Quote:
Originally Posted by strombad
Because people ARE more busy and important than they were 30 years ago. As society changes, so do things like "cellphone requirements" and the like. Saying something like "things haven't changed in 30 years" is borderline ridiculous. Of course they have, they've change extreme amounts in the last 30 years. It's not just the technology that has changed, but EVERYTHING.
I get what you're saying, but don't criticise people for making hollow arguments by making your own ridiculously hollow argument along the lines of "Well if it was good enough 30 years ago it's good enough for me!" because that speaks an awful lot to something else you said, what was it?
The fact is, technology, society, and the requirements and abilities of both of vastly changed over the last 30 years. Things have made people faster, better, more efficient, safer (the ability to call 911 at any time for instance) and yes, more unsafe at times (texting while driving is an abuse of the benefits mobile technology offers).
Whether you like it or not, it's the way life is. We can all agree that texting while driving is dangerous and stupid, but don't make some ridiculous comment like "things haven't changed since 30 years ago!" because it makes you look like you're scrounging to make a point you really don't have to try that hard to make.
|
First of all I said, 'a lot of these things haven't changed'. I never said nothing has changed. Are we busier than we were 30 years ago, sure I can admit that. But are we as busy as we think, or are we so busy we need to do something that is very obviously and very statistically dangerous? No. That's an illusion and an inflated sense of importance. As I said, there are workarounds for every single thing people have said here. And I think most would agree, that a lot of what we think or feel as busy, could easily be lessened by a simple change in priorities, one of which I am arguing here. It is more important to drive safe, that to engage in all this phone stuff, 99% of which isn't necessary.
Things do change. But it doesn't mean we can't legislate and re-evaluate as they do. We have a near zero tolerance for alcohol and driving because it is the right and smart thing to do. Drinking and driving is very unsafe, and impedes on others freedoms to get around safely. That, is taking away freedoms as much as saying you shouldn't be on the phone while driving. One could make the argument that no one ever NEEDS to drink, so I'm not going to say they are the same, but as far as safety vs freedom and safety vs inconvenience it's a decision we've made as a society because it makes sense.
Texting and driving is as dangerous as drinking and driving. You can't simply brush it away by saying phones are more important because the fact of the matter is, they aren't nearly as important as you think. You can pull over, you can wait a few minutes, you can do so many things other than picking it up while driving.
I also find it funny that people here will defend using phones while driving, but are so quick to say in other threads that people use their phones too much, or society, and especially kids, are needlessly addicted to their phones, or why don't people pay attention when they walk instead of looking at their phones? It's the exact same thing. Why do these people all of a sudden become so self important when it's them with their phone in their car?
Are we busier? Sure. But is it as busy as people want to think, or so busy we can't slow down to do important things like drive safely? No.