1 68% - REO Speedwagon singalongs.

2 I hate these people.  I'm not a take-to-the-streets revolutionary type, but they're testing my patience.

3 Good luck with that, Sparky. I foresee oodles of court challenges to such action based on the Tenth Amendment if you happen to succeed.

4 Can't wait until these devices get installed. It'll be like speed governors on cars. These things will get ripped out. Better yet, some wit will hack them and boost their effective range. Imagine if you will roving dead cell zones. Stick them on telephone poles and whole areas will be dead zones. Make them directional  and mess with the local cell phone store.

5 Between OSHA and the EPA, it won't be long before we're back to the days of horse & buggy.

Wankers.

6 68% - REO Speedwagon singalongs.

Posted by: oblig

 

2.3%- attempting to ram cars hosting REO Speedwagon singalongs

7 Government actually creating job-growth in the black market. Now all they need to do is put a cone of silence around the kids.

8 What will it take before people realize liberals ARE fascists who want to invade every aspect of your life?

9 Between this nonsense and the Global Warming, it always seems that libs would love nothing more than to see us living back in the stone age. Maybe that's why they identify so much with their islamist brethren.

10 Mr. LaHood is also the driving force between all the recent cell phone use/texting bans while driving in over 30 states. Nanny state fascist.

This crap needs to get rolled back.

11 Hold on, I'm using my What's That Song? app to identify the REO Speedwagon song the guy in the next car is singing.

12 You know what happens when you eliminate the #1 cause of auto accidents?

Something else becomes #1.

13 OK, and what if you're one of the people who primarily uses the phone (while in the car) to get specific directions about where you're going? If I have a trusted passenger, I'll have them do the navigating, but I don't always have someone with me. I think people should be smart enough not to text while driving, but most of us can handle a short conversation on the phone, especially if you have a hands-free setup in the car.

14 Remember how so many thought seatbelt laws were a good idea? "Seatbelts save lives" and all that bullshit?
Whether they do or they don't is not the point, we have been forced to accept the fact that our government must have and needs the right to tell us what to do--even if not doing it could kill you--because you are too stupid to make the correct, safe choice on your own.

PS: Since seatbelt laws are nationwide, how come we haven't seen a huge drop in auto fatalities? Kinda like how we haven't seen a huge drop in DWIs as states keep dropping the legal limit, eh? But, it's all for your safety and has nothing to do with raising revenue and gaining ever and ever more control over every aspect of your life, promise.

15 Oh yeah, and...

Democrats Petition Dancing With the Stars For Brandy vs. Bristol Recount

16 Okay, I'm no longer going to call these thugs Nazis.

If  I do, I would have to apologize  to German Nazis of the Third Reich.

17 Some years ago the President and members of his staff visited our workplace. There is a strict "no cell phone use while driving" safety rule for the multi-acre and multi-road site. Despite having been told ahead of time about this rule, drivers for the Presidential entourage were observed talking on cell phones while driving within the boundaries of the site.
Big surprise, huh? Rules for thee, but not for me.

18 We need to do a lot more if were going to save lives

Hey, Lets just ban cars, its all about saving lives.  Dipshit.

19 12 You know what happens when you eliminate the #1 cause of auto accidents? Something else becomes #1. Posted by: nickless at November 17, 2010 11:34 AM (MMC8r) The number one cause of auto accidents is STUPIDITY! Good luck trying to outlaw that....

20 PS: Since seatbelt laws are nationwide, how come we haven't seen a huge drop in auto fatalities? Kinda like how we haven't seen a huge drop in DWIs as states keep dropping the legal limit, eh? But, it's all for your safety and has nothing to do with raising revenue and gaining ever and ever more control over every aspect of your life, promise.

Posted by: Jimmuy

 

And yet we get to watch motorcycle riders successfully fight helmet laws

21 Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said using a cell phone while driving is so dangerous that devices may soon be installed in cars to forcibly stop drivers — and potentially anyone else in the vehicle — from using them.

So my friend needs to call somebody from their cell to get directions, say to a moron meetup, we're SOL?  What about people that conduct business on the road via speaker phone or bluetooth?  Does the Feds really have to get into this more than the state or locals do already? 

Again, this is yet another example of government overreach used to solve a relatively small problem.  And those on the left have the nerve to call us "fascists"?

There will be plenty of lawsuits against this, count on it.

22

Well, other people. They and their friends would no doubt get waivers.

Isn't that the damn truth.

Time we end this. All laws apply to EVERYONE. No execptions. Want to fly, Nancy Pelosi? You have to go through the same drill everyone else does.

And how to ensure something like that? Every member of congress flies commercial. No private jets, or exemptions. At least for elected persons.

 

23 14 Remember how so many thought seatbelt laws were a good idea? "Seatbelts save lives" and all that bullshit?

I have had a friend die in an auto, and yes, he was wearing a seatbelt.

24 The number one cause of auto accidents is STUPIDITY! Good luck trying to outlaw that.... Posted by: Nighthawk at November 17, 2010 11:35 AM (02uN6) No, no. The #1 cause of auto accidents is cars!

25 But... but... but  It's For The Children!

26 Death panels instead of gas chambers.  That's about the only difference between fascists and progressives, right?

27 #19  The number one cause of auto accidents is STUPIDITY!

Good luck trying to outlaw that....

If we were successful in outlawing stupidity, at least one political party would cease to exist. 

28 Oh yeah, and...

Democrats Petition Dancing With the Stars For Brandy vs. Bristol Recount

Posted by: The Mega Independent

never fear. Next season, the two Black Panthers will dance together. That oughta ensure fairness.

29 The #1 cause of auto accidents is Richt Wingers listening to Fox News!!!

30 18
We need to do a lot more if were going to save lives
Hey, Lets just ban cars, its all about saving lives.  Dipshit.
Posted by: Guy Fawkes at November 17, 2010 11:35 AM (JcRgg)

If saving lives is the prime directive, how does that square with the existence of death panels to administer ObamaCare? Inquiring minds already know, but want to hear your "reasoning" anyway.

31 My lame duck Congress joins with Secretary LaHood in acting swiftly before year's end to legislate, with Leader Reid, his noble vision.

32 Mess with the street pharmacists conducting their business, while driving to the next rave club?  That'll cost you some votes.

33

What the fuck?

What happens if a family member has a heart attack and calls you for help or is about to die at a hospital and you can't get there because your phone is disabled? What if you see a crime being committed and can't call because your phone is disabled?  What if you see an accident on the road and can't call 911 because your phone is disabled? What if you are a doctor and can't get emergency calls because your phone is disabled?  What if your a foreman at a chemical plant and there is an accident but no one can get in contact with you because your phone is disabled? What if you're carjacked and can't call the cops because your phone is disabled?

This will result in far more deaths than it saves.

If you add this to the TSA thing and the phone wire tapping, it's getting harder and harder to claim we aren't a soft police state.

34

"LaHood applauded the announcement but vowed he 'would not rest' until the roads were even safer."

Translation: Bureaucratic self-justification drives the agency.

Time for Congress to declare DOT's mission accomplished, removing its ability to propose new regs.

35 The #1 cause of auto accidents is Richt Wingers listening to Fox News!!!

Posted by: Zombie Concern Leftist Troll

 

Is that REO Speedwagon I'm hearing!?!? Is it!?!?!

36 In other news, the Health Secretary unveiled a program to disable your junk wherever and whenever deemed appropriate.

37 We are getting ever closer to torch and pitchfork time.

38 Any one want to give LaHood the memo that drunk drivers and not properly licensed drivers kill more people on the roads than cell phones?????

39 At some point, you've talked enough on the phone.

40 They need to adapt the "Cone of Silence" used in the old Get Smart series.  That would take care of three of the top distractions on the list.  Then, they could close down drive-up windows at fast food restaurants and not only decrease the fourth distraction, but improve people's health and destroy another industry.  That has win written all over it.

41

Not sure how they will stop people from eating in the car

I've seen "helpful" advice for parents that says to refrain from letting kids eat in the car because they might choke if you get into an accident.

42 Why are they coming up with all this crap? Because when Obama was elected the liberals and nanny staters took it to mean that the public backed their agenda. Blame the idiot voters who fell for the liberal media's portrayal of Obama as a moderate. Second reason, we're just too dumb to make our own decisions.

43 Hey communist loving dipshit how will you disable cell phones in cars?  First off how do you know its the driver of the car using the cellphone?  Second how are you going to disable them, becaus I use my phone in the car but not for texting or calling usually, but because it comes with a freaking GPS system in it.

