Texting while driving is just stupid.
That’s not to say I haven’t done it, mind you. Not at all, I certainly have. But in the course of doing it, I thought to myself, “this is stupid.” And I kept going. I’m not proud.
But now a new bill passed in the New York State Senate and sponsored by our local Sens Alesi and Robach is aimed at putting the weight of hefty fines behind preventing me and every other idiot on the road from continuing to play with fire. Better than that, the new law makes cellphone safety training a part of pre-licensing for new drivers. Even if they ignore the advice of that education, its good that kids be given an introduction:
Senate passes tougher texting bill | Democrat and Chronicle | democratandchronicle.com.
The thing about it is: what is next? What is the new gadgety thing we can do with our phones? With our cars? With our clothing? And are we really going to need to wrangle with an entirely new set of laws just to prevent the same old thing, distracted driving?
I’m sure I’ve discussed this in the past. I’m sure I will again. There needs to be a blanket law that can cover new emerging technologies and make it clear that distracting yourself while driving isn’t ok just because there’s no specific ban on it.
