Nj just passed a law banning handheld cellphone's while driving. They also have put 20 other "can't do while driving" laws into review, such as...smoking, gesturing to others, talking to passengers, driving with 1 hand, excessive movement...and some others.

Now why is there a need for a cellphone ban? The threat's they are proposing are lack of attention and driving carelessly. well when their is a law on the books already called "Careless Driving" why not use it? Is that so unheard of or is this just a ploy by the governor to say hey look what I did? All of these new proposed laws fall under careless driving, so why a seperate law for each one? Also, police have to use scanners, CB's, Laptops, and switches for all the various functions in their car. So why is it that they are not fined for talking on the cb while driving, or inputting data in their laptop while driving? Is their training to teach you how to deal with these "distractions" or are police enhanced being's?

With the passing of this law politicians are gaining courage to try and pass new laws to "relieve" us from ourselves, as we're dangerous to one another. How far will they go?

discussh:

 

yeah i just found out. i work in NJ, so this sucks.


if they take away smoking while driving though, i'm gonna be extremely pissed.

 

Cellphones have been cited as a major cause for accidents by the NTSC and therefore should be banned from cars in motion...even with headsets you aren't fully concentrating on the road. I talk on mine when driving sometimes but I have also noticed I don't pay as much attention.

Smoking is a distraction when driving...no argument there but dumb to make it a law IMO.

Driving with one hand??? what if you drive a stick? I always drive with one hand on the stick as a resting place so I don't see how they can enforce that at all.

 

As far as I know, the cell phone ban is a secondary offense, so you won't be pulled over for that. The cop will just tack it on if pulled over for something else.

 

Exactly... im glad NC is not doing something like this. Even in drivers ed they teach you the 12 o'clock position to use with a stick shift and to keep your right hand on the shifter. Go figure.

 

I have a question for you all....... who here would love to drive a BMW on the Autobahn in Germany? Thought so. Now, here are the rules for the Autobahn which have been in effect since the early 1970's:

Fineable offenses: (based on driver's income, some fines have been known to approach DM10,000, or about $7,800)

Hand gestures
Ignoring lane discipline
Failure to maintain a consistant speed (pending traffic conditions)
Impeding the flow of traffic (this includes driving too slow)

Arrestable offenses: (in Germany, they use video for everything, so there's usually no pleas of "not guilty")

Tailgating
Cutting off
Talking on Cell phones, eating, (whatever would fall under distracted driving)
Running out of gas (don't!)

The reason the Autobahn is so renouned for its pace and grace is the strict enforcement of driver behavior. It's a proven fact that people who drive fast but pay attention and keep consistant and cautious are safer than people driving slow but distracted or ignorant. There are of course alot of other infrastructure related issues the Autobahn has which will never make it to American Interstates, but the bottom line is you need concentrate on driving the car and nothing else. I wish everyone here could see how people in Germany drive. It's an art, a business, and taken very serious. Not just a mode of transportation, but a passion. I've done some research into the Autobahn, I've never been to Germany. But I've learned alot, and what I've come to realize is the fact that America will never truly do what it takes to make real Autobahns.

 

People on the Autobahn pass on the left and then get in the right lane. 75% of America is too stupid to handle that.

 

Amen to that.

 

and I would approve of these laws if the garden state parkway and turnpike would up the speed limit to 150-200mph. But w/ a careless driving law already in place why not just enforce that for all these habitual offense's? Why do we have to nit pick and make BS laws for every little thing? Also getting a license is much more difficult in Germany than it is in the US.

 

So is talking to your passengers or singing along w/ the radio, does that mean they should outlaw everything and make it a fineable offense?

I know they are citing safety as the #1 priority, but I think it's just another way to create income for the state. These politicians could care less whether we live or die, they just want a raise at the end of the year and need to prove they did something during their term to get re-elected.

If safety was such a priority why aren't Trucks held to the same crash standard as Cars? Just something to ponder.

I don't believe we need a seperate law for every lil thing, make a broad law that can cover a vast amount of activities.