its a moving violation which adds 3 pts to your license. It is up to the officers discretion to confiscate the phone or not.

Hurst

A friend of mine summed this up pretty well on Facebook the other day, here's what he said:

"I hate the idiot on the cellphone with his blinker on for miles as much as the next guy, but come on, lets tone down the mommy-state bullshit. Is a cell-phone more distracting than screwing with the radio or eating a cheeseburger while driving? Do you plan on outlawing those too? Do cell-phone distractions cause more vehicle deaths than being old does? Plan on putting a cap on driving age? Morons are going to find ways to kill people with their cars, unless we outlaw cars that is never going to change."

I absolutely agree with him. I see the guy on my hour+ commute reading the newspaper while he's driving his minivan. He's probably got a cup of coffee in there too too. I see the chick tossing on her eye makeup in the visor mirror...are either of these any less dangerous than talking on the phone? I don't think so.

For my part, I don't really care because I use the bluetooth in my car. But I guess it's ok since so many people drive like sh*t when talking on the phone.

Its illegal here aswell. And I believe it should be illegal. There are too many idiots on the road nowdays

In Sweden it's legal to talk in cell phones whilst driving your car. But to be honest, I think its alright. Though, in high-traffic areas it shouldn't be allowed. You loose focus very easily when not focusing on the road. I remember the Mythbusters episode about it. It was actually more dangerous to drive and talk in a phone at the same time, than driving whilst being drunk :) Makes you wonder, don't it? hehe

I think it should be illegal, but that won't stop people from doing it. People are like that. If it's easy to get away with it, why not do it.