Re: How the $20 first-time cellphone-in-car penalty will cost you $97

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Lauren Weinstein <lauren () vortex com>
Date: August 16, 2008 1:47:20 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Cc: lauren () vortex com
Subject: Re: [IP] Re: How the $20 first-time cellphone-in-car penalty  
will cost you $97


Dave,

The "no handheld phones while driving" laws are based on "feel
good" politics, not science.  Even the main proponent of the law
here in California has admitted that the science isn't there.

If you really want to cut down on distraction accidents, you need
to ban all outside distractions and the children in the back seat,
as a start.

The trick is that you can easily *see* someone holding a cell phone,
but you can't easily see many of the even more serious distractions
from another vehicle.  And the science says over and over again that
the distraction level is the same from handheld or hands-free phones,
but politicians don't have the guts to ban *all* cell phone usage
while driving in this country.

On this topic:

http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000190.html    

http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000189.html

--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein
lauren () vortex com or lauren () pfir org
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
http://www.pfir.org/lauren
Co-Founder, PFIR
  - People For Internet Responsibility - http://www.pfir.org
Co-Founder, NNSquad
  - Network Neutrality Squad - http://www.nnsquad.org
Founder, PRIVACY Forum - http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com

 - - -

> I don'y ya;l while driving. I have a speaker attachment and I may
> answer BUT it is just to see if it is a panic or not and then tell
> them I will call back latter or when I can pull off the road. BUT
> there are a lot of distractions in a car -- talk radio, yelling kids ,
> nagging wives (not mine). Do we out;law all of these things? How about
> brightly lit signboards at night? Where do we stop?
>
> Dave
>
>
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Steve Lamont <spl () ncmir ucsd edu>
> Date: August 16, 2008 11:27:49 AM EDT
> To: dave () farber net
> Subject: Re: [IP] How the $20 first-time cellphone-in-car penalty will
> cost you $97
>
> > > From: janosG <janosg () gmail com>
> > > Date: August 15, 2008 9:48:05 AM PDT
> > > Subject: How the $20 first-time cellphone-in-car penalty will cost
> > > you $97
> > >
> > > [A stupid law, with outrageously inflated penalty - and I say that
> > > without having been caught yet!...:)]
> > >
> > > <http://www.mercurynews.com/mrroadshow/ci_10212334?nclick_check=1>
> > >
> > > <<Here is the breakdown for a cell phone citation based on fees in
> > > Santa Clara County and in San Jose. Fees vary slightly from county
> > > to county.
>
> As someone who was nearly run down by oblivious cell phone yakkers
> twice in as many days as I was legally and otherwise safely crossing
> the street in a crosswalk at a traffic light, I might suggest that the
> penalty is not harsh enough.
>
> It should be treated on the same level of offense as a DUI, since it's
> been shown that hand held *or* hands free driving while using a cell
> phone is as dangerous as being drunk.
>
>         http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=570222
>
> License suspension on the first offense, *permanent* revocation on the
> second would be fine with me.
>
> What's stupid (monumentally, I might add) is the notion that one is so
> darned important that one must be in constant communication, even at
> the risk of killing or maiming others.
>
> Hang up and drive.
>
>                                                         spl
>
>
>
>
>
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