LaHood calls for nationwide ban on cell phone conversations, texting while driving
(Jason Getz, AJC)
(Updated 3:04 p.m.)
If it’s left up to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, no driver on U.S. roads would be allowed to talk or text on cell phones while behind the wheel.
LaHood on Thursday called on Congress to ban talking or texting while driving any vehicle on any road in the nation, according to a Reuters report.
LaHood told a group of doctors, advocates and government officials in San Antonio that the problem of accidents connected to cell phone use is a “national epidemic.” The National Transportation Safety Administration reported 3,000 traffic deaths attributed to distracted driving last year, many blamed on cell phone use.
He said he was not too concerned about people who eat or apply makeup while driving because “not everyone does that,” Reuters reported.
“But everyone has a cell phone and too many of us think it is OK to talk on our phones while we are driving,” the secretary was quoted as saying.
LaHood has been pushing for the ban for several years. His office said he remains supportive of state efforts to address the issue. So far, 37 states plus the District of Columbia have banned texting while driving and 10 states plus D.C. have total bans on handheld phones while driving.
Georgia’s law banning texting while driving took effect July 1, 2010. According to the state Department of Driver Services, there had been more than 500 convictions for violations of the law as of mid-December.
Georgia Code 40-6-241.1 prohibits people under the age of 18 from “wireless communications” (cell phone conversations, texting, sending or reading emails, etc.) while operating a motor vehicle. Georgia Code 40-6-241.2 prohibits people 18 years old or older from “writing, sending or reading text based communication” while operating a motor vehicle.
Is it time for a federal ban on talking and texting while driving?
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163 comments Add your comment
R D
April 27th, 2012
2:12 pm
Do it and do it now,the latest thing I have been seeing is people driving with ear buds in
JD
April 27th, 2012
2:15 pm
BAN CHILDREN! They are the most distracting forces applied to a driver.
I can’t believe the number of you in favor of this. It’s a complete over reach by the government.
You can still smoke while driving, because holding a burning item between your lips while driving is a good idea.
Next it will be eating, listing to music, nab systems, thinking…. where does it stop.
This is just stupid.
martell knight
April 27th, 2012
2:15 pm
I live in N.J. but I’m from Atlanta. The drivers here in N.J. & N.Y. are some of the worst drivers I’ve seen. In fact they are trying to pass laws here in both states for the same reason and only blue tooth installed cars will be accepted for communication.
Shep
April 27th, 2012
2:22 pm
All I can say is that if anyone hits me while they are driving and talking/texting on their phone I plan to take them to court and sue them for everything they have.
Becky
April 27th, 2012
2:24 pm
Absolutely agree with total ban, I believe this is the case in most European countries. It may not be enforceable but get in an accident and the fine should be huge.
Road Scholar
April 27th, 2012
2:29 pm
What about people who NEED to talk while driving? Pull over to the side of the road!
Are all calls necessary? No! Aperson decides when to use a phone.
If a person talks on their cell phone loudly in a restaurant…have their car towed! Or double their bill-donate the overcharge to charity!
Easy solution: If you have an accident while operating a phone….double or triple all fines and sentences! And pay the one you hit a “disruption” fee!
wondering
April 27th, 2012
2:29 pm
I don’t know why the world has bought into the notion that all of us have to be “in touch” or “available” 24 hours a day. Driving while texting or talking is the same thing as horsing around with a loaded gun. You can’t rely on people to do the right thing anymore because all of us seem to believe that it’s “all about me.” Pass the law and enforce it! MADD should be as vigilant against this as they are against drunk driving.
Kris T.
April 27th, 2012
2:30 pm
Turn Off Your Phone, Please Watch Your Driving
If you can put your phone down long enough to negotiate a left hand curve without encroaching on my lane, thanks for visiting our town and I hope you enjoy your stay.
If you can put your phone down and manipulate the turn signal lever so that we have some idea of your intentions, thanks for visiting our town and I hope you enjoy your stay.
If you can drive on I-75 or I-285 or I-20 and stay within 10 mph of the posted speed limit, thanks for visiting our town and I pray you survive your stay.
