You might as well add applying make-up, doing your hair, and shaving to the list, along with every other distraction.

Amen, Mr. Bojack. Amen! But it could be worse.

Johnny Carson used to joke about heading down the PCH at 65mph, looking at the driver next to him and realizing the other guy was working on his tan by looking at the sun through his Mercedes sunroof.

Yes, looking at the sun instead of the road. While driving.

Isn't that how W and his little boyz got blinded in Baghdad.

Oops, wrong thread...

My only concern is enforcement: there are too few cops on the roads these days to keep people from doing any number of the incredibly careless things they do. On my drive/ride home from work, just 3 miles, I could probably point out 50 violations of one law or another by other drivers. Yet people do these things, and have no real fear of being caught--why do we think it will be any different with the people who use cell phones?

American's in general are way too casual about the responsibities attached to driving. As with lots of things, until something bad happens, we don't tend to fully appreciate the extent to which lives can be lost or ruined by careless driving. I think Greg MacPherson's bill is a great idea in addition to adding the hands free requirement for drivers over 21 years of age. We all know that when it really comes down to it, we need two hands to drive and having a cell phone in one of them is a recipe for disaster.

Saw soemthing on CNN a whiel ago (sorry it was on TV so no link)

Some Univeristy did a study testing people using driving simulators. They had 3 groups, sober, leaglly drunk (didn't mention what level, but most states is .08 now so I'd assume that) and people using a Cell phone.

The findings were the Cell phone users were severely impaired while the legally drunk people didn't perform significantly worse than the sober group.

I'm not advocating drunk driving just pointing it out and wondering how much effort do we put into fighting drunk driving vs Cell phone driving?

I guess this means we'll see an increase of a**holes with bluetooth headsets on the road then...

Proposing legislation such as this may be a nice, feel-good place to start the dialogue, but research suggests that the probable result of its enaction will be little more than looking busy.

I would have liked to see the guy in front of me on I-5 just now get himself a ticket. Clown.

Are you blogging while driving? That's both more dangerous and more impressive.

The problem isn't cell phones, makeup, food, alcohol, radios, or any other "distraction" -- people just don't have common sense. And, unfortunately, you can't legislate that.

Man... This is old news. People hear it, see it, and still do it. It's nuckin' futz, I tell ya.

I've been screaming about this issue for years now. It's been shown by safety testers that using a cell phone while driving induces a type of "tunnel vision". That, of course, results in more accidents of the type where the driver does not see/notice some object/person outside of his/her immediate line of sight.

This condition lasts for the duration of the call.

I find it curious that every user with whom I've ever made clear my outspoken opposition to the use of cellphones whilst operating a motor vehicle has always responded with the "you cannot legislate stupidity" (aka "they're going to do it anyway").

As for the insufficient officers to adequately implement such a law...I say: Tough luck. You voted to reduce your taxes, this is what you get. If you want more police officers, spend the money and stop whining about every incremental increase in taxes.

The biggest problem is everybody wants everybody else to do it their way, and they want the government to make them do it.

Me? I'd love to see cellphone users cited and tracked for multiple citations, with license suspension after three citations. And, a heavy fine for each citation, with an opportunity to work off the fines by picking up trash along the public right-of -way.

I'd pay extra taxes for that.

Oh, you should have friendly p.r. as a kick-off to a long-term guilt induction program (a la Smokey the Bear).

To paraphrase Tich Nhat Hanh, practice mindfulness and experience Driving While Driving.

Is everyone so bored with themselves, or so empty inside, that they can't have a moment of silence or a moment alone with themselves?

I see people walking their dogs and even pushing their children in strollers while talking on the phone. That is truly wacked!

Yeah, it be wack all 'round. But it is a tool, and a useful one at that. Training in cellphone etiqette should have been pushed hard when the item was offered to the mass market. This was not done well.

You should be required to read and sign off on what is expected of you as a responsible cellphone (or any other mobile phone, for that matter) user. It's there...one has to look for it, though.

I think that if you are witnessed on the cellphone while operating a moving vehicle which is subsequently involved in an accident should have their insurance rates doubled each citation.

I just returned from Rep Macpherson's coffee/chat at Papaccino's. I am so proud to live in his district - what a gifted man the voters of SW Portland and Lake Oswego are sending to Salem. More than enough reason to vote No on term limits, right there.

He noted the enforcement issue, and explained that without any legal limits on cell phone use, there is nothing that sets the "standard of care" when determining recklessness after a crash. It's like setting the level of alcohol allowed before you're DUI - without a clear statute, "common sense" means different things to different people.

Even if enforcement was only occasional in a place like Portland, organized and well publicized police initiatives could change behavior. Plus, in speed trap towns along I-5, they'd have a field day.

Jack

Interesting how you bring in the point of cyclists into this conversation as do many Portlanders. I saw a cyclist using a bluetooth device the other day while riding.

At what point will the police start ticketing cyclists for the same stupidity?

At what point will the police start ticketing cyclists for the same stupidity?

What do you figure the percentages are of drivers who use cell phones while driving and cyclists who use cell phones while cycling? My guess would be a far larger number for the former than for the latter. As long as the police warn/ticket/whatever proportionally, seems fine to me. Is that what you had in mind?

It's those damn kids these days. They don't know their asses from their elbows. The kids are ruining our society. What are we going to do when they run it?

What an idiotic thing to do--to restrict the law to people under 21. Macpherson just doesn't want to upset a large number of people who actually vote. That guy needs to step up to the plate and take a big swing, not just try to bunt, on this initiative.