44 Hey, I'm going to come down on the other side, sort of... Talking on a phone is a massive distraction. You have approximately 40 percent of the available attention for the road. Try it some time, just walking down the sidewalk and talking on a phone. You will find when you reach the end of a block you can't remember who you passed on the way. This is because of the way we process telephone calls in our minds. It has almost nothing to do with dexterity and dialing.--which is why hands-free devices really don't help in terms of distractions. Having said all of this, I would not favor a ban. But I would favor a national campaign, along the lines of the seat belt push. There is nothing wrong with strongly encouraging people to wear seat belts. Likewise, there should be no objections to educating drivers on the very serious degradation of attention spans from cellphone talking. Yeah, I know, nanny state and all that. But drivers have a responsibility to operate their vehicles safely. It's not optional.

45 The guy next door has a 1948 Chevy truck for sale and it's looking better every day.

46

We are getting ever closer to torch and pitchfork time.

I hate to say this, but yes, we are.

47 Not sure how they will stop people from eating in the car (ban drive-thru windows?) but I guess once they outlaw all the foods people actually want to eat, no one will want to eat carrots and other Michelle Obama approved foods much anyway.

Actually many local governments already ban drive throughs.

How is that liberalitarian stuff working out for you LP types?

48

(I) Can't Fight This Feeling...

49 The initial problem the feds will run into is a prior federal law (Federal Communications Act of 1934 which restricts the use jamming devices to the feds). They are going to have to amend the law to permit private ownership, though given the dire financial straits BHO has sailed us into, i could see the feds trying to get around the Federal Communications Act by having it remain federal property and charging the car owner a fee for the "privilege" of carrying it in their car.

50 "Obviously the only soludtion is to create cars so small only one person can fit in them and they don't have a radio in them. Actually, that kind of sounds exactly like the kind of car the Obama administration would love to force people to drive. Well, other people. They and their friends would no doubt get waivers." You forgot 'powered by an eco-friendly, bio-mass fueled motor'. I had one of those when I was young. Made by Schwinn.

51
I guess that Secretary LaHood has never heard of GM's OnStar system.....which runs on a built-in CDMA cellphone.

52 Hell, why not? I just read an article yesterday where some dip-shit in the FDA said he was going to ban alcoholic beverages with caffeine in it. I guess that is the latest scare mongering out there. Sure, some of these drinks being marketed are stupid and probably not good for you, but so what.

The point is, not only has congress decided that there is NOTHING that they can not legislate, the buerocrats have decided that there is NOTHING that they can not regulate, even if there is no supporting legislation.

The key here is that they are ALL power made fascists who think they are doing it for your own good.

That is yet another reason why we should be killing every damn one of these agencies though the budgeting process.

Start lopping off the funds for their little fiefdoms and they will cut back on the shit they are doing. But then that would be the wrong thing to do. Can't slack off; must cut their budget to zero and fire every one of them permanently.

53 What about people who lets their pets roam around in their cars? That ain't on the list? We can fix that one, real quick.

54 The light at the end of the tunnel. If we get someone decent in in 2012, a lot of this crap can be undone. During the Carter fiasco, the speed limit was lowered to 55 mph as Jimmeh's homage to the environment. It ain't 55 anymore.

55 Given that cellphone videos on YouTube are a leading source of Congressional, union, and TSA embarassment you understand why the government's very interested in disabling phones.

56 Now all they need to do is put a cone of silence around the kids.

Try NyQuil.

57 The number one cause of deaths in vehicular accidents is the sudden and rapid conversion of kinetic energy to zero within living organisms.

The LaHoodian Solution? Repeal Newton's Laws of Motion!

The LaHoodian Solution to increasing vehicular fuel economy to "lots and lots" of miles per gallon? Repeal the Laws of Thermodynamics!

All hail the omnipotent nanny state!

58

This is not safety.

This is about compliance.

They say jump.  We jump.

 

It looks like Obama is going to react to the "refudiation" he received at the polls by doubling down on the coersion. 

59
Think I'll start buying up old CB radios on eBay and corner the market-- I'll be rich, I tells ya!

60

Not sure how they will stop people from eating in the car

 

car owners will be forced to have their cup holders filled in. With  cement. Supplied by union contractors of course. And alarms will sound if McDonalds french fries are detected. The spinkler system is gonna add some weight to the car.

61 Any one want to give LaHood the memo that drunk drivers and not properly licensed drivers kill more people on the roads than cell phones?????

Posted by: ObamaSuxDonkeyBalls at November 17, 2010 11:43 AM (w74G6)

BUUUUURRRRPPPPP. Oh, uh, no, its not the dozen whiskey sours I had it is this, uh, sleep medicine I take. WOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!! GO RED SOX!!!!!

Thank you for your cohabitation with my missed-ability. How if you will accuse me, I've got a bar, uh, vote to drive to. 

62

60% Moron hobo hunting.

 

63 During the Carter fiasco, the speed limit was lowered to 55 mph as Jimmeh's homage to the environment. It ain't 55 anymore.

Posted by: nerdygirl at November 17, 2010 11:45 AM (uG7PE)

Yeah but look how long it took.

64 Driving Study: BK Whoppers 300x more dangerous than cell phones

65 3 Good luck with that, Sparky. I foresee oodles of court challenges to such action based on the Tenth Amendment if you happen to succeed.

Oh, they can do it alright.  Know why the drinking age is 21 in all states?  Seatbelt laws are uniform?  BAL is 0.08?

They can do it.

66 Ray LaHood, during his tenure in Congress (small sample):

Was only one of 3 Republican Candidates who did not sign onto the Contract with America.
Has a 49% lifetime rating with Citizens Against Government Waste.
Got a 0% rating from Club for Growth.
Procured 60 million worth of earmarks for his district in 2008, 9 million of which went to campaign donors.

No wonder Obama picked this dude to be Trans Sec.  btw, why must there be a Cabinet-level position for transportation? 

67

Actually, the most common cause of auto accidents is that they move. 

Don't worry, Ray LaHood assures me they have the technology to disable every car in America.

68 Now all they need to do is put a cone of silence around the kids.

Posted by: Wade1970 at November 17, 2010 11:32 AM (MQOrx)

-------------------------

All my life, I have searched for a car that feels a certain way.  Powerful like a gorilla, yet soft and yielding like a Nerf ball.  Now, at last, I have found it.

69
Does anyone know how many people are killed each year by illegal invaders?

70 During the Carter fiasco, the speed limit was lowered to 55 mph as Jimmeh's homage to the environment. It ain't 55 anymore. Posted by: nerdygirl at November 17, 2010 11:45 AM (uG7PE)

And yet highway speed limits are still intentionally set low to appease bureaucrats/provide funding for local governments.

71 @44-- Which is why I very, very rarely initiate calls while driving and only answer the phone if it's someone who might have something suitably important for me to hear (like if I've left my kids with my mom; I'll answer a call from her in case something's happened with my kids). Otherwise, I don't like the distraction and avoid it. The key is that I KNOW THIS about myself. I didn't need someone to come along and outlaw it. Also, you need to keep in mind that people who are driving familiar routes - like the drive they make to work every single work day - can probably handle the "distraction" since they're more or less on autopilot. They're "there" enough to handle traffic and avoid hitting someone, but they aren't also trying to navigate unfamiliar roads. Even when I'm not on the phone, my routes to places I go regularly are little more than a blur once I've gotten there. Autopilot kicks in. Things like reading and putting on makeup would seem like a far greater threat, since both of those require your eyes to be looking somewhere besides the road.

72

I for one would like to welcome our nanny-state overlords, with Pit Bulls and a shotgun.

 

73 I was reading this post on my smartphone while driving to work, and it got me so angry I nearly spilled my beer.

Okay, kidding about that.

I admit to being something of a hardass about this.  Here is Clownifornia, where any idiot can get a driver's license (and in fact, most do), doing anything but giving 100% attention to the task of operating a motor vehicle is suicide.  I don't yak on my cellular while driving, I sure as hell don't text, I don't shave, I don't read the paper, and I don't do anything except drive with the assumption that everyone whose kill zone I am in is either drunk, blind, texting, or from a foreign country, and probably uninsured. We have a law (largely unenforced) banning the practice of driving while holding a cellular against the side of your skull, and I'm in favor of that law.  We have a guy not that long ago who was operating a train - a TRAIN, for crying out loud, which doesn't even have to be steered - who managed to kill and maim a lot of people because he was too busy playing with his cellphone to watch where he was going.

And for the record, if you are the guy at the table next to me in a nice restaurant getting loud on your cellular, or the idiot 12-year-old boy who stops in front of me in the middle of a crosswalk to argue with your BFF on the phone, or the brain-dead clerk in my office building elevator with me and six other people, announcing to your cellphone buddy "like, omigod, can you believe he gave me THE CLAP???" then you WILL hear from me, and I will NOT be pleasant about it.