Thank You!
dan johnson
April 27th, 2012
2:32 pm
WAY OVER DUE
brock
April 27th, 2012
2:33 pm
I agree w/ this complete ban. While you may feel you are safe using a cell and driving, statistics show this not to be the case (just like DUIs).
And for whatever reason, the accident numbers are not much different for hands-free devices. Probably something about the human mind being taken elsewhere in conversation. Regardless of what you feel, or whether we understand why, the numbers support a ban.
William
April 27th, 2012
2:34 pm
Absolutely! And singing too, listening to music and singing along kills more people than cell phones. Also, picking your nose.. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve seen almost kill someone when they’ve got a long one in there digging for gold. And don’t forget keeping your eyes straight ahead and hands at 10 and 2… that right ther might save dozens of lives.
I just wish the government was more involved with what people are and are not doing out here.
KyndaLynn
April 27th, 2012
2:35 pm
I am totally in agreement with this, however it needs to apply to everyone. I have seen just as many cops and ambulance drivers on phones and texting as I have civilians. This is already law for tractor trailer drivers. It should be law for anyone, public official or not.
djj
April 27th, 2012
2:35 pm
If they do I think that all conversations between drivers and passengers be banned also it should be required for someone in the car to attend to any children who could be a distraction. No adjusting radios should be allowed, no putting on makeup no eating or drinking while driving, all billboards and other advertisements should be removed so as not to distract the driver. No cb radios in semis or cars, just more liberal control it will never happen in an election year and should it happen afterward the politicians will have a price to pay….
Sparkler
April 27th, 2012
2:36 pm
Criminalizing this behavior is effective even if difficult to enforce. The major difference is that when it contributes to an accident, the penalites should be much stiffer and insurance companies should jump on this bandwagon…. Much like DUI, many do it and don’t get caught. But a person can have the same accident they would had if sober, but if they are DUI, the repercussions are much more severe. As others have said, it’s hard to legislate stupidity, but there can be consequences for it!
djj
April 27th, 2012
2:37 pm
and to all the ones above asking for me to turn off my phone while driving I say bite me!!!
dixie darling
April 27th, 2012
2:38 pm
Why limit to just motor vehicles? I once watched someone texting while driving his motorcycle down the Interstate — probably going 80 or more mph. Cell phones, i-pads, i-phones, tablets, or any other electronic device should be out-lawed from use while driving any kind of vehicle — whether car, van, bus, motorcycle, ATV, bicycle, lawnmower, golf cart, dune buggy — whatever! not moving down the road, street, or path.
Also please don’t bother others with your conversations! Communicate when you are in a PRIVATE place — not in the grocery store, waiting in line at the theatre, on the bus, etc and so forth.
TalkativeMom
April 27th, 2012
2:45 pm
I will use my phone whenever I want and don’t care what law passes. Innocent until PROVEN guilty lol
real john
April 27th, 2012
3:17 pm
If we are going to ban cell phones than I propose the following “distractions” as well.
1. No food in the car.
2. No pets in the car since they are distracting.
3. No babies in the car…what if they starting crying?? What would we “stupid, average, mass citizens” do??
4. No more radios and CD players in car.
5. No more GPS devices in the car.
6. No maps or pieces of paper that can be read in the car.
There maybe the millions and millions (oh wait 3000) people that were distracted will be okay.
real john
April 27th, 2012
3:19 pm
For that matter lets also say no talking to other passengers in the car either…
RAMZAD
April 27th, 2012
3:47 pm
I don’t care if you talk and drive. Just don’t let your talking show up in your driving.
accord
April 27th, 2012
3:56 pm
Right on Motorcyclist! All police officers talk on their cell phones/text while driving. Hell, they don’t even use their own turning signals when changing lanes…..especially the Ga State Patrol on the highways….it’s like they don’t even see the “solid double white lines” when they get in and out of them!
rojer
April 27th, 2012
3:57 pm
#2
I dont care what is passed and will use my cell as I please in my car. But… shocker… I will be careful when I do it and make sure I dont hit anyone.
DLink
April 27th, 2012
3:59 pm
Just a question out of curiosity. Who here with kids under 18 has called that child when there was a fair chance their kid was behind the wheel for any reason… And afterward reminded them to not talk on the phone while they’re driving.
