Final Rule on Hand-Held Cell Phone use

It is not about bigger government it is about removing what is quickly becoming the most distracting thing to drivers of anything that has wheels.

If people would govern themselves on the use of cell phones, including the blue tooth or headset users, then we would not need the fed to step in and do something about it.

People just merrily keep using their phones via handheld or hands free means and they keep swerving around on the road while using them and no one seems to give a rip either way.

We piss and moan about people in their cars, suvs and pickups doing this but we never look in the mirror at our selves.

I see this stuff every day and I know most of you see it also or could see it if you pay any attention to the people swerving and weaving all over the road, trying to stay in their lane. I do notice people using hands free devises and still driving irratically. Just look over at them briefly and you will see their jaw engaged in a conversation.

What really pisses me off is that there is little to nothing being done to govern the non trucking population. The laws that are out there, are not being enforced and the fines are minimal at best.

Lets face it, this is a job and if you ever punched a time clock in a non trucking job then you will remember that you could not use a cell phone at that either, well most of them anyway.

Face it, there is absolutely no phone call that important that it can not wait till you can pull over and return the call. The great thing about the majority of the cell services out there is that they have free voice mail.

Personally, I can drive 11 hours and not be so bored that I have to talk on the phone. Heck I do that all the time.

I mentioned this ruling to my boss the other day and he was suprised but he was for it. We mentioned it to our safety manager and now their is a page posted at the front desk in the office and a similar page going out in all the pay checks.

 

Cowpie1, I wanted to comment on your post if I may be so bold. I subscribe to this forum as a driver but I've been a police officer for 14yrs and a commercial driver driver for 9yrs. I now do both, full time LEO and part time driver. Anyway...

I don't disagree with your advice. It is sound. I can also add that cell phone laws prevent a LEO from taking your phone. It's basically no different then any other traffic offense. It's based on what the LEO saw at the time of the infraction. I dont see many officers taking it any further and asking to see/search the phone, etc. I don't have the time or energy over a traffic violation. Now if it's drugs or a criminal offense I'll go the distance but, not over a traffic offense. And were talking about just using the phone while driving, not if it played a role in a serious accident. Then another set of rules apply but, thats another topic.

It is a problem though. ALMOST every accident that I handle now involves a cell phone. It gets worse every year. Granted they are all 4-wheelers. I think truckers have an advantage because they have (or should have) more driving experience then the average 4-wheeler and do alot more multi-tasking while driving. It's still an unsafe practice, in my opinion.

My two cents....

 

Cannot help you there. It is not hard to multi task, been doing it most of my life. Working on one tax return, consulting on another, plus overseeing what the employees have been doing.

In the ambulance, treating as many as two patients in the back and tracking the medications issued and contacting the ER.

Little phone call is nothing.

When I feel I do not want it, I ignore the call or tell them I will call later.

I do not need nor expect to have the government hold my hand as some of you want.

 

Might shed a few "rays of thought" into the conversation

http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/01/technology/carrier_iq/index.htm?hpt=hp_bn6

 

This law is as stupid as the guys who thought it up. Occasionally I use my bluetooth (small jawbone not the air traffic controller headset) but only so it makes it easier to type on the laptop or eat.
This youtube video pretty sums up how stupid this law is.
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ca2WPxUbvw[/ame]

 

I agree. Truckers, as well as the general public, should have a little more sense. I have been using headset for better part of 10 years. I hate having that phone in my hand. Why anyone would still want to hold that thing is beyond me. But I do run a business, and I do get calls. I don't write things down while talking. Just talk. And if the traffic situation is worse, or I am doing something else more important, I just ignore the thing and let it go to voice mail. They or I can call later.

If more people would do that, we really wouldn't be having this discussion, the politicians would be worrying about other ways to screw things up, and your job might be a little easier. One thing about laws, though. They tend to get ignored and I doubt if things will change much. Most states have hand held call bans, but it does little. Another law will do nothing as well.

Thanks for being there!

 

You realize the EXACT same thing was said when the first car radio came out right? Do you also realize the number of people that swore that windshield wipers were distracting when the first set was installed on a car that they too should be outlawed? The cell phone is just the newest thing on the list of stuff the nervous nanny's are scared of. IMO if you can't handle holding a piece of plastic to the side of your head then driving isn't for you, in fact I'm beginning to think walking and chewing gum is too much for some people.

Face it some people can multi-task and other can not! Do any of you in favor of the ban actually believe it will do anything? Of course it won't, but it will make the people who need others to pass laws to protect them from themselves feel all warm and safe. I know I don't wear my seatbelt now since they passed the law, I stopped locking my doors ever since they made stealing illegal. Remember the CDL license was made to eliminate bad truck drivers, that's worked out so well the guy with the brand new truck no longer worries about someone taking his hood off in a truckstop.

Why don't all you nervous people wrap yourselves in bubble wrap and hide in the closet where it's safe and stop pushing your ******* views on the functioning members of society.

 

QFT. Everyone thinks they are going to talk their way out of it when in reality they are just digging their own grave.

 

You've got that right. But that is a tool LE uses.... everyone wants to tell their side of the story. An attorney's job just gets harder the moment the client opens their mouth.

 

Smart phones that know you're driving and will not work because of it. The technology hasn't been perfected yet but it's only a matter of time. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...earchers-shut-mobile-phone-youre-driving.html