But when the Federal government, having absolutely no authority in the Constitution to do so, goes into overkill mode and grabs the power to dictate our driving habits, they've gone too far.  This is a legitimate issue for a state and its Motor Vehicle Code to ban or allow this kind of driving, at the pleasure of its citizen voters.

74 Posted by: Fresh Air at November 17, 2010 11:44 AM (Hshr1)

The problem with that is that now seat belt laws are the norm.  'Cause it's "for the children!!"

How about this: we already have laws against killing someone because you're too stupid to drive properly: how about we enforce them?  We already have laws that say you're liable for damages to someone's property if you're too stupid to drive properly.  How about we just enforce those?

Now the FDA want's to ban "Four Loko" apparently: because stupid people are using a stupid product in a stupid way.  Why is this a Federal (or, really, government at any level) issue?

I'm so glad we've solved our nation's financial and energy crises, the plight of Central CA farmers, our debt/deficit crisis, and all the other issues the Government has any business worrying about- now we can turn to important things like if you get to use your cell phone in your car or whether you can drink a pre-mixed energy drink+liquor combo.

75 Great idea, Ray! Next how about we look into a brain wave scrambler to ban distracting thoughts?

76 In related news, Secretary LaHood has issued directives to prevent highway death at rush hour. Noting that many injuries and fatalities occur in the distracted haste of commuting, beginning January 2011 the Interstate highway system will be permanently closed by Federal marshals between the hours of 8 and 10 am and 5 and 7 pm local time, nationwide. LaHood noted "The business of America is saving lives, not that it's any of your business."

77

"Hey, I'm going to come down on the other side, sort of... Talking on a phone is a massive distraction. You have approximately 40 percent of the available attention for the road. "

FA, you've already abandoned the position. 

The reality is that driving a modern automobile on known roads takes surprisingly little attention - there's data out there that routine/rote driving requires less attention than an early FPS video game - and that's fine.

People have been distracted whilst driving since, well, Ransom E. Olds built his first jalopy (had to get that REO reference in there).  40% you say?  The lady who ran the red, t-boning my car, breaking vertibrae, and putting me in long term care paid 0% attention since, as she told police, she was "fiddling with the lighter and radio"... in 1982.

If someone is going to be distracted, the method, be it phone, GPS, DVD player, lighter, radio, passenger, flying squirrel is irrelevant.

Oh - and every one of the States has laws @ Distracted Driving already on the books...

78 Well if LaHood is going down this road he had better put some sort of device that ejects all food out of the car when you put it in (D.) Also, small children will also be banned from riding in a moving car with their mother so to prevent said mother becoming distracted with little Jane or Johnny as she drives.

Better yet, let's just ban anything that could ever be dangerous at some point thanks to stupid people's behavior. We can all sit in our tents/lean-tubs/mud-huts staring at the walls while we freeze to death.

Good Lord, these people are really pushing the electorate. I wonder why?????

79 It is unbelievable that Road Head did not make the top list of distractions. Pathetic. For the first time in my adult life, I am ashamed of my country.

80
okay, I just looked it up and 25 people/day are killed by illegals.

12 by murder, 13 by drunk-driving crashes.

That's what, 9500/yr?

81 Sounds like we all need to mail our old cell phones to Mr. LaHood's office (and you know you all have at least four old cell phones sitting in drawers and closets around your houses), along with a note that says:  "Fuck you, Mr. LaHood.  You can have my cell phone when you pry it from my cold, dead, fingers."

82

And the national skid into a fully functioning life-as-Monty-Python-skit-without-the-funneh continues.

 

83

Re seatbelts: when Hannity was riding around Bush's ranch last week, neither was wearing one.

I wondered if GWB was sticking his finger in the eyes of the would-be Safety-for-Your-Own-Good Nannies.

After all, he was on private property -- his own ---and need not obey the edicts, ukases, commands, and decrees of the imperial State regarding driving on public roads.

Wish I had a ranch large enough to do that. 

Shit, all I've got is my driveway. So I'm boned.

84
So twice the number of people are killed each year by illegals than cell-phone talkers.


Solution: Ban the cellphones!

85 80
okay, I just looked it up and 25 people/day are killed by illegals.

12 by murder, 13 by drunk-driving crashes.

That's what, 9500/yr?

Posted by: Soothsayer Grande at November 17, 2010 11:54 AM (uFokq)

Where'd you get this info.

86 FROM MY COLD DEAD HANDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Btw, what if your wife goes into labor, how many times have we seen that on the news, or what if you are being followed by a crazed ex with a violent past?

Anyone want to bet this fat load uses his cell phone while he is driven around.  What a jerk.

87 It will take hackers 5 minutes to be able to disable this device and ten minutes for it to go on the internet and 30 minutes to go viral.

LaHood and this administration are fucking idiots.

88 To them, you are just mindless chattel. Yet these are the same exact fuckwits that want to make sure squirrels can file lawsuits.

89 And saving those <5000 lives will only cost billions in taxes and inconveniences (but then you have to add back in people bleeding to death because they can't call 911 from their demolished car).

90
If we deported every single illegal and their anchor babies today, we would put a dent in the deficit, have no more traffic, less pollution, cleaner streets, better schools & hospitals...

91 Also, you need to keep in mind that people who are driving familiar routes - like the drive they make to work every single work day - can probably handle the "distraction" since they're more or less on autopilot. Yeah, I would agree with this. Unfortunately, there seems to be adverse selection of drivers who aren't very good to begin with deciding to add to their incompetence by talking on the phone. The studies I've read also indicate a small percentage of the population has enough attention bandwidth to handle phone calls and drive. Military and police subjects actually suffered very little in terms of reduced attentiveness (for obvious reasons). Your average dumbshit from the hood is another story...

92 It is unbelievable that Road Head did not make the top list of distractions. Pathetic.

For the first time in my adult life, I am ashamed of my country.

Posted by: Empire of Jeff

 

Hear him! It's #1 on my list. Alas, not for Mrs. Hen

93

I just read an article yesterday where some dip-shit in the FDA said he was going to ban alcoholic beverages with caffeine in it. I guess that is the latest scare mongering out there.~Vic

 

What did the article say was the problem with mixing alchol and caffeine?  I only ask because I got the idea to put a 1/4 cup of espresso beans into a newly opened bottle of vodka last weekend and though I haven't tried it yet the vodka is getting quite brown in appearance.

94 Already got our waiver, suckahs!

95
But instead let's ban 4 Loco! a drink that combines alcohol and caffeine.

Because no one will do combine those ingredients if we ban that drink.

96 Ray LaHood is just a stupid liberal asshole looking to justify his $180,000 salary, Cadillac health plan, and golden parachute pension, all funded by the taxpayer

97

FWIW, the NMSL was pushed thru by Nixon, who initially wanted a 50 MPH limit.

Can you imagine? The entire nation's passenger car traffic limited to 50 MPH?  No doubt warms the cockles of leftists everywhere...

98 Posted by: effinayright at November 17, 2010 11:55 AM (jvqD3)

Almost no one driving on a Farm/Ranch wears a seat belt.  It's not like there's another car you're going to hit, and it's inconvenient to keep buckling and unbuckling it every time you stop to do something.

I've helped my Grampa feed his cattle before, and it just would have been stupid to take those extra 5 seconds or so every time we stopped.

99 Next they will ban hot women from wearing short shorts outside - #1 cause of car crashes

100 OT: It seems Murcowsky has gone full retard.  She blames DeMint for failure to take the senate, and accuses him of being out for his own good.

101 I knew a guy who worked for the fire department. He responded to a traffic accident one day where a vehicle had stuck the back end of a stopped semi tailer while going about 65 miles an hour. When they pried the copse off of the steering column they found an open book in the middle of the steering wheel. The guy had been reading while going down the highway and failed to notice a traffic jam. Reading while driving didn't kill this guy, stupidity did. There are probably hundreds of stories just a stupid as this one unfolding every day around the country/world. Government regulations cannot save us from ourselves.

102
WND has the info (from 2006).

I'm sure it's a lot higher than 25/day.

103
What did the article say was the problem with mixing alchol and caffeine?  I only ask because I got the idea to put a 1/4 cup of espresso beans into a newly opened bottle of vodka last weekend and though I haven't tried it yet the vodka is getting quite brown in appearance.



Irish Coffee......Kahlua......Sambuca & coffee beans. Are these to be banned as well?

104 Re: making calls in emergencies, they'll just make OnStar (or a similar service) mandatory in all new cars. This has the added benefit (for them) of having tracking/disabling/remote operation capabilities.

