I recently lost my Bluetooth headset. After finally giving up on the search, I’m planning to replace it soon at a cost of roughly $40. That will make $80 so far that I’ve spent on headsets for myself, another $40 for my wife’s Bluetooth and a grand total of $120, or thereabouts.
That’s about the equivalent of the fine that the state levies under the current cell phone ban law. I know because I paid that, too. Or at least me wife did after she got pulled over for chatting on her phone while driving home from work. She had a lot of excuses. She’s too busy and distracted with two young kids to make her phone calls at home. She’s busy at work and needed to talk to one of her fellow students from her MBA class about an upcoming assignment. Like some other drivers that I’ve talked to she thought she would just toss the phone if she saw a cop. Well she did see a cop, but not before he saw her talking on her iPhone. Ironically, my Bluetooth headset (this was before I lost it) was sitting only a few inches from her phone in the center console. But it wasn’t set up for her handset and the Bend cop who stopped her was less than sympathetic.
So was I.
You see I’m not all that fond of my headset. I don’t like it sticking in my ear. I hate fumbling around with it. I didn’t like spending the money on it. But I also know the statistics about cell phone driving and the research is unequivocal: talking and texting while driving hugely increases your chance of getting into an accident. That means that you’re much more likely to hurt yourself and, more importantly, an innocent victim when you pick up your phone behind the wheel. Last year, more than 6,000 people were killed by “distracted” drivers and nearly a half million more were injured. According to federal studies, people texting – something that’s more common than many might think – are 20 times more likely to be involved in a crash.
This isn’t new information, we’ve known for years that cell phone use leads to accidents. In Oregon it’s been illegal for almost a year to drive and dial. Yet, it seems every time I drive across town I see someone yakking into his or her handset. I see mom’s chatting as they pull out of the school parking lot after dropping off their kids at my daughter’s elementary school. It seems everyone does it. One thing they almost always have in common is their poor driving – a result of their distraction. They don’t signal turns; they fail to yield. Often, they can’t even keep to their own lane. When I see someone make a stupid move, the first thing I do is look up to see if I can’t spot the tell tale left hand to the ear that let’s me know their attention is elsewhere. My favorite is when somebody cuts me off in a roundabout or at a four-way stop and then raises their hand and smiles to acknowledge that they’re not being rude – they’re just distracted. “Sorry, I’m on the phone, didn’t see you there,” they seem to be saying. Usually, I just blow it off. Nothing worth getting worked up about. And it’s not like I’ve never broken a rule of the road. But I wonder would it be any different If I pulled up a half empty bottle of Wild Turkey from between my legs and tipped it another driver’s direction, “Hey, sorry about that, I’m just a bit tipsy. No offense!”
Maybe we need bigger fines or more aggressive enforcement to get folks’ attention. Maybe as transportation secretary Roy La Hood hinted recently, we’ll need some sort of jamming device to stop drivers from breaking the law. I’m not sure what the answer is at this point. But I do know that there are a large number of drivers out there who just don’t get it. As a father of two young girls who are just starting to venture out on their bikes, that scares the hell out of me. I also realize that we’re on the front of the information revolution and that devices like the iPhone and Blackberry aren’t going away. My guess is that one day in the not too distant future we’ll look at cell phones and driving the same way we now look at drinking and driving: As an irresponsible and socially unacceptable mix that has serious legal consequences. Until then, I’ll keep waving and nodding – while muttering, “Idiot.”
This article appears in Dec 23-29, 2010.
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It’s about time those worthless cops do something besides harassing the homeless people.
I couldnt agree with you more. what is the law pertaining to phones these days?
I agree that texting is dangerous. It takes your eyes off the road to focus on your handheld device. However, I don’t believe that talking on a cell phone is any more dangerous than other things that we do all the time in a car like talking to your kids in the back seat or eating a hamburger or just being tired. The current cell phone law also gives exceptions to law enforcement, emergency vehicles and even business people using the phone in the course of their job. I am much more worried about the police officer reading from their laptop computer while driving than someone holding their phone to their ear while driving. If it is such a dangerous activity then why grant the exceptions? Maybe the very people enforcing the law should accept the loss of freedom the rest of us have to accept.
Am I the only one who feels like they’ve never seen a cop use a turn signal? And how safe is typing on a laptop while you’re driving? I love cops but why are they above the laws they are supposed to inforce?
I see the reason for the text/cell laws and have had friends wreck their cars texting etc, but all the texting law does is force people to text in their lap (where they can’t see the road) instead of texting up by the steering wheel where they can see the road.
Thanks for the article, let’s hope lots of people read it (and give it some thought)! Thank you so much for pointing out the paradoxical dichotomy of public opinion regarding cell phone use versus alcohol use behind the wheel. Despite all evidence to the contrary, the public feels absolutely justified in being outraged by drunk driving (e.g. MADD) and yet blows off cell phone driving as a sacrosanct necessity of everyday life. These two issues need to be addressed as exactly the same driving offense and prosecuted identically!
It seems that the state of Oregon is in desperate need of revenues to run the state. In Bend, the average person hasn’t figured out that it’s a law… Do not drive and use your cell phone.
A bigger fine,a much bigger fine would raise funds to funds run the state and SAVE LIVES.
Forward this article to your state representatives.
On any given drive through town I can easily count at least 10 people talking on there cell phones without a law required wands free device. At up to 90 dollars each, fines for 10 drivers chatting it up while driving is damn near 1000 bucks! My question is why do we allow our tax dollars to be wasted on creating laws that will not be inforced? To me the ignorance and persistence of incorrectly using cell phones while driving not only should be strictly enforced but should also have a higher fine level and have the same effect on ones insurance as a D.U.I. then and only then people would hang it up and drive safely.
The no-texting/must use hands-free device law is an imperfect solution to a larger problem to our attitude about driving.Cell phone use is rampant, and only one form of distracted driving. Yes, eating and driving while fatigued is also a cause of accidents, but by and large, cell phone use is leading the pack as the biggest problem. The larger problem is as a society, we view driving as a right, rather than the PRIVILEGE that it is. The law is not perfect, that’s for sure. The exception for official/business use is kind of a crock. And, research has shown that using a hands-free device really is not much of an improvement if any. But at least our legislators are trying to address a very real problem. What is with all the people who attack law enforcement and try to justify dangerous behavior? instead of recognizing their individual responsibility for the safety of others? the new law doesn’t “force” people to text on their lap instead of on their steering wheel. They shouldn’t be doing either, period. The whole idea, is put your DRIVING first…not pointing fingers and saying, well if that person isn’t going to do it, I’m not either. There is nothing more terrifying than seeing a driver in a 3-ton SUV pass by, or come straight at you while staring at their lap, or holding a phone an inch from their face on speakerphone (in a fake attempt at being hands-free with only one hand) and knowing they don’t see a single thing around them. Yes, the law is hypocritical in many ways….but I say, enforce the hell out of it. One way or another, people need to get the message that the safety of yourself and others is more important than a text message or a phone call. Is taking possibly taking a life and ruining yours worth it? really?