This is how it is
April 27th, 2012
4:07 pm
I’ll talk on my cell while driving.. Pass the law all you want I will continue to do so.. The problem isn’t the phones themselves but a combination of stupid IDIOTS that think they have to drive 80+ MPH.. Those same people have to get over quickly into the “fastlane” soon as they enter the highway… THERE is NO EFFING “Fastlane” The effing speed limit is set for a damn reason… I drive 5 over the limit… You damn bunch of morons on I-20 think you have to shove the frontend of your car up the azz of the car in front of you then rearend eachother.. Thanks a effing lot for making me waste my gas and time sitting cause you think you are so effing speacial and think you own the road. Come on up close to my car cause I guarantee I WILL slow down more than the speed limit in which I am already doing 5 MPH over… Thanks for nothing you stupid MORONS. I have been talking on my phone for over 8 years while driving.. I have never came close to an accident because I drive like a normal person should and not like some stupid It’s all about me MORON piece of crap!!! Stupid losers!
DandT
April 27th, 2012
4:12 pm
The problem is that those that CAN’T talk and drive are the ones making it bad for everyone else. Most of the time when there is an issue with a driver, cutting in front of somebody, pulling out without looking, driving 30 MPH on the highway in the fast lane, etc they are on the phone talking.
It never fails that every single day, something happens and when I look it is someone propped up on the phone.
Sid
April 27th, 2012
4:17 pm
actually this is trivially enforced via software – the phone know if it’s moving & how fast. > 5 mph you’re assumed to be driving a moving vehicle so drop current call & don’t put through new one(s) and/or texts. want to allow bluetooth? no problem – the phone knows what device it outputting audio to. I’m not saying I WANT this (though I have & would be OK w/handsfree requirement), just that you don’t need cops to enforce it (though if you did it in software cops wouldn’t get the revenue from tickets…). granted this would hose passengers but 1) there’s probably easily a 10:1 ratio of driver calls to passenger ones (just based on single-occupancy passenger miles vs multi) & 2) government rarely cares about collateral damage anyway. (un)fortunately we don’t make these kinds of decisions in this country based on what makes technical sense so between CTIA lobbying (re: bribery) & cops losing ticket revenue I wouldn’t worry too much about that being implemented…
Kris T.
April 27th, 2012
4:30 pm
What about the 99+ wrecks the Ga State Patrol caused last year. My guess mostly caused so they could write a speeding ticket. every one of two police I have seen was talking on a cell phone. Just saying.
hotinatlanta
April 27th, 2012
4:35 pm
@beebee – it’s not just women. I’ve been behind men who are on their cells and they are the worst drivers. They are all over the road, drive extremely slow, stop 4 car lengths behind the person in front of them and they always have to lean on their right elbow. Hands free does nothing cause you still have to dial or touch your phone to answer. I think all cell phone use in cars should be illegal as well as smoking, eating & doing your hair/make-up. Problem is, if you don’t cause a wreck or get pulled over by the police no one’s the wiser that you’re an idiot behind the wheel!
DaPhoneIsBad
April 27th, 2012
4:43 pm
It’s not the phone in your hands. Most people use one hand on the wheel anyway.
It’s that most folks get distracted during the conversation on the phone and don’t pay attention to what they are doing.
Ms Safety
April 27th, 2012
5:04 pm
I believe that when someone drives while carrying on a phone conversation, they are not able to focus completely on both the conversation and the road (with its hazards and abrupt changes). I may be mistaken but it seems like the phone chat may be a distraction for the driver.
Sheltiman
April 27th, 2012
5:10 pm
What’s next from our wonderful federal government, laws to make us eat our vegetables and brush out teeth? I already have a Mom, stay out of my life.
gooch
April 27th, 2012
5:17 pm
Saw a school bus driver talking on cell phone this morning as he was driving down Ridge Road. Bus was full of children. And this idiot will still be driving next week.
This is how it is
April 27th, 2012
5:22 pm
@hotinatlanta
I bet you would want the screen door option on a submarine wouldn’t you?
reality
April 27th, 2012
5:29 pm
…and the Department of Cell Phone (DCPE) Enforcement needs to be created to monitor proper cell phone usage. This could be another great incursion into the crushing of personal liberties in this country. I am surprised by the number of republicans on this page that are in favor of MORE government.