105

Yeah, I would agree with this. Unfortunately, there seems to be adverse selection of drivers who aren't very good to begin with deciding to add to their incompetence by talking on the phone

 

Misses the point.  That group will be inattentive regardless.  Banning phones will not change that. Period.

106

Because no one will do combine those ingredients if we ban that drink.

We're just going to have to ban coffee and alcohol.

The missing coffee ban made Prohibition unworkable, you know.

107 Unnecessary, intrusive and typical of those who think it is government's responsibility to remove all risk from our lives.

"Mother's milk leads, inevitably, to death."

108 "Almost no one driving on a Farm/Ranch wears a seat belt.  It's not like there's another car you're going to hit, and it's inconvenient to keep buckling and unbuckling it every time you stop to do something. I've helped my Grampa feed his cattle before, and it just would have been stupid to take those extra 5 seconds or so every time we stopped." You're worse than Abdul Mutallab.

109 We're also going to be disabling clocks in cars. People are always looking at those things instead of the damn road!

110 But instead let's ban 4 Loco! a drink that combines alcohol and caffeine.

Obviously the powerful Natty Light lobby at work.

111

I got the idea to put a 1/4 cup of espresso beans into a newly opened bottle of vodka last weekend and though I haven't tried it yet the vodka is getting quite brown in appearance.

Posted by: Speller at November 17, 2010 11:58 AM (J74Py)

Add a vanilla bean and you get homemade Kahlua. Which I guess will now be illegal.

112 Posted by: Speller at November 17, 2010 11:58 AM (J74Py)

The theory (I wouldn't know, the whole thing sound stupendously stupid to me) is that the caffeine (think a Red Bull or Monster) tricks your brain into thinking you're not nearly as drunk as you really are, so you keep drinking long after you would have passed out but for the caffeine.

And then you'll drive.  Or binge drink.  Or something the nanny staters don't like.  So you shouldn't get to do it.  Cause we have to ban the object which allows bad behavior instead of actually punishing bad behavior.

113 Jess-- I realize smoking, fiddling with the radio, hobo hunting, etc. are all distractions. But no one really encourages any of this (except the hobo hunting, natch) do they? There is no reason to encourage talking on a cellphone while driving. It isn't good for your road skills and you shouldn't do it. Making people aware of this fact is a positive. I wouldn't ban phones or disable them, but I would put the word out. Even most legislatures have no idea that dexterity is not the issue. I'm not big on being hectored about things (diet, smoking, etc.), but again, auto driving is not a right and you shouldn't be a danger to others while behind the wheel.

114

"Next they will ban hot women from wearing short shorts outside - #1 cause of car crashes"

An old acquaintance of mine once dinged his car because he was distracted when he saw a woman show another woman her armpit on a street corner. He said it was oddly erotic. We need to ban these armpit thingies.

115

The problem with that is that now seat belt laws are the norm.  'Cause it's "for the children!!"

Unless you are an unwanted child who the government say you have the right to kill. 

116 "The theory (I wouldn't know, the whole thing sound stupendously stupid to me) is that the caffeine (think a Red Bull or Monster) tricks your brain into thinking you're not nearly as drunk as you really are, so you keep drinking long after you would have passed out but for the caffeine. And then you'll drive. Or binge drink. Or something the nanny staters don't like. So you shouldn't get to do it. Cause we have to ban the object which allows bad behavior instead of actually punishing bad behavior." Darwinism at work!

117

101,

Interesting anecdote.  From my perspective, the phones have just replaced the other distractions - one used to see a number of folks driving the Beltway in heavy traffic w/the WaPo or Star draped over their steering wheels, while munching on whatever breakfast food.

Today, the coffee may be Starbucks, the breakfeast a whole grain whatever, and the paper a smartphone, but the scenario hasn't changed one bit...

118 I actually just wrote a paper on Four Loko.  The people working against are the exact same people using the exact same strategy as who litigated against big tobacco and fast food.

119

And next, of course, is to ban small children in the car.

Hell, if THAT isn't a distraction for parents, I don't know what is.

"Knock it off, or I'm going to stop the car NOW!"

120

Slightly OT, but not too far: I have felt for years that freeway / interstate accident rates could be substantially reduced by having state troopers concentrate on tickering drivers who drive at or below the speed limit in the left (passing) lane.  This is illegal in every state that I know of, but seems to get little attention because it does not constitute immediately obvious dangerous behavior.

A root cause anlysis would show otherwise, I am sure.  The level of frustration and agression of the drivers on the road would be reduced, for one.  As would the average distance between vehicles!

121 "Irish Coffee......Kahlua......Sambuca & coffee beans. Are these to be banned as well?" Yes. Ban all of them. We'd like to ban everything from air mattresses to zippers but, you know, baby steps.

122 Out: cell phones
In: Medical marijuana

123 This is why:

http://tinyurl.com/2durgv6

A "study" says you will become a drunk.

Probably as much actaul science in that study as in the AGW scam.

124 Misses the point. That group will be inattentive regardless. Banning phones will not change that. Period. No, this is wrong. What I am trying to explain is that unless you are in the very small minority that actually has enough situational awareness to talk and drive with no reduction of your attention span, you are impaired. This means that, yes, Gretchen may already be a ditz behind the wheel. And Greg may be an ace driver. But they BOTH perform worse if they start talking on the phone. This simply should not be encouraged.

125 Posted by: Janet Napolitano at November 17, 2010 12:02 PM (AZGON)

She'd have completely freaked if she saw his gun collection.  He didn't hunt or anything like that (why go sit out in the cold to shoot your dinner when you can slaughter a cow with 1/100th the fuss?), but he did live on a farm in West Texas, and wasn't shy at all about shooting snakes/coyotes or even the occasional wolf (not that he saw many, but he wasn't going to let one get his cows or chickens).

His dad actually brought a WW1 German Bolt-Action rifle home (that is, from the War) and now it's been passed to my brother.  Unfortunately, the custom ammunition for it costs a small fortune...

126 We have released new rules today requiring drivers to have their junk inspected before entering their vehicle each morning, all in the name of national security.

127
Meanwhile...

Czar Kevin Jennings is teaching 1st graders how to smoke the baloney pony.

128 Remember back in the old days when regulators actually had to have definitive proof of harm before they could act to "ban" something or regulate it?

Remember in the old days when we used to brag on how in the U.S.A. people were used to the standpoint of "if it isn't illegal then its OK, while in the USSR the attitude was "if they don't tell you its OK you can't do it"?

We are not far from that USSR stuff folks.

129 Here´s another distraction: Lots of people pick their noses in cars. And if your airbag deploys, there is a danger that your finger bone is driven into the base of your brain, killing you. Have you ever thought about that, LaHood? The government must do something. NOW!

130 "Mother's milk leads, inevitably, to death."

The ingestion of saliva leads to stomach cancer.  But only if swallowed in small amount over a prolonged period of time.

131
So if Happy Meals encourage obesity...

why doesn't passing out condoms and teaching girls how to put condoms on bananas encourage pregnancy?

132

FA,

I'm missing where talking on a phone whilst driving has been advocated...

I'm all for good driver education - and continuing education (I took several ADAC driver's ed programs whilst across the pond.  Wow.)  Getting people to focus on the task at hand?  Good luck @ that one.

Still like the old line @ safe driving - if you want drivers to drive gently (thanks, Maryland), put a sharp stake on the center of the steering wheel facing the driver...

133 Talk about power-trippers.  All of a sudden, they're groping us, ogling us with their X-ray Eyevision, jamming our cell phones, and the worst outrage of all, banning caffeine from alcoholic beverages!  What, no more Kahlua?  Or five years in prison for drinking/serving a rum and coke?  What part of Berkeley did they get these maniacs from??

134 Alert: Watch out for masturbating drivers, our #1 cause of car crashes

135

But they BOTH perform worse if they start talking on the phone. This simply should not be encouraged.

I agree. But ban, or disable phones already in you car?

That is simply an overweening government making more rules than anyone wants, or needs.

136 Everyone is overlooking the obvious, real reason they are doing this.

First they start with the cell phone ban because it's a distraction.

Then they take away our radios because they too are a distraction.

And voila!! No need for the fairness doctrine when the majority of talk radio listeners are drivers who can't have radios.

Rush and Sean will lose a huge audience.

137 Posted by: Fresh Air at November 17, 2010 12:08 PM (Hshr1)

No one is encouraging it.  At worst, they're just not discouraging it.  But there's already a massive add campaign all over the place talking about "hang up and drive" and not texting while driving.

You point is a total non-issue because its already being done.  Anyone who doesn't realize that talking on their phones while driving is a distraction has been living under a rock.  With cotton in their ears.  And a blind fold on.

