NTSB wants states ban all nonemergency driver cell phone, electronic use devices

[WB3LEQ]

Here we go again being tossed into another "gray" area:

NTSB recommends states ban all nonemergency driver cell phone, electronic use device use:

WASHINGTON (AP) -- States should ban all driver use of cell phones and other portable electronic devices, except in emergencies, the National Transportation Board said Tuesday.

Read at:  http://finance.yahoo.com/news/ntsb-recommends-ban-driver-cell-172442234.html

[Tim WA1HnyLR]

I heard about this idiotcracy . Whether or not it becomes law amateur radio MUST be exempt. As much as I have not been too much of a fan of the ARRL it is time to mobilize and let those in power know that any limitation on the use of mobile amateur radio is unacceptable,
De Tim WA1HnyLR

[flintstone mop]

I'm sure there will have to considerations for Amateurs, but chances are slim, as that can be another device that distracts the driver.
It's about time something happens to these crazy, careless drivers.
It never fails, when I'm behind someone yapping on a cell phone, they cease driving and become a menace on the road. Driving below the speed limit (there are laws called impeding traffic!!!) or going through red lights.

Sorry to join the idiotcracy group!!!

Fred

[WBear2GCR]

Go ahead, legislate my Dairy Aire!

Another stupid law by control freak politicians.
An excuse to pull people over and collect MONEY.
That is ALL that this is.
Its a form of TAXATION.

Grrrrr...

                _-_-

[The Slab Bacon]

As much as it is an inconvenience for myself, I'm all for it!!

With the invincable soccer moms in their SUVs gossiping with other soccer moms, paying attention to their driving is the lowest importance to them.
To the dunb-assed kids texting while driving down the road.

This is getting to be a real issue. I have had so many near misses that I have lost count. It is getting to be a real issue and safety hazard.

It would be a shame for all to lose the privelige due to some, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do just to survive.

Unfortunately, like so many other laws allready on the books, this is no different. The cure is NOT to pass more laws. (we allready have enough)
but to better enforce the ones we allready have....................

[W7TFO]

Can you say "Nationwide Trucking Strike"?

The best use of 11m.......

Time to update the gov't lexicon defining "wireless" and "radio".

73DG

[WA1GFZ]

I travel the highway every day. I'm all for it.

[WD8BIL]

With the appropriate exceptions, it's not a bad idea. I'm sure the truck drivers would weigh in on this since a vaque writing of such a ban could include CB as well as amateur radios.

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

Me too. In this case, wireless is radio. Like it or not, a cellphone is still a 2-way radio and lawyers would get rich arguing the point.

And though many/most/some amateurs are more responsible than the average teenager or distracted adult using a phone, they are well in the minority and certainly not worth tossing the whole bill and compromising safety over. I'm sick of dodging idiots nearly every time I'm on the road.

Perhaps the only way around it would be to permit "licensed" users or services to be exempt, though this still leaves the truckers out. The ARRL could start a Truckers on Two program to address that and help populate the VHF regions better. 

[K3ZS]

How would the cops know if you were talking on a handsfree cellphone?   "Just talking to myself officer"

[K5WLF]

We had an ordnance proposed here in town (Stephenville, TX) to prohibit all wireless communications devices for mobile use. When that came up in City Council meeting, we had about 18 hams there, several of us spoke on the subject and it ended up with just a texting ban. Which, of course, doesn't work either because there are more eejits that text while driving than there are cops to catch them. Our goal, and one which has acceptance at the state level here in TX, is for an exemption for licensed operators on any of these ordnances.

I'm hoping that the ARRL will jump in quickly on this latest NTSB idiocy, but I'm not sure they're as effective as they used to be, so we need to keep our ears on what's happening in our individual states. Have to be prepared to stand up for ourselves and not leave it all to Newington.

I heard this NTSB thing is motivated by the MO crash where the texting kid rear-ended a truck and two school busses crashed into him. It's easy to blame the texting kid, but is there a possibility that the two school busses were also following too closely? I've always believed that if you hit someone from the rear, it's your fault.

I don't think we need any more laws. There are already plenty of distracted driving laws on the books. Just enforce the ones we've got.

[VK7ZL]

In Australia it is an offence to use a mobile phone while driving and has been for a few years now and it is policed vigourously. The law does not include the use of a microphone but I wouldn't like to try my luck.

Bob

[Todd, KA1KAQ]

How would the cops know if you were talking on a handsfree cellphone?   "Just talking to myself officer"

By checking your cell records after the crash if it wasn't otherwise obvious.

[N4LTA]

Be pretty hard to spot a trucker using a CB up in the cab by a cop in a patrol car.

[WB2EMS]

The police now have devices to 'suck the data' out of your cellphone on demand at the scene.

http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/state-police-can-suck-data-out-cell-phones-un


This would just give them the legal opening to routinely download all the data from your cellphone at each traffic stop. "I thought I saw you on the phone as I passed you"  Call records, contacts list (might be terrorists in there you know), emails, etc. That way they can get whatever data the Carrier IQ system hasn't already sent them.    Want to bet that doesn't get abused?

All headed in the wrong direction.

The push has been "Any communication is a distraction" for the last couple of years. You have heard them bleat on the tube how hands free isn't any better than regular cell usage, all as a prelude to this. Now they have an ugly crash to capitalize on, I think they call that 'dancing in the blood of innocents', to use to press forward some legislation that no doubt has already been written and just waiting for a launching point. It will have some poor kids name attached to it - it's for the children after all. Under the 'any communication is a distraction' banner, why would there be any exemption for licensed services or ham radio? Of course the police and fire will get exemptions. I guess they come from a better gene pool?

