Today's one-liner: "The shortest way to the distinguishing excellence of any writer is through his hostile critics." Richard LeGallienne
Local Government TV
Monday, March 22, 2010
4 comments:
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Does this have something to do with the availablity of Ferderal Transportation Stimulus dollars to combat distracted drivers? Thought I read this somewhere in a press announcement from LaHood.
ReplyDeleteThe proposed USDOT 2011budget provides $50 million to help the states put an end to distracted driving.
ReplyDeleteIf you are Pro-Cell Phone Bans ... you should know this:
ReplyDeleteAccident rates keep dropping while cell phone use sky rockets.
http://craigfriebolin.blogspot.com/2010/03/cell-phone-ban.html
Bans don't solve anything in places that have them:
http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-cell-driving-ban,0,4721082.story
People won't stop using their cell phones:
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/oct/14/local/me-maria-drive14
Accident rates won't change:
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/01/29/cellphone.study/
Stop saying using a cell phone is like drinking and driving. If you believe that study proved cell phones are really as bad as drunk driving; you should know the same study also proved it's safer to drive drunk than it is to drive sober. (it's a REALLY POORLY DONE study with a flashy headline): http://craigfriebolin.blogspot.com/2010/03/bias-of-cell-phone-ban-data-by-ban.html
The "studies" on this topic are REDICULIOUS! You really should read them! REALLY! Just because some place called; The National Institute Of We Think We Know Some Stuff Council put out a report doesn't mean it's not total crap. You should READ IT and not just skip to the "conclusion" (BTW, the most insane stuff is almost always AFTER the conclusion):
http://craigfriebolin.blogspot.com/2010/03/distractiongov-website-and-cell-phone.html
"Distraction by cell phone" is not a option on a police accident report so a large majority of the numbers people spout off as being fact are either made up or from questionable sources: http://craigfriebolin.blogspot.com/2010/03/bias-of-cell-phone-ban-data-by-ban.html
To summarize ... Cell Phone Bans don't work and only accomplish 2 things:
1) They encourage road rage to those who choose to use a phone while they drive
2) Criminalizes over 98.5% of people who are not guilty of anything
Not to mention the outlying problems created by hyper inflating the dangers of the issue:
http://oklahomacity.injuryboard.com/automobile-accidents/bad-bill-to-ban-cell-phone-use-while-driving-passes-senate.aspx?googleid=279248
Most of the information to draw these conclusions has existed for a long time (http://craigfriebolin.blogspot.com/2010/03/cell-phone-ban.html) but everyone chooses to ignore it in favor of studies that nobody actually reads or questions ... but they keep telling us to use common sense while supporting a law that clearly won't solve anything!
Let's not forget most places are combating this "problem" with *FINES* ... But I guess if we had to only punish those that actually were involved in an accident, then that would limit our punishments to the guilty instead of those that might be guilty at some time in the future.
Obviously speculative correlation with draconian fines is our only hope.
Sure we are going to fine hundreds (perhaps thousands) of people who didn't hurt or endanger anyone, but this is the cost of the extremely remote chance it might save one life. Think of the children!
(How remote you ask? Take your odds of being in an accident then factor in your odds of being on a cell phone at the time of being in the accident)
Apparently; Education is useless and punishment of the guilty is just too hard.
$50 million more on the tab.
ReplyDeleteLivin large on the credit card.