138 (but then you have to add back in people bleeding to death because they can't call 911 from their demolished car).

Because you just KNOW that the cell frequency jammer will be the only part of the car to survive, a la the airplane Black Box

139 The number one cause of head on collisions is two way roads. As a politician I suggest we make all roads divided highways. ////"There is no greater moron than a liberal progressive in congress.

140 The theory (I wouldn't know, the whole thing sound stupendously stupid to me) is that the caffeine (think a Red Bull or Monster) tricks your brain into thinking you're not nearly as drunk as you really are, so you keep drinking long after you would have passed out but for the caffeine.

Actually, the science behind this (from the studies I've skimmed though) seems sound. Still, must the Feds ban these types of drinks because a few stupid kids thought it was cool to binge on them?  Hell, why doesn't the FDA just ban caffeine and alcohol altogether and save themselves the time and energy banning drinks with these combinations one at a time? 

141

jimuy  re seat belt laws: While i think seat belts is a wise choice in most ar crash incedences, I'm  a little ticked that the law seems to apply to us little guys while school bus's city bus's ect . are not made to comply.

I mean really i thought it was for the keeds.

142 And voila!! No need for the fairness doctrine when the majority of talk radio listeners are drivers who can't have radios.

Woah, that's a conspiracy theory I can believe in.

143 A "study" says you will become a drunk.

OMG... A study??? Where... WHERE???!!!!

144

La Hood and his ilk can go fuck themselves.

Frank Zappa had it right when he predicted that, in the future, everything would be illegal. Just think of the problems that could be solved.

For the children!

145 . And Greg may be an ace driver. But they BOTH perform worse if they start talking on the phone. This simply should not be encouraged.

Posted by: Fresh Air at November 17, 2010 12:08 PM (Hshr1)

How do you go from should not be encouraged to banned?

As long as we are a free country, people will have the right to make bad choices.

146

No offense, but

"What I am trying to explain is that unless you are in the very small minority that actually has enough situational awareness to talk and drive with no reduction of your attention span, you are impaired"

is a false dichotomy.  Very, very few require anywhere near 100% attention to drive within the bounds of everyday vehicle operation.

"Gretchen may already be a ditz behind the wheel. And Greg may be an ace driver. But they BOTH perform worse if they start talking on the phone. This simply should not be encouraged"

As opposed to the hundreds of other things one can do in a car that require even more attention?  Really?

 

147 incidences

148 Can't I just pay a large tax, so that I can have the privilege of using my cell phone while driving?

149 Hell, why doesn't the FDA just ban caffeine and alcohol altogether and save themselves the time and energy banning drinks with these combinations one at a time? 

Posted by: Kratos (Ghost of Sparta) at November 17, 2010 12:14 PM (9hSKh)

Cut, jib, newsletter. In fact - why don't you send your resume over.

150 #144  Frank Zappa had it right when he predicted that, in the future, everything would be illegal. Just think of the problems that could be solved.

Ever see "Demolition Man"?  That's our future if we continue on this path, count on it.  We'll be controlled by an evil Mr. Rogers. 

151 Jess-- If 70 percent of drivers are doing it and no one in authority (or our godforsaken hack media) points out that it's a dangerous practice, I think you can say it's being encouraged. Instead of some asinine ban, what I would rather see from LaHood is a small campaign, even a viral one, that shows the actual scientific effects of phones on mental acuity. The studies are quite definitive on this point. Maybe the automakers could get some brownie points for running a few ads. I don't know. What I do know is that most people have no idea how seriously their driving skills degrade when they pick up the phone.

152 I would rather have it legal to allow drinking and driving (including mixing your own martini, shaken not stirred) behind the wheel than using a cell phone while driving.

153 Can't I just pay a large tax get a waiver, so that I can have the privilege of using my cell phone while driving?

Posted by: Liberal Voter at November 17, 2010 12:17 PM (+sBB4)

FTFY

154 I believe the gvt should demand our children be bound and gagged while belted in their carseats. why? cuz it's distracting as heck. and it's gvt. job to figure out how to drive while parenting.

155

And yet we get to watch motorcycle riders successfully fight helmet laws

Posted by: Blue Hen at November 17, 2010 11:36 AM (R2fpr)

That's because we ride harleys, not Priuses, and drink Jack Daniels and not lattes, and carry guns not baguettes.

156

Can't I just pay a large tax, so that I can have the privilege of using my cell phone while driving?

Just get elected to Congress. Hell, they exempt themselves from everything.

157 Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It may be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.

158

How about just letting auto insurers deny first-party property damage coverage (i.e. reimbursement for repair/replacement of your own vehicle) to those who are talking or texting on the phone at the time of an accident? Third-party liability coverage would still be in place since innocent parties should still be compensated, but any damage to your own property due to your distraction would come out of your own pocket.

It would be nice to extend this to other areas of distracted driving, but the phone thing is the only one where there would be objective evidence of the distraction.

159 Meanwhile...

Czar Kevin Jennings is teaching 1st graders how to smoke the baloney pony.

I don't see the problem.

160

Just get elected to Congress. Hell, they exempt themselves from everything.

Posted by: HH at November 17, 2010 12:20 PM (6oDXl)

I'm going to create a 'Drivers using cellphones' union.  Unions are exempt from everything.

161

My son's school bus has seatbelts.  

In Ft. Worth, TX, it is now against the law to talk on cell phones in a school zone.

162

"Gretchen may already be a ditz behind the wheel. And Greg may be an ace driver. But they BOTH perform worse if they start talking on the phone. This simply should not be encouraged"

 

Know what I find distracting while I'm driving?  Signs.  All that signage is really distracting, it gets a lot worse during election time too. 

163 Personally, I'm all in favor of banning the use of cell phones while a person is operating a car. Want to use your cell phone while in the car, then pull over and make the call. However, I am not in favor of this. This is just stupid. Ban the use of cell phones while a person is driving a car and this won't be necessary. Funny bumper sticker I saw recently: "Guns don't kill people, people on cell phones while driving kill people."

164 The number of people driving inside their cars being distracted with cell phones is TOO DAMN HIGH

165 I think we should ban cell phone use while in Congress.

166 mapbooks might need a lookin at, have you ever tried to read the map while driving?

167 Posted by: highlander 707 at November 17, 2010 12:21 PM (74QJW)

It that's like the other bans in the area, it's only using the handsets that is actually banned.  Use a hands-free set, or set the cell to speaker and you're fine.

That said, I'm not a huge fan of cities doing these bans either, but at least I'm closer to the city council and my voice is a lot louder to them- so I have some chance of affecting what they do.  The Transportation Dept? Not so much.

168 auto driving is not a right

Oh the hell yes it is! I am sick of hearing that little canard. Driving is the modern mode of transport and thus is a right of any free citizen. Yes you can take that right away for cause but the "driving is a privilege" thing is bs. You cannot conduct yourself in the way of modern life in much of this nation without driving.

169 Dead roadside prostitutes are pretty distracting. Can we ban them?  

170

Um, I have bluetooth in my vehicle and can make calls hand's free and by voice command.

Why would this bozo diable my mobile phone?

171 SteveN-- One of the difficulties with enforcing laws on cellphone use is that many drivers immediately use them to call 911 after an accident. The phone logs, even if subpoenaed, simply show a coincidence of accident and phone call about the same time. Unless a cop actually sees a driver on the phone before or during an accident, these charges are often tossed. But improved technology probably will enable this sort of tracking in the future. For repeat offenders/accident-causers, it might be a useful penalty, though I would want to hear some counter-arguments.

172 i think we should just ban congress  writing new laws for awhile . to see how we do. we'll call em when we need them or they're willing to look at overturning a few

173 What other bans in the area?

174 So my friend needs to call somebody from their cell to get directions, say to a moron meetup, we're SOL? Do what everyone did for years in the past: pull into a gas station and use a pay phone. Or, in this case, just pull over anywhere and use your cell phone to ask directions. What about people that conduct business on the road via speaker phone or bluetooth? Posted by: Kratos (Ghost of Sparta) at November 17, 2010 11:36 AM Is it really that necessary to conduct the business while driving? Can't it wait 15-30 minutes until the person arrives at their destination? If it cannot, can't they pull over somewhere and make/receive the call?

175 In Colorado (and I'm sure elsewhere) there are large signs over the highway that say things like "Report road rage call *CSP"  I guess we won't have to worry about that anymore.

176 I have not seen a pay phone in a very long time.

177 auto driving is not a right Oh the hell yes it is! If you have to have a license to do it, especially one that can be taken away for minor offenses, it's not a right. Eating is a right. Smoking is a right. Drinking is a right. Operating a vehicle isn't a right.

