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city Sugar Land cell phone law change

  • Thread starter Deleted member 23845
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Deleted member 23845

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All,

The city of Sugar Land is considering a change in cell phone laws while driving. I personally think risk would be reduced for all drivers, including motorcycles.

Here is a link to their open poll. I hope that a reasonable change occurs. Many times I have seen distracted drivers on their devices lose focus on the primary task of safe driving.

http://www.sugarlandtx.gov/onlinetownhall#peak_democracy
 
Actually, Deer Park has done the same thing this year. While I have not seen the statistics on traffic fatalities, however I still see people talk on the phone as I pass them on my motorcycles.
I agree it is dangerous but people will do what they will do.
 
People will hold smartphone below the window level...so people outside cannot see he's reading a text while driving.

Enforcement will be difficult for cops.

People will find ways to text. It's an addiction worse than alcoholics.
 
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While I'm in favor of the law, I'm not in favor of it being passed by small municipalities in large city areas. I don't like the idea that I can travel down the road between work and home and through no change in actions go from being within the limits of the law to breaking the law. This is especially true when the law can very in what it allows from one location to the next. We experienced this when living in Cleveland where one suburb had no laws for this, another would allow hands free devices and another wouldn't allow you to be on the phone at all. In a five minute period of driving on a single road the law changed on you twice, and you had better know exactly where you are and what the law where you are is.

If we are going to pass laws like this, make it statewide. Done and done.
 
... I don't like the idea that I can travel down the road ... and through no change in actions go from being within the limits of the law to breaking the law. ...

Cross the Luzianna line, go from no-helmet-required to helmet-required in a fraction of a second.

... If we are going to pass laws like this, make it nationwide. Done and done.

Fixt
 
Cross the Luzianna line, go from no-helmet-required to helmet-required in a fraction of a second.

Yea, but I can ride for hours and hours without a change. All day across Texas if that's the direction I'm headed. It's different when the laws change several times in a few minutes.
 
The law should pass nationwide, then do what they do in Singapore: take the phone away and the person needs to go downtown and pay a file (S$200) and have a point taken off their license.
The worst thing that I see daily is when someone is holding a video call while they are driving.
 
While I'm in favor of the law, I'm not in favor of it being passed by small municipalities in large city areas. I don't like the idea that I can travel down the road between work and home and through no change in actions go from being within the limits of the law to breaking the law.

If we are going to pass laws like this, make it statewide. Done and done.

I used to joke that each cell phone should go into camera mode every time it was moving so the person walking and watching the screen could see where they were going.

But what might work in reality is an app that uses the location of the phone to put an alert on the screen that the user was in an area where using the phone in the car was illegal. Some app developer write that and send me 1% of the profits.


As for passing a statewide law, we tried that twice and it was vetoed. Maybe next time.

m
 
They're almost useless laws. Stationed in California for 3 years and people were blantant about talking on their phones in plain view on the interstate or city streets. People would simply text below the window line of their car which adds even more issues because now they are even more distracted from the road than they were before. Where they may be texting up at shoulder level now they've taken their eyes ever further from the road.

The idea sounds good in theory but in practice it's rarely enforced and IMO causes drivers who text to be distracted even more.

Kind of like when they found out red light cameras caused an increase in rear end accidents because people were panic stopping for lights more often.
 
It would be another unenforceable law, just like stopping on the crosswalk. They tried to start enforcing that one here in Houston, but gave up.
We need a few of these: [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9N1iw5Vdim8"]Undercover Motorcycle Cop Pulling Over Phone Users - YouTube[/ame]
 
Easy fix....all cell phones moving above 20mph can't call or text.

It'll never happen, but the technology is there if it was really wanted. Now commence all the crying of not me, unfair, blah blah blah
 
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It is silly. Next they will outlaw having a conversation with the person sitting next to you in the car. With hands free calling it requires no more of your mental faculties to talk on the phone in the car as it does talking to someone sitting in your car. Preventing texting? I am all for that!
 
Probably would not see a lot of tickets written for this. What it would do is give LEO a violation to invoke while investigating a crash.
 
Too bad, as I stated let the whining begin
 
Guess if there's an emergency or you need to report one you're just screwed.


Sent from my iPhone
 
just make failure to control a civil issue, if you are harmed by anothers inability to control their vehicle makes them liable for triple damages. you can text, talk and surf all you want, just be aware you stand to lose more than your life.
 
It is silly. Next they will outlaw having a conversation with the person sitting next to you in the car. With hands free calling it requires no more of your mental faculties to talk on the phone in the car as it does talking to someone sitting in your car. Preventing texting? I am all for that!

A couple of studies have actually proven this to be incorrect.

Having a conversation with someone on a phone causes your brain to divert some of your thought to producing an image or memory of that person; your brain does not do this when you are in the presence of that person. The studies concluded there was little difference in reaction or motor skills between having a conversation while holding a phone and using a hands free device, but there was a significant difference when they put that person in the car with the driver.
 
A couple of studies have actually proven this to be incorrect.



Having a conversation with someone on a phone causes your brain to divert some of your thought to producing an image or memory of that person; your brain does not do this when you are in the presence of that person. The studies concluded there was little difference in reaction or motor skills between having a conversation while holding a phone and using a hands free device, but there was a significant difference when they put that person in the car with the driver.



What study?


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A couple of studies have actually proven this to be incorrect.

Having a conversation with someone on a phone causes your brain to divert some of your thought to producing an image or memory of that person; your brain does not do this when you are in the presence of that person. The studies concluded there was little difference in reaction or motor skills between having a conversation while holding a phone and using a hands free device, but there was a significant difference when they put that person in the car with the driver.

Don't need no study. I can tell you by first hand experience over the past 40 yrs of driving with passengers, 25 yrs driving with cell phone (yes I started with the brick) and 10 yrs of driving with hands free. No difference between the three for me. If engaged in a conversation in either of the three modes I will miss my freeway exit 50% of the time. Driving solo, without phone use or passenger without conversation I might miss an exit 0.05% of the time.

I am very predictable about placing my keys, wallet, phone, etc. down when I enter the house. Can't remember the last time ever I've misplaced or lost them. Also when parking I always know where I'm at irregardless of how large the lot is. Very attentive to detail with excellent recall.

...but....if I pull into a parking lot while on the phone talking, get out of the car and go into the store while still talking. When I come out of the store I have no idea whatsoever where my car is parked. I've repeated this multiple times with the same results. I would say to others try this exercise but if you do it knowingly then you'll bias the results.

That's why when I ride the bike I am on 100% mute. No music in my ears, no bluetooth for phone, gps, radio, communicator, etc. I use 100% of my defenses, attention and alertness to stay alive another day.

_
 
You make a good point in that everyone is different. Some people get distracted when the see squirrels.


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