Premier eyes cellphone ban - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

Dion · 08-12-2007, 01:11 PM

http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Columnis...11974-sun.html

"I want to find out the impact the legislation in Newfoundland and Labrador has had on the number and severity of motor vehicle accidents. If there is solid evidence demonstrating the banning of the use of hand-held cellphones while driving leads to a reduction in collisions, I definitely want to look into it further," Premier Ed tells the Sun.

Good or bad idea?

jolinar of malkshor · 08-12-2007, 01:14 PM

I don`t know.....I have seen some people that drive with cell phones and they are complete donky`s.....but I think there are far more people that can drive with a cell phone no problem.

BlackArcher101 · 08-12-2007, 01:15 PM

Good idea. There is a reason I pull over when my phone rings, it's because I know it affects my reaction time and attention I pay to surroundings.

Juventus3 · 08-12-2007, 01:16 PM

They can do what they want, my car's bluetooth handsfree link makes it impossible for them to know.

HOOT · 08-12-2007, 01:22 PM

I'm guilty of talking and texting on my phone while driving. I just never really think about how it distracts me, I should really just use bluetooth I only have about a dozen of them!

Azure · 08-12-2007, 01:25 PM

Does the government have to control every aspect of our lives? What happened to people taking responsibility upon themselves when they drive...and pulling over when someone calls? Just like many have said they do here in this thread.

Resolute 14 · 08-12-2007, 01:48 PM

If people did take more responsibility, things like this wouldnt be needed.

I've seen enough clowns on the road that lack the ability to both talk on a phone and drive at the same time that this is a good idea.

And rather than a useless little fine, the punishment should be that the cop confiscates your phone. You can pick it back up the next day, regardless of whether you pay the fine or challenge the ticket.

Burninator · 08-12-2007, 01:52 PM

I am guilty of losing focus when I am driving and talking on my phone. Except the focus is usually lost on the talking part.

I can't say I am in favour of this. There is lots of things people do in their car to lose focus. Playing with the radio, changing a cd, looking at a map, eating food etc. The difference is this is easier to enforce than the rest of those.

Table 5 · 08-12-2007, 01:56 PM

Finally, something of Stelmach's I can get behind.

There are way too many distractions on the road these days, and this has to be one of the most dangerous. Fact of the matter is even good drivers lose focus when talking on the phone, and the benefits far outway the risks (if you really need to talk, pull over...it cant be that important that you need to risk everyone else's life).

Hemi-Cuda · 08-12-2007, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Azure

Does the government have to control every aspect of our lives? What happened to people taking responsibility upon themselves when they drive...and pulling over when someone calls? Just like many have said they do here in this thread.

that's fine for you and me, but what about the jackass who has no personal responsibility and t-bones one of us in an intersection while jabbering away? i've lost count on how many accidents i've almost been in where i look over and the person is on a cell phone completely oblivious to the carnage they nearly caused. as for myself if i get a call while driving i simply tell whoever it is that i'll call them back when i get home, but there is no way to control what other people do. so if a law will get them to think twice about sticking the phone to their ear for the entire drive then i'm all for it

CrusaderPi · 08-12-2007, 02:22 PM

Damn, I was hoping they were looking at a total ban on cell phones. I'll settle for a ban on driving with them. For now.

Table 5 · 08-12-2007, 02:25 PM

Agreed. They should put a ban on yammering on about dumb sh*t on the bus/train just because you are trying to pass the time, not realizing everyone has to listen to your inane blather.

Resolute 14 · 08-12-2007, 02:28 PM

Actually, mocking the conversation usually puts a real fast stop to that.

Thunderball · 08-12-2007, 02:32 PM

Why don't we ban billboards on all roads, or ban people from driving their crying/bratty kids, or ban scantily clad women from walking along roadways, cause those are all empirically proven distractors too...

Are we children that the government needs to coddle and instruct on every little thing?

HOOT · 08-12-2007, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thunderball

Why don't we ban billboards on all roads, or ban people from driving their crying/bratty kids, or ban scantily clad women from walking along roadways, cause those are all empirically proven distractors too...

Are we children that the government needs to coddle and instruct on every little thing?

Okay now you are just taking this way too far

McG · 08-12-2007, 02:41 PM

great idea.

since most of the talking is simply idle chatter, let's end it.

Thunderball · 08-12-2007, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HOOT

Okay now you are just taking this way too far

Well, really, its a slippery slope. There are a TON of distractors in driving each very capable of causing a dangerous accident, and we can't seriously ban them all. Here's the five things that distract me the most in my car:

1. Other passengers
2. Radio Controls
3. Climate Control
4. Other Drivers
5. Advertisements/Billboards

Are we gonna ban these?

I mean, a lot of people are just bad drivers, irregardless of whether or not they are on a cellphone or not. Taking away the phone will not make them a better driver. There's many distractions to take their place and cause as many accidents as before.

Metro Gnome · 08-12-2007, 02:44 PM

I think we should also ban angry drivers. And being sad probably lowers focus on the road, so ban that too. Smoking in cars needs to be cut back on too - it's pretty much the last place smokers can go to smoke nowadays, but what's one more government incursion? Hell, I say have walking, armed guards prowling the streets to ensure everyone's continued safety from everyone else.

In fact, the government should just chain everyone up in their basements and feed them through tubes. No accidents will ever happen again, you can be certain.

Ford Prefect · 08-12-2007, 02:49 PM

I'm usually opposed to the government legislating how we live our lives, but this is safety issue, not a life style issue. Kind of like seat belts and bike helmets. So go for it Ed.

Thunderball · 08-12-2007, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ford Prefect

I'm usually opposed to the government legislating how we live our lives, but this is safety issue, not a life style issue. Kind of like seat belts and bike helmets. So go for it Ed.

Of course, with safety belts and helmets, one can argue that the person is only endangering themselves with their own idiocy, so why should the government have to regulate it?

With Cellphones its a different issue. It can definitely be a distractor, but so can a myriad of other things... most of these things are built standard into a vehicle. Unlike drunk driving, which is a proven danger pertaining to a statistical majority. Like I said before, the biggest distractor is passengers... people that you may or may not otherwise love pointing out things and asking questions and shouting out things, and gasping out "oh god" when they remember something, all the while serving as a massive distraction to the driver. Things like this should just fall into the "people should know better" category, not the "government micromanagement" category... but why think when the government will eventually do it for you?