I've certainly seen some clowns talking when they should be driving, but not that many and I live in a college town. I think the cure here is much worse than the disease, and it won't stop with that. Soon it will be no computers (I use a computer for a better, larger screen for GPS mapping), no food, nothing that takes both hands off the wheel. They already tell drivers under a certain age how many folks they can have in the car.

And yes, it won't make driving any safer, it will just chip away another freedom, let the nose of the government camel further into the tent, and feed the budgets as the mobile taxation units pull em over and rack em up.

How many Tea Party folks do I have to elect to make the NTSB go away?  

[WB2EMS]

Be pretty hard to spot a trucker using a CB up in the cab by a cop in a patrol car.

Oh don't worry, some enterprising fellow will offer all the police agencies a new $5,000 box to mount on the dash of the patrol cars to sense near field RF and light up a warning light. It won't be any more accurate than the speed guns that can't tell a close in sedan from a speeding 18 wheeler a half mile behind it, but that hasn't stopped them from using those either.

The cop will see a red light and warning buzzer come on, look around for the nearest car with an extra antenna, and apply the taxation right there on the spot. Won't matter if it was you transmitting or not, just like it doesn't matter if you are actually speeding when the speedgun says you are or not. All it takes is officer testimony and the box being certified as prima facie evidence. Bang, done.

Hey, I think I just figured out my backup gig in case of layoffs! Now with the 'expert testimony' fees added in .....

[WA1GFZ]

WB2EMS, I applied for a patent for this at work over a year ago and the company didn't want to do it. They thought it may have big brother issues.

[Steve - K4HX]

And yes, it won't make driving any safer, it will just chip away another freedom, let the nose of the government camel further into the tent, and feed the budgets as the mobile taxation units pull em over and rack em up.

Right on. More laws mean less freedom. You can't pass enough laws to eliminate stupidity. If you cannot drive and operate a cell phone at the same time, you should be smart enough to know and stop.

This proposed law, like all the other laws intended to "protect" us (usually from our own stupidity), is a bad idea.

[KX5JT]

As a night dispatcher of a large towtruck fleet (60 plus), I wonder how my company will be affected.  We use VHF-FM radio only occasionally now.  The company expanded beyond the range of those (simplex) to 4 yards across south Louisiana.  Our main method of communication with drivers is now Nextel 2-way "walkie talkie" mode on the Nextel cellphones.

This should be interesting.  Sometimes towtrucks can be considered "emergency" when clearing out a wreck or recovering an overturned vehicle.  I wouldn't classify every call as an emergency however.  Towing someone from their garage to a repair garage is not really an emergency nor is towing off of private property.  Interpretations can vary.

This should be very interesting to watch develop.  HOW are you going to persuade millions of people who are ingrained in the behavior of talking on cellphones while driving to change?

[The Slab Bacon]

Half of the problem is that they will give a drivers lisence to anyone that can look over top of the counter and sign a name! ! ! ! ! !

You take a blithering idiot that has the IQ of a potted plant, put him behind the wheel of a motor vehicle, and then hand him a phone to talk on while he is attempting to drive, and you have literally created "an accident waiting to happen!"

I am really totally against any laws that inpinge on our freedoms, BUT............
this has gotten to be real issue and something is going to have to be done for the safety of those of us that CAN operate a motor vehicle. I really dont care if the stupid idiots get killed because of their own stupidity. It DOES make the world a better place to live. However, the innocent ones that DON'T deserve it usually bear the brunt of other peoples stupidity and lack of common sense.

It is really a shame to have to give up some of your freedom to preserve your safety. But in this situation, what in the hell can you do. We DO have enough laws on the books concerning this matter allready. They do not need to write more bogus laws, they just need to better enforce the ones we allready have! ! ! ! !

In this day and world of everything being "extreme" and the one-upsmanship of it all, It really shows how stupid some people are. I dont want them on the road anywhere near me! ! 

(my rant for the day.....)

[Steve - K4HX]

I disagree with the premise. We don't HAVE to....

It is really a shame to have to give up some of your freedom to preserve your safety. But in this situation, what in the hell can you do. We DO have enough laws on the books concerning this matter allready. They do not need to write more bogus laws, they just need to better enforce the ones we allready have! ! ! ! !

I'd bet most, if not all states already have a law on the books that your must operate your vehicle in a safe manner/keep it under control, etc. Just enforce that law.

[The Slab Bacon]

I disagree with the premise. We don't HAVE to....

Yea, but law enforcement and the local politicians would frown on you if we started shooting out the tires on everyone that we saw operating a motor vehicle like an idiot.
(But it WOULD be fun! ! ! )     

[W1AEX]

I'd bet most, if not all states already have a law on the books that your must operate your vehicle in a safe manner/keep it under control, etc. Just enforce that law.

Yup. Your last sentence is the only solution needed to resolve this problem. In spite of having an elaborate "lawyer crafted law" to prohibit hand-held cellular use in moving vehicles, at this point, here in CT the police simply look the other way.

Rob W1AEX

[W2VW]

Yup. Your last sentence is the only solution needed to resolve this problem. In spite of having an elaborate "lawyer crafted law", at this point, here in CT the police simply look the other way.

Rob W1AEX

Outlaw coffee and donuts so they will have nothing to look at.
Problem solved.

[W1AEX]

No way Dave. I like sipping my coffee on the way back from the coffee shop each morning!