The Crusade against distracted driving is taking its toll – on the telcos: “State laws that mandate use of hands-free devices when talking on a mobile phone behind the wheel may have cut handheld device usage in half over the past year,” reports Edmunds.
A report released by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) talks about a bloodbath caused by cell phones: As much as 30 percent of recent car crashes involved someone who was distracted by using a cell phone, texting “or some other activity that pulled the driver’s attention away from the road.” Allegedly, “distracted-driving accidents killed almost 5,500 people and injured another half-million people in the U.S. in 2009. About one in six fatal accidents that year was caused by a distracted driver,” reports Edmunds.
Expect draconian measures against free speech (handheld, behind the wheel): NHTSA says that Connecticut and New York State crackdowns on handheld mobile-phone use and texting behind the wheel cut distracted driving by at least a third, “indicating that increased law enforcement and public-service announcements likely decrease traffic fatalities stemming from distracted driving.” Not to mention the revenue from the tickets written.
Soon, there will be a paradigm-shift for “cell phones.” As in behind – well – bars.
Does a drunk driving crackdown hurt alcohol sales?
Not while I still have a few bucks to spend!
TTAC Bonus Bucks for the commenter who can identify the vehicle in that picture.
Toyota 4Runner?
Nissan Pulsar
It’s a Nissan Pulsar.
Cue somebody talking about the distraction created by changing radio stations.
Or someone saying “next they’ll try and ban talking to other people in the car” while ignoring the fact that other people in the car are in a position to say things like “holy fuck, dude, you almost hit that eighteen wheeler!” whereas the guy you’re talking to on the phone isn’t.
Love the title, too. Let’s have another one: “DWI Laws Hurt Bars, Liquor Stores”.
Great.
How about:
“Smoking Ban in Bars Puts HVAC Contractors In Bankruptcy”?
Yes, the restaurant smoking ban also hurts oncologists and pulmonary specialists.
The ban on peeing in a public pool hurts filter manufacturers, too!
Why won’t my answer for Bonus Bucks post? Its a Nissan Pulsar.
Only closer inspection I see what appears to be an automatic transmission and a transfer case. Must be a 4X4 of some sort. I’m still thinking something from Nissan, 1980’s vintage.
Passenger side rear-view mirror… it’s a small pickup. I change my answer to Nissan Frontier.
Looks like there’s a window behind the door. Pathfinder.
Good.
Stanza Wagon 4WD.
There is not even one day that I’m not coming across more than one driver using a cell phone, I don’t even need to look at the driver, they move slowly from lane to lane and then back, they drive way too slow in comparison to the traffic flow, they will not move when the light change to green.
I just wish there was a crackdown on cell phone use every single day and to treat it as DUI not just fine, I just don’t understand the difference between the two.
This article would lead one to believe that the criminally negligent driver was actually NOT involved in a crucially necessary use of the cellular telephone.
Surely one is not suggesting that drivers are risking their livers and ours for utterly frivolous conversations?