Cooltaurus21
April 27th, 2012
5:31 pm
What about GPS systems, those monitors for your child in the rear seat, camera’s etc. When does it end. It is against the law to have ear phones in VA, this goes back to when I was in college in 1985! I wear a bluetooth! If they want to make it a law then they should fine the cell phone company’s for making the darn things in the first place!
Jeff
April 27th, 2012
5:32 pm
By all means, let’s ban having a conversation on a cell phone while driving, because that’s a distraction. Then, to follow that logic, we also need to remove radios and CD players from cars because THEY are a distraction. We should also ban Ipods, eating doughnuts, drinking bottled water, arguing with your teenage son, discussing directions with your wife, laughing at a joke, yelling at your kids in the backseat to behave, trying to change lanes, turning on your windshield wipers, fiddling with the air conditioner, sneezing, adjusting your seat belt, and burping, because all of THOSE could be distractions as well.
This is absurd. Don’t punish the VAST MAJORITY of us who are smart and capable enough to carry on a quick (and often necessary) phone conversation while driving along a wide-open 4-lane highway in broad daylight JUST BECAUSE a few moronic pinheads can’t manage to multi-task effectively. Yes, I can agree to a ban on texting because you have to look DOWN to do that, but a quick one-button dial of your co-worker at the office to get directions to meet a client — and then having a quick 2 minute conversation to confirm the address and what needs to be delivered or picked up — should NOT BE ILLEGAL.
We need to quit governing our nation on the lowest common denominator (kids who can’t pass classes, kids who can’t make the all-star team, adults to can’t handle mortgages, and jellyheads who can’t talk and drive at the same time) and start governing based on HIGH STANDARDS. Let’s let what you liberals believe in take place — in the truest sense, let’s let “survival of the fittest” rule.
This whole discussion is scary — be careful, people, before you start allowing the federal government to ban things. First it’s cell phone talking in a car, then it’s eating trans-fats, then suddenly it’s what you can view on the internet or have in your home or do in your free time. Pretty soon we are a dictatorship and you’re wondering “what happened?” Don’t let this happen. I urge you to be SAFE and be CAREFUL and not to TEXT, but my God, if you can’t talk and drive at the same time, you shouldn’t have a freakin’ license to begin with.
Rick James
April 27th, 2012
5:38 pm
When it comes to our civil liberties being threatened this is the most dangerous presidential administration in US history..
Ann
April 27th, 2012
5:39 pm
@ gtcitizen Regarding “What about individuals whose livelihoods depend on the ability to use a cell phone responsibly while driving (truck drivers, self-employed business-owners, etc) to and from job-sites or in route to service calls?”
It’s called “pulling over” to make a call. All these workers made a living (somehow) before cell phones were regularly in usage. To imply that it is not possible now doesn’t make sense. Many businesses, in fact, have policies forbidding cell phone use while driving a company vehicle or while driving a personal vehicle on business. They don’t want to pay for driver mistakes.
People who cannot avoid answering their phone while driving are simply addicted to their phone. Research has shown that people respond to the cell phone ring with an endorphin response. It is the “hope” that it will be some sort of important call, when it rarely is. They respond just like trained research rats.
Geepers
April 27th, 2012
5:42 pm
I can think of 3,000 reasons/year to ban it. Ban away.
Steve
April 27th, 2012
5:52 pm
As a Locksmith in todays world I need to be able to take calls while driving.
Delbert D.
April 27th, 2012
6:00 pm
With the new black boxes that are going to be in all new cars in a couple of years, the police will be able to determine if you were talking (on a cell phone or to a passenger, or even singing along with the radio) during the last 30 seconds before an accident.
TonyH
April 27th, 2012
6:01 pm
If this passes as a nationwide law, they need to enforce the tinted window law if there is one. How will banning and enforcing a cell phone law work if the law can’t see inside the vehicle??
BigBroEatAVerga
April 27th, 2012
6:02 pm
C’mon Feds… I am a property manager. I have to drive all over the state and TALK ON THE PHONE WHILE I’M DOING IT. I’m still a better driver on the phone than 99% of you invalids and jabberwonkies are with complete focus.
