Cellphones and driving...
As you may have heard, Ontario is looking at following the lead of some other provinces in making use of cell phones (without headsets) for calls or text/email illegal. Basically it means that people caught doing this will be charged with careless driving.
Now, while I don't see that as a bad thing, it still doesn't address the real issue which is not using cell phones, it's doing distracting things while driving. The 'new' cell phone thingy doesn't stop the ladies I see applying makeup while driving... someone going to try to tell me that action is 'safer' than using a cell phone? How about the coffee cup fiddlers, the snack unwrappers, etc, etc.
I know, I've gone down that rant before.
So there I was today crawling in Toronto's glorious morning traffic - made even moreso by the closure of one of the other highways, thereby forcing commuters onto the highway I use, thereby forcing me to leave home just that much earlier. The commute gives me time to watch people in their cars (2 out of 3 guys use headsets, 1 in 8 women do). A vehicle is slowly passing me on the left... I look over... hmmm that guy is obviously emailing using a blackberry... hey wait a sec, that "guy" is Pinball! tsk, tsk tsk... he should know better!
Now I'm behind him... what's that he's doing? is he fixing his hair? he is! WHOA!! He's spraying something from a can on his hair!! Pinball uses hairspray? oh the horror!! And now he's fixing his hair and checking himself in the Vanity mirror... yeesh. Talk about getting over-ready for a Brad Watters resignation announcement!
So there you have it folks. I don't know what was worse... the pretending to not be emailing (holding your BBerry bythe shifter doesn't fool anyone), or the obsession with his coif, or the fact that while doing all of that (and with only rare lane change signals) he managed to get ahead of me in traffic. But the bottom line is that maybe the Pinner isn't quite as saintly as some would think.
Now, while I don't see that as a bad thing, it still doesn't address the real issue which is not using cell phones, it's doing distracting things while driving. The 'new' cell phone thingy doesn't stop the ladies I see applying makeup while driving... someone going to try to tell me that action is 'safer' than using a cell phone? How about the coffee cup fiddlers, the snack unwrappers, etc, etc.
I know, I've gone down that rant before.
So there I was today crawling in Toronto's glorious morning traffic - made even moreso by the closure of one of the other highways, thereby forcing commuters onto the highway I use, thereby forcing me to leave home just that much earlier. The commute gives me time to watch people in their cars (2 out of 3 guys use headsets, 1 in 8 women do). A vehicle is slowly passing me on the left... I look over... hmmm that guy is obviously emailing using a blackberry... hey wait a sec, that "guy" is Pinball! tsk, tsk tsk... he should know better!
Now I'm behind him... what's that he's doing? is he fixing his hair? he is! WHOA!! He's spraying something from a can on his hair!! Pinball uses hairspray? oh the horror!! And now he's fixing his hair and checking himself in the Vanity mirror... yeesh. Talk about getting over-ready for a Brad Watters resignation announcement!
So there you have it folks. I don't know what was worse... the pretending to not be emailing (holding your BBerry bythe shifter doesn't fool anyone), or the obsession with his coif, or the fact that while doing all of that (and with only rare lane change signals) he managed to get ahead of me in traffic. But the bottom line is that maybe the Pinner isn't quite as saintly as some would think.
The proper way to enact this as an enforceable law is to target ALL distractions to driving - not just the knee jerk reaction stuff. The point is to give the 'careless driving' charge teeth by targeting things that contribute to carelessness. Singling one act out of many is only going to end up with a 'precedent setting' situation where someone gets off because they weren't using a cell phone when they crashed, but rather were fiddling with a coffee cup and then the next cell phone case gets tossed on the ground that the definition of 'distraction causing carelessness' is way to vague and untenable.
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