178 auto driving is not a right Oh the hell yes it is! I am sick of hearing that little canard. Driving is the modern mode of transport and thus is a right of any free citizen. Yes you can take that right away for cause but the "driving is a privilege" thing is bs. Posted by: kidney at November 17, 2010 12:27 PM Actually, it is a privilege, not a right. If you don't pass a driving test, you have no right to get a license and be on the road putting other people in danger, because you can't drive well enough. It is a privilege to those who are capable enough to pass the tests to receive a license.

179 Just so I'm clear: riding a motorcycle without a helmet is also a right in my book. The state has no legitimate interest in stipulating headgear for motorcyclists.

180

gee ...  it would be a shame if some wires to the cell phone disabling device got "accidentally" cut ...

I wonder what percentage of the 51% were using a cell phone hands free ?

 

181 Here´s another distraction: Lots of people pick their noses in cars. And if your airbag deploys, there is a danger that your finger bone is driven into the base of your brain, killing you. Have you ever thought about that, LaHood? The government must do something. NOW!

Posted by: El Gordo

 

This was foreseen.

182 I guess if I have a flat tire at night, in the middle of nowhere, I deserve to have some hobos (or the Walking Dead)  beat the crap out of me.

183 Time we end this. All laws apply to EVERYONE. No execptions. Want to fly, Nancy Pelosi? You have to go through the same drill everyone else does. And how to ensure something like that? Every member of congress flies commercial. No private jets, or exemptions. At least for elected persons. Posted by: HH at November 17, 2010 11:37 AM A-freaking-men to this. I was thinking this exact same thing when listening to Rush talk about the whole deal with the Clyburn-Pelosi-Hoyer stuff and how a lot of it is about the 'perks' of the positions. I don't see why any of these people need 'perks'. They should be flying commercial and driving where they want to go on their own. They don't need drivers and they don't need Secret Service for that matter, in my opinion. They are nothing more than average people elected to public office. They are not royalty. The President, VP and their families are different stories. But any other elected official should NOT be using taxpayer dollars for "perks". Elected office should be public service, not a position of royalty.

184

"..I deserve to have some hobos (or the Walking Dead)  beat the crap out of me."

It's alright, they'll probably just eat you.

185 Guys, you really, really, REALLY need to stop pretending that cell phone usage is BY FAR the biggest problem / distraction for drivers. You have ALL driven by people driving like a complete dipshit and seen - to no surprise whatsoever - that the driver is gabbing on the phone. Is it potentially more distracting to change the radio station ? Sure, for about 5 seconds. When changing the radio station is a full time, constant distraction lasting 10 minutes, you let me know. Same goes for taking a bite of your McD's burger. Frankly, I am in favor of cell phone jamming equipment in cars. The entire world got along just fine for a CENTURY without cell phone usage in cars. And if your car dies and you need to call for help - GET OUT OF THE FUCKING CAR.

186 96% – Talking to passengers: Solution--a sensor that disables your car if all travelers aren't wearing their government mandated ball gags.
 
89% - Adjusting vehicle climate/radio controls. Solution--all cars come with radios pre-programmed to only receive NPR.

74% - Eating a meal/snack. Solution--Ben Bernanke is already on top of it. Food prices will soon limit Americans to just one meal of gruel per day.

51% - Using a cell phone. Solution--please refer to ball gag mandate.

41% - Tending to children. Solution--increased funding for Planned Parenthood.

34% - Reading a map/publication. Solution--eliminate all private and home schooling until literacy rate reaches zero..

19% - Grooming. Solution--kill all conservatives.

11% - Preparing for work. Solution--see above.

187 The DoT intends to implement vital safety regulations beginning in 2011 that all car radios shall be permanently tuned to constant programming of President Obama's speeches.  The only permitted interruptions will be Public Service Announcements by House Minority Leader Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid.

188 Gaff - laws against TEXTING while driving need to be rolled back ? Fuck you. TEXTING while driving is damn near a lead pipe cinch to get you killed. Anyone that thinks people should have the RIGHT to TEXT while driving is a RETARD.

189

Whats more interesting to me, is how they will do this technologicaly.

You would have to emplace a broad band jammer, to jam all the cell phone frequencys, and make it powerful enough so that those of us with built in Cell Antennas get jammed as well... this would have to be on ALL the time your car is running.

As there is some evidence that prolonged cell phone use can cause brain cancer... and the signal from your car would have to be powerful enough to overrirde your phones Cell signal... Your Government just suggested having us all sit in Cancer machines... for LONG periods of time.

Is this guy on the Obamacare Death Panel?

190 If you have to have a license

You have the mistaken idea that the Government is the source of your rights. I do not subscribe to that idea. Rather, I believe that my rights are "inalienable". The right to free movement is a basic one. The modern way of doing so is the automobile.

191 Frankly, I am in favor of cell phone jamming equipment in cars. How about you get the fuck out.

192

Frankly, I am in favor of cell phone jamming equipment in cars. The entire world got along just fine for a CENTURY without cell phone usage in cars. And if your car dies and you need to call for help - GET OUT OF THE FUCKING CAR.

Ever hear of CB radios?  Aside from texting, how are they different than cell phones?  Wouldn't it be strange if for the last 30 years all those big rigs had been killing people all over the roads and it was the CB radios that were at fault?  Never happened you say?  I rest my case.

193

I'm just glad unemployment is so high.  Otherwise, more people would be killed "preparing for work."

Just another case of Obama saving lives.

 

194 I rear ended a car that was stopped in front of me because I was admiring a super fine turd cutter that was sashaying down the sidewalk. Probably 30 plus years ago at this point. Luckily the person I ran into was not hurt and the car was not damaged. I did not learn my lesson though. I can still be mesmerized by the female form and will continue to admire.

195 Hey, I'm going to come down on the other side, sort of... Talking on a phone is a massive distraction. You have approximately 40 percent of the available attention for the road. Try it some time, just walking down the sidewalk and talking on a phone. You will find when you reach the end of a block you can't remember who you passed on the way. This is because of the way we process telephone calls in our minds. It has almost nothing to do with dexterity and dialing. -- which is why hands-free devices really don't help in terms of distractions. Having said all of this, I would not favor a ban. But I would favor a national campaign, along the lines of the seat belt push. There is nothing wrong with strongly encouraging people to wear seat belts. Likewise, there should be no objections to educating drivers on the very serious degradation of attention spans from cellphone talking. Yeah, I know, nanny state and all that. But drivers have a responsibility to operate their vehicles safely. It's not optional. Posted by: Fresh Air at November 17, 2010 11:44 AM Well said. Especially the point that hands-free is not the solution, since only part of the distraction from cell phone usage in cars is the dialing/dexterity issue. It's an available attention issue.

196 Maybe some enterprising member of the transportation department could install mobile phone blocking technology in their office. Preferably the technlology would be strong enough to block out mobile calls for a wide area. Then let's see how accepting the self-important types in the department are.

197

Oh.... and as a Constiutional Conservative... I have no problem at all with STATES having laws about cell phones...

But this is the Federal Government, once more overstepping the boundaries placed on it by the Constitution.... and doing it through the executive branch at that...

198 Obviously the only soludtion is to create cars so small only one person can fit in them and they don't have a radio in them. Already got one - it's called a 'motorcycle'. No environmental controls, either, and you can't eat, so those causes of accidents have been eliminated as well. So where's my government subsidy for making the streets safer?

199 A little OT, but let's play "Name That Party:"

http://tinyurl.com/2do9ops

Gee, I wonder why CBS doesn't tell us the party affiliation for Claire McCaskill and her affiliation for TSA "love pats."

200 Good luck with that, Sparky. I foresee oodles of court challenges to such action based on the Tenth Amendment if you happen to succeed.

Yeah, I've got your Tenth Amendment right here, buddy...

201 I guess that Secretary LaHood has never heard of GM's OnStar system.....which runs on a built-in CDMA cellphone. Posted by: IllTemperedCur at November 17, 2010 11:45 AM There is also Ford's Sinc system, where you can program it to just touch a button on the steering wheel and voice "Call (Home)" and it will make the call. I'm guessing this system would be disabled as well with LaHood's suggestion? I can't imagine Ford and GM would be in favor of this at all. GM I guess would have to go along since they made the mistake of allowing the government to take them over.

202 I can't imagine Ford and GM would be in favor of this at all. GM I guess would have to go along since they made the mistake of allowing the government to take them over.

Well, at least until the IPO.  Then it will be the muzzies that own most of the company.

