By RYAN LANCASTER
Staff Reporter
I would venture to guess I'm not in the minority when admitting a terrible fact: I have in the past used my cell phone in a hands-on fashion while driving.
Yes, it's true, but for the record these were infrequent incidents, most of which happened in the dawn of my cellular youth. Fortunately I didn't cause any accidents and I didn't get caught before wizening up into the much better person I am today.
Nowadays cell phones, once thought to be so novel, are ubiquitous. Drivers (and walkers, and joggers, and pretty much everybody else worth their weight in consumer goods) are wholly attached these clever little gadgets that can keep us constantly in touch with wherever we aren't. Without them we'd be totally ignorant as to how Doug's date turned out with that new chick from his office.
This cell attachment is why Washington's decision to join more than a dozen other states in restricting drive time telephone conversations might be an exercise in insufficiency. The new law, effective June 10, gives a $124 ticket to drivers who have head to handset or are caught in the act of reading, writing or sending text messages. It also outlaws any cell phone use – hands-free device or no – by drivers under age 18.
It's clear that drivers who have one hand on the wheel and their head in a faraway place should be targeted with stricter penalties, their oblivious actions lead to hundreds of fatalities and countless accidents a year. But tougher legislation, some version of which more states are destined to enact soon, isn't going to do more than slow our growing love for high-speed chat.
This latest law is actually the sequel to a 2007 secondary offense law that has threatened drivers with an extra fine if they're pulled over for another infraction, like speeding. One quick glance around the freeway can illustrate what little good that regulation has rendered – countless drivers seem not to care if they'll be dinged with a fine. They simply must tell Michelle what Candice said about Rickie!
Our united thirst for constant connectivity isn't going to be quenched by a traffic ticket. Yes, it might prompt those old enough to remember life unplugged from streaming 24/7 input modules to say, like I finally did, “This is stupid. Why am I trying to type ‘lol' with my thumb while hurtling along at 70 miles per hour toward a stalled line of freeway traffic?”
But what about newbie drivers, many of whom are not only inexperienced behind the wheel but are completely obsessed with receiving regular updates from their friends (both actual and Facebook)? Is the threat of a fine that will probably be paid by mom after she grounds you for a week going to deter you from forwarding that stellar video of last night's far out party? I mean, c'mon, it was totally radical! [Note: teen slang may be somewhat dated]
To be clear, this new law is necessary in order to bring notice to the issue and to help pay for the cleanup of cell-related accidents. But until cell phone users wean themselves off of the contact drug, at least for the duration of their commute, we'll continue to see the unfortunate consequences of all those vital calls, made on the fly, that let Pete know Rhonda's available now after her latest big spat with Ted.
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