Cellphones and driving
After wading through more than 100 e-mails from readers, the verdict is in: The vast majority of people who wrote to me support the state ban that kicks in July 1 that prohibits motorists from driving and holding a cellphone to their ear.
If you need a primer on the new law, here’s a link to a Q&A I wrote for the paper last week.
A little taste of some of the reaction from readers:
Joseph Riser, of Hermon, had this observation after watching a city of Los Angeles garbage truck driver at work recently in Hermon, in northeast Los Angeles:
“There was a guy driving one of L.A. City's huge trash trucks with one hand down a narrow, winding, hilly road in Hermon. The other hand was, of course, holding his cell phone to his ear. Then somehow between them he was managing every 30 feet or so, to work the controls for the mechanical arm (his third arm?) that picks up the big blue bins of recycling, and dumps them in the back of the truck.
"If I had any ambivalence about the change of laws before, now I think maybe they were way too slow in coming. We've just become too used to everyone's poor driving habits, and probably don't even realize the risks all around us caused by them.”
Jeannette Lee, of La Habra, wrote that the new law wouldn't go far enough:
“I think that anyone caught using a hand held cell phone while driving for the second time should get a $500 citation, plus the police officer should get to confiscate the cell phone and destroy it by running over it with his patrol car while the idiot driver watches," she wrote.
Why don't more people like her run for elected office?
Not everyone likes the law. Some see it as an impingement on their rights; others suggested that it hardly dents the real issue -– there are lots of things that distract drivers, and cellphones are only one of them.
Still others believe that the law needs more teeth. Joe Casalino, of New York City, wrote that he would like to see cellphone violations result in points to one’s driving record –- something that would truly discourage hands-free use. New York has had such a law since 2001.
-- Steve Hymon, "Road Sage"
Photo: Associated Press