203 Obviously the only soludtion is to create cars so small only one person can fit in them and they don't have a radio in them. ban privately-owned automobiles and invest the savings in public transportation. FIFY

204 Damn it, strike tags didn't work. Obviously the only soludtion is to ban privately-owned automobiles and invest the savings in public transportation.

205

What about CB radios?

And radios in cabs and in cop cars?

206 Eating is a right. Smoking is a right. Drinking is a right. ah HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Lets us know when you crawl out from under your rock.

207

Posted by: Clyde Shelton at November 17, 2010 01:02 PM (NITzp)

Not to mention LoJack... the anti theft system...

208 Clyde-- There are a number of very well-done scientific studies showing the effects of cellphone usage on driving. I would link them, but I believe TinyURL is a disenfranchisement of right as an AoS Moron to use HTML and URLs as I so choose. See, the nannies have already infiltrated. HTML FOR ALL MORONS!

209 Oh, and to those "driving is right" idiots:

Flying is a modern mode of transportation as well.  Does this mean I have the right to take 10 hours of flight lessons and then hop behind the controls of a 172 without a pilot's license?

210 But when the Federal government, having absolutely no authority in the Constitution to do so, goes into overkill mode and grabs the power to dictate our driving habits, they've gone too far. This is a legitimate issue for a state and its Motor Vehicle Code to ban or allow this kind of driving, at the pleasure of its citizen voters. Posted by: Keith Arnold at November 17, 2010 11:52 AM Well said. I'm in favor of banning cell phone usage while operating a moving vehicle, but I am in favor of it coming to a local vote, whether City or State. I am not in favor of a federal ban.

211 Frankly, I am in favor of cell phone jamming equipment in cars. The entire world got along just fine for a CENTURY without cell phone usage in cars. And if your car dies and you need to call for help - GET OUT OF THE FUCKING CAR.

Posted by: deadrody at November 17, 2010 12:45 PM (GJhuj)

So a passenger is forbidden to use a cellphone in their friend's car?  What about a taxi?  A bus?  Will those be exempted except for a bubble around the driver?

Humanity got by for thousands of years without guns too, and people can be idiots with those, so maybe the government should make those illegal.  Maybe the government should make stupidity illegal, then the problem will just go away!

Or maybe when the government infringes on the rights of the law-abiding to try to stop stupidity, regular people suffer while stupidity continues?

212

Does this mean I have the right to take 10 hours of flight lessons and then hop behind the controls of a 172 without a pilot's license?

Instead of using every job that was handed to him on a silver platter as a springboard to the next silver-platter job, until he got to the biggest job in the world, I wish Obama had tried that 172 trick first!  With someone else's 172, and by himself, of course.  Oh, and I almost forgot, figuratively!!

213

Well, suppose your car dies in a bad neighborhood? If you get out of the car, you're lunch.

 

Better idea.. let the Feds stick to destroying the economy.

214 The problem with driving while using a cellphone is the human brain can only track so much information before it just locks up.

A guy driving down an empty highway can do a lot of things, even engage in a very thoughtful discussion on the cell, and still pay attention to that empty highway. Put a car in front and behind him (yes, you are supposed to be aware of traffic behind you) and his free capacity is more limited, but he could probably still handle shoving a Big Mac into his pie hole or suck on a Slurpee.

Add in some more cars, oncoming traffic or another lane or two, and your average driver has little left to do anything but focus on the road. Your driver might be able to track ten cars, their positions and relative velocities, around him.

Throw in just one more distraction he'll lock up - either drive right into the ass end of the car in front of him, or more often slow way down to let some of that information overload pass by.

This is why a lot of the older drivers go slower - they can no longer track that much around them as they used to - and they compensate accordingly.

Prudent drivers can judge that traffic is too heavy to talk while driving and pull over or postpone the call.

The problem with the heavy cell phone users is that they do not recognize that most of their concentration is on talking to someone who is not even in the car (passengers usually recognize a tight spot and will shut up till you get through it) i.e.: They 'think' they are prudent and would never accept that cell phone use does affect their driving.

Based upon the survey above and depending how many of those people actually have cell phones -

57 percent of Americans admit to partaking in distractions for personal purposes while 25 percent of Americans admit to participating in distracting activities while driving for work

- up 43% driving for personal reasons have their heads firmly lodged up their ass.

- up 75% of those driving on company time have their heads firmly lodged up their ass (based on my observations on fleet vehicles, I would say this is spot on).

96% – Talking to passengers
51% - Using a cell phone

- recognizing that one has a distraction allows one to adjust for it, so having 96% say they have been distracted is probably quite fair and honest.

- 51% saying that they have distracted by the cell again allows one to adjust for it.

- leaving up to 49% soemhow talking on the cell while their head head lodged in their ass.

215 Maybe the automakers could get some brownie points for running a few ads. I don't know. What I do know is that most people have no idea how seriously their driving skills degrade when they pick up the phone. Posted by: Fresh Air at November 17, 2010 12:18 PM While I agree with you about talking on the phone while driving, I don't see that happening. Especially with GM (On Star) and Ford (Sync) having systems in the car which specifically encourage -- and make it easier for -- people to talk on the phone while driving.

216 I am in favor of eliminating the DOT and the FDA as well as hundreds of other federal rats.

217 Safety!

218 168 auto driving is not a right

Oh the hell yes it is! I am sick of hearing that little canard. Driving is the modern mode of transport and thus is a right of any free citizen. Yes you can take that right away for cause but the "driving is a privilege" thing is bs. You cannot conduct yourself in the way of modern life in much of this nation without driving.

Posted by: kidney at November 17, 2010 12:27 PM (ENRGu)

Where is that enumerated in the Constitution again?

219
The most distracted driver I ever saw was a woman who was applying mascara while driving down the Edens Expressway.  Clearly, we need mandatory locks on women's purses and pocketbooks: it's for the children!

220 The Pelosi GTX is the answer from Iowahawk.

221 Where is that enumerated in the Constitution again?

Well, it has to be a right.  How else do we explain the illegal alien who panicked and swerved into my car head-on during a snowstorm?

222 I am in favor of eliminating the DOT and the FDA as well as hundreds of other federal rats. Vic at November 17, 2010 01:33 PM (e4sSD) I like the cut of your jib.

223

#218

not all rights are enumerated in the Constitution, simply because a right is not defined in the Constitution doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

 

224

i do agree that a persistent pattern of bad behavior should be grounds for a temporary restriction of that right, but only temporary. you go 7 years without any trouble your rights are automatically restored.

freedom trumps safety or there is no freedom. 

225

the only reason that common sense doesn't decide what is a "right" and what is a "privilege" is that we have given the decision over to lawyers.

common sense is poison to lawyers.

226 not all rights are enumerated in the Constitution, simply because a right is not defined in the Constitution doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Posted by: shoey at November 17, 2010 01:49 PM Yeah, tell us about it.

227 #44 is right. A friend who does accident reconstruction observed that even if you don't do anything distracting, for routine commutes you've already done frequently, you are on autopilot. Try it, when you get home tonight, visualize your drive commute.  Are the mental images really from today or are they B roll stock footage?
LaHood wanted to have a system to log your travel by individual road so you would pay an appropriate and specific fee for access and road damage. Just so happens that the Feds could then explicitly know where you were. Maybe he could dream up a system that forced you to take a different route home each night to keep you sharp. Guy's a maroon, former public skool teechur and regrettably a one-time pseudo-Republican.

228 Posted by: 40+ million aborted babies since 1973 at November 17, 2010 02:00 PM (NITzp)

Hey, I declared a truce!  Shut up, you!

229 I realize smoking, fiddling with the radio, hobo hunting, etc. are all distractions. But no one really encourages any of this (except the hobo hunting, natch) do they?

State governments encourage--nay, mandate--that parents' attention be directed at the backseat by making it illegal to carry your infants in the front passenger seat next to you.

230

#227

like i was saying, only a lawyer could twist the Constitution around until it means that a mother has a "right" to murder her unborn child.

231 Fresh Air, regarding your #171, when they get the phone records can't they tell what numbers were called? Also, in the instance of someone calling 911 immediately after an accident precipitated by cell phone use, there would be two calls on the record - the "offending" call and the subsequent call to 911.

232 218 Where is that enumerated in the Constitution again?
__________

Hot pursuit of happiness.

Oh, wait, that's the Declaration of Independence...

233 #44 is right. A friend who does accident reconstruction observed that even if you don't do anything distracting, for routine commutes you've already done frequently, you are on autopilot. Try it, when you get home tonight, visualize your drive commute. Are the mental images really from today or are they B roll stock footage? Posted by: chuckR at November 17, 2010 02:01 PM Yes, the trip route does not change, but the traffic congestion could change, the quality of drivers on the road may change, accidents happen, etc. Just because the route does not change and does not require one's full attention, does not mean all other factors remain constant as well.

