Vermont lawmakers are considering a measure that would ban eating, drinking, smoking, reading, writing, personal grooming, playing an instrument, "interacting with pets or cargo," talking on a cell phone or using any other personal communication device while driving. The punishment: a fine of up to $600.
Similar bills are under consideration in Maryland and Texas, and Connecticut has passed one that generically bans any activity that could interfere with the safe operation of a motor vehicle.
"Cell phones attracted people to this issue," said Matt Sundeen, a transportation analyst with the National Conference of State Legislatures. "Now that people are more focused on distracted driving issues, they're beginning to talk about the broader range of distractions."
So as a resident of the Socialist Republic of Vermont you can't possible imagine how much this has pissed me off.
Beyond the fact that it should be individual responsibility about how you behave and the consequences from them, even if you can say Cell Phones are a distraction in their own class, you've got to be kidding me about the food and drink clause of this bill.
This clown Thomas F. Koch. (R) thinks that taking a sip of soda while driving is such a dangerous prospect that it needs legislation? This is lunacy, this guy needs to step down from his elected post if he really thinks that.
In this guys world if you're traveling through Vermont say from Bennington to Newport, every time you get thirsty you will need to pull over on to the side of the road and take a sip of your soda. Seems to me that it would be more dangerous pulling on and off the road surface then if you just drank the damn soda.
Beyond all that though, this is government at it's worst, it's nanny government, by a law maker who had a bad run in one day with an idiot driver so he feels justified in making a blanket law that punishes everyone.
It's also one of those things where people say "oh it will never be passed in to law" and low and behold it slips in under the radar.
There's so much more to worry about in this state, it disgust me to see lawmakers wasting my money and state time on junk like this.
1 comment:
A local city tried to ban talking on a cell phone while driving. A long term friend of mine stood up at the city council meeting and asked "What do you have against small business." We already have a law that You Must Retain Control of Your Car. Well, my friend, (who owns a Computer repair and upgrade shop) investigated the following-
How much would 10,000 little black boxes (about the size of a cell phone) cost. How much would label printing cost for a label that says "It is not illegal to hold an empty box to your ear" (or words to that effect) Lastly how many volunteers could he get to stand outside the city limits and distribute the boxes.
My friend ran into the mayor who said "I heard a rumor - you woulden't really do that - would you?"
He would have!
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