Don’t ban talking on the phone. Ban driving by people with less than a 100 IQ…. Like pretty much everyone in south Atlanta. And ban all of you idiots who drive two feet from my bumper.
3000 deaths a year!?!??!! Oh no!!! CALL in the Idiot Brigade!!!! More people than that die from being lard butts. Let’s ban food to, eh?
F-Ing Morons…
dpointer
April 27th, 2012
6:10 pm
All of you people who HAVE to drive for your job – Pull over and do your business, then get back on the road. What did your profession do before cell phones? Are you so important that an innocent persons life is just the price we pay? And anyone who says they can drive and talk on the cell phone is a liar! PERIOD
dpointer
April 27th, 2012
6:12 pm
To all of you belly-aching about your rights. Your rights stop when it endangers someone else right to live. Grow up and get over it!
Jason
April 27th, 2012
6:30 pm
While we are at it, let’s ban doing makeup while driving in the morning. Seen it way too many times. Oh and let’s tack on not allowing minivans, SUVs and old farts driving in the left lane. In fact, any car that does not have a V8 should not be allowed in the left lane on the Interstate. Also let’s take away drivers licenses from anyone that does not use a signal when making a turn or changing a lane. Also take it away if I am coming down the street and you turn and pull right out in front of me and proceed to go 20 MPH. Also, most importantly, making the legal driving age 18, not 16. Parents can cry me a river about that. Kids have no business driving.
Fed Up With Dumb Drivers
April 27th, 2012
6:35 pm
hey LaHood, what about these idiots that have their newspaper spread out across the steering wheel, driving while reading? Not enough of them either? And people, what is it with those of you who leave your home in the morning, and before you even get out of your subdivision, you gotta have the cellphone out and to your ear, driving and talking all the way to work, to the store, or wherever it is you go – can’t you make that call at home, and spare the rest of us your inability to drive the proper speed limit, or go at a green light….because you are so distracted with that necessary call? And oh yeah, while I am at it – when you go to the store, shut off your da*n phone – I don’t want to hear your conversation from one end of the store to the other – so rude.
I have a 2 great idea to prevent this S.
April 27th, 2012
6:46 pm
Actually the great, great idea is someone elses.
Todd - Lawrenceville
April 27th, 2012
6:46 pm
The national epidemic is Congress inability to work on issues that benefit all US Citizens, instead of playing politics. bPerhaps they will also consider banning talking with your passenger’s.
Jeff
April 27th, 2012
6:49 pm
To Ann, Geepers, dpointer and others — if cell phone use is responsible for 3,000 deaths a year nationwide (which is questionable — you can’t accurately determine what mistake every driver in a fatal crash makes), then are you ALSO for banning alcohol sales (because many people leave bars or parties and have wrecks because of intoxication). I don’t mean have DUI laws and penalties — I mean prohibition. Because alcohol causes a LOT more wrecks and deaths than phones EVER have.
The solution is, if a cell phone use is found at fault or to cause a wreck, then just like DUI laws, there are strict penalties for it. There is NO NEED to ban phones completely. Please refer to my earlier post at 5:32 p.m. — those of you wanting the government to tell you what you should and shouldn’t do for safety reasons had better ALSO be ready to ban food, drinks, conversations, music, and other such distractions. You CANNOT tell me, dpointer at 6:10 p.m., what I am or am not capable off in terms of driving and talking. I am a helluva lot better at it than you, apparently. DO NOT punish me and others like me who can handle a simple conversation just because your idiot neighbor who has the brain capacity of a banana smashed into a car at an intersection because he COULDN’T do it.
Folks, I will repeat: if you give the government the license to dictate your common sense and to greatly restrict your rights, it will NOT end. They will ban doughnuts because they have fat and sugar; they will ban colas because they have caffeine; they will ban pizza because of the trans-fats; they will ban certain internet content because it’s not productive or might be offensive to some people; and before you know it, we’ll be in communist Eastern Europe with no rights whatsoever.
Those of you pro-phone-ban people had better get a grip and get your rights back, because once the Feds control something and can call the shots on something, THEY DO NOT RELINQUISH SAID CONTROL.