234 204
Damn it, strike tags didn't work.
Obviously the only soludtion is to ban privately-owned automobiles and invest the savings in public transportation.
Posted by: Brendan at November 17, 2010 01:06 PM (U6MtO)

Where the dumbass operators of said equipment - buses or trains - engage in paying more attention to their cell phones / games than operating the vehicle. More dead bodies for the buck!

235 Damn socks...

236 The right to free movement is a basic one. The modern way of doing so is the automobile.

False. You have the right to move freely, and you have the right to seek the mode of transportation of your choice. Should someone or something bar you from that choice for legitimate reasons (e.g., can't pass the driver's test, can't afford a car, convicted hazard to public safety), you do not have the right to demand you be allowed to drive anyway.

237 Didn't the gummint mandate the GPS trackers in cell phones after some woman in Florida drove into a canal and drowned because the public "safety" units couldn't find her in time?

238 So the same folks that screamed about the Patriot act now have no problems with this or the TSA?

239

Listened to a talk show a couple of years ago when Michael Smerconish had LaHood on his show. Smerconish conceded that talking on/dialing handheld cell phones was a dangerous distraction. He asked LaHood, since LaHood presumably has some clout with car manufacturers, to pressure the car companies to push the technology envelope to enable voice activated cell phones that are built right into the dashboard or console. Seemed logical.

He was talking right past LaHood, who robotically kept repeating that the answer was to ban all cell phone usage in cars. Smerconish simply could not get LaHood to focus on a proposed solution or to grasp that there is a difference in a handheld cell phone that you dial by looking at and punching in numbers, and one which is voice activated.

 LaHood just kept saying, "Certainly, yes, we're pursuing all avenues to ban cell phone usage in vehicles." It was one of those Alice in Wonderland conversations where when LaHood got off, everyone was scratching their heads and saying, "Huh?" The prototype appartchik for the Obama revolution.

240 So the same folks that screamed about the Patriot act now have no problems with this or the TSA?

Posted by: Locus Ceruleus at November 17, 2010 02:43 PM (tzcjs)

Why should they worry about protecting you from terrorists when it's so much more urgent to protect you from yourself?  /sarc

I hate the damn do-gooders, whether on the Left or Right (though I really, REALLY hate the ones on the Left).  Leave people the hell alone, bastards!  They're the modern day Puritans, but unwilling to go off and live among their own kind - they instead hang around to plague us with their bleating harrangues and limp-wristed admonishions.  They're like those vile crones of the Womens' Christian Temperance Union, which was neither Christian nor temperate.

241 LaHood just kept saying, "Certainly, yes, we're pursuing all avenues to ban cell phone usage in vehicles." Posted by: RM at November 17, 2010 02:51 PM If he meant they would put it up for a vote in each State to ban cell phone usage in a vehicle while it was moving, then I'm okay with that. But I doubt that's what he meant. I'm guessing he meant a federal ban on using a cell in a car at all and we have no choice/vote in the matter. That I do not support at all. This should be an issue on which the people of each State should vote.

242 If the Safety Nazis ever did this it would could 100x more accidents because of everybody pulling over to make calls and trying to merge back into fast traffic when finished.

243 Dang it. What a pox on liberty Obama is. I hope you can put aside differences on moral issues to at least preserve some of what is left.

244

I hate the damn do-gooders, whether on the Left or Right (though I really, REALLY hate the ones on the Left).  Leave people the hell alone, bastards!  They're the modern day Puritans, but unwilling to go off and live among their own kind - they instead hang around to plague us with their bleating harrangues and limp-wristed admonishions.  They're like those vile crones of the Womens' Christian Temperance Union, which was neither Christian nor temperate.

Posted by: Reactionary at November 17, 2010 02:53 PM (xUM1Q)

 

exactly!

besides, sitting in a 2 ton hunk of metal, hurtling down the pavement at anywhere from 30 to 75 mph is inherently dangerous.

and further, not you, I or anyone else is saying "no rules! highway demolition derby free-for-all now!" like you said "just leave ppl alone" let them make their own choices about the level of danger they are willing to accept and if that makes the more timid amoung us afraid, well that's just tough.

245

Is it really that necessary to conduct the business while driving?

Um, is it really necessary for you to pretend it is any of the government's business?

246

He was talking right past LaHood, who robotically kept repeating that the answer was to ban all cell phone usage in cars

Because the government only has 1 way to address problems: command & control.

247

if you believe that the streets are to dangerous to drive, then don't, but leave me out of your cage, I don't want any part of it.

248 I learned in the '90s that there was no way I could be trusted to successfully manage my vehicle while at the same time fooling with a cell phone.  Crossing three lanes of traffic without noticing while returning from a business trip on I-55 proved that point.  I since only use my On-Star service and that only rarely because just talking on the phone is a distraction as well.  On the other hand, there are times when the Zune must be redirected to alternate play lists.  Disable that, I double dog dare ya.

249 Where is that enumerated in the Constitution again?


Amendment X

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor
prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively,
or to the people.

250 deadrody at November 17, 2010 12:45 PM (GJhuj) Get out of the fucking car? Yeah, tell me to do that in a bad neighborhood at night. The ladies might have good reason to stay behind locked doors. But hey, I don't mind i YOU wind up in pieces on the highway, or maybe some of them in the river, like my husband's client who got out to check out a flat behind his car. It's SUCH A GOOD IDEA. No, the safest place if your car conks out on a bridge or road with narrow shoulders is in your vehicle. Besides, there are other people in the car with the driver and they, as passengers, should be free to talk to anyone, use 3g to surf the net, whatever.

251 - did you just have to quote the tenth amendment to someone on this site? Unbelievable. How can you get to adulthood without knowing the farking bill of rights?

252

 

Fascists, indeed.

 

sAve us from ourselves, oh nanny state fascist democrats.

 

253 False. You have the right to move freely, and you have the right to seek the mode of transportation of your choice. Should someone or something bar you from that choice for legitimate reasons (e.g., can't pass the driver's test, can't afford a car, convicted hazard to public safety), you do not have the right to demand you be allowed to drive anyway.

You may also be denied the right to your personal freedom if you break the law. We call that incarceration.
Somehow no one argues that the right not to be thrown in jail is a privilege. And to Airplane guy- I never said the state couldn't restrict those who are unable to properly operate.

254

Where is that enumerated in the Constitution again?

"Your junk" and "airplanes" aren't enumerated there either.

You're a hell of an excuse for a conservative, right there.  You're just what our masters are looking for.  What the goddamn hell, did you come here for the explications of Leviticus, and just stay for the busty lesbian porn? 

 

255 The government wants to come up with ways to disable your cell phone.

How about the American people come up with ways to disable the government?

Seriously though, wouldn't a castrated, bitch-slapped government curled up in a fetal position in a pool of its own piss be a good start?

The more time goes by, the more I'm convinced that Reagan was right: Government itself IS the problem.

Now I'm not one of those nutter anarchist idiots who thinks that the absence of any form of government is either possible or preferable.  I just think that the government we do have should only be just powerful enough to prevent foreign invasion and domestic criminal activity.  It should be kept on a short leash, its role as our SERVANT and not our MASTER continuously reinforced. 

It is up to us as a nation to make this happen.  If we don't, then we will, as always, receive the government that we deserve, the kind that has its dick lodged firmly up our asses. 

256 But then how would we call the number on all those state and federally funded call 'this number' for"traffic information signs?

I suppose we'll have to pay to take those down and then fire the folks who handle the alerts, right?

257 Between OSHA and the EPA, it won't be long before we're back to the days of horse & buggy.

I other news, a resurgence of buggy-whip makers.

Who'da thunk it?!

258 Hey, even IronMan made cell phone calls .. in-flight

259 It is pretty scary the number of people advocating the government nanny us in this topic.

News flash: People are going to do stupid crap regardless of there being laws against them, or ad campaigns telling them not to do stupid crap, etc etc. There is no reason to make 1001 laws saying every single insipid thing you can and cannot do inside a car outside of common sense, or installing machines as your personal nanny to keep you from doing things the government nannies say are bad.

And BTW, the reason the texting bans should be fought are they are LaHood's plan to get cell phone bans in by using the texting bans as a trojan horse/precident for blanket cell phone bans. He's said so himself before in an interview I read on Bloomberg about a month ago (I sent the article to Ace but he never used it).



And finally, the 'studies' that show people can't handle distractions are fundamentally flawed, especially the ones that don't take into account people have varying levels of distractability while performing multiple tasks. Not everybody is wired exactly the same in the brain. Its just an excuse for nanny state government bullshit.

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