California Teen Cell Phone Use Ban While Driving

[Munkay]

Like how effectively underage smoking or drinking is enforced, which is also illegal. I agree it is unreal how DWI/DUI/Driving on suspended license cases are adjudicated, but what does that have to do with the price of tea in China? Nicole Ritchie, OJ, Paris, Brittany, etc are seemingly above the law and can afford to buy a different form of justice than the common person.

And the degenerate from MA with ~20 DUI's? Does he have the same fame and money?

To (re)quote your first post:

I just fear that soon you will know people with a "rap sheet" a mile long... Filled with such things as staring at a women for more than 10 seconds, using a cell phone while driving, and watering your lawn on the wrong day of the week.

Your fear of a police state where every little thing is written as right or wrong is hyperbolic Kandrathe. We're talking about a law that is preventing risky behavior while operating a piece of 2 ton machinery. As ideal as it would be to just outlaw reckless driving, it isn't enough to leave it ambiguous. A couple weeks ago I read a poll online that said 80% of drivers polled considered themselves to be in the top 30% of drivers; Whether or not that poll is correct in its percentages, it's pretty obvious most people think they're better at driving than they are in reality. Without some explicit rules, there are plenty of people out there who think they are 'just as good' driving with a cell phone in their ear.

Maybe if we spent some money and effort into hiring more cops, we could better police the roads.

And this solution doesn't even begin to solve the problem. You can't police everywhere, and if you tried, you'd be much closer to that police state you were worried about in your last post. The idea of making explicit what should be implicit is to tell people - specifically young adults learning to drive for the first time - there are some things that no matter how you *think* you're driving, they cause you to be less alert and make you reckless whether you're swerving or not.

And let's be honest, the problem with doing things in the car isn't just about swerving. The problem is in big part reaction time. And that isn't something police are going to pick up on when you're driving by at 60mph. When a kid's on a cell phone and an animal, or god forbid another kid, jumps in front of the car their reaction time is going to be diminished.

Look, we all know people are going to drive recklessly despite our best efforts. But to make explicit what is implicit in the law sends a clear message to young drivers. No, you can't talk with a cell phone in your ear and still operate a motor vehicle safely. And if you do it, you're going to be punished by law. It's not going to stop everyone, but it is going to prevent more kids from doing it than if you leave it to be implied.

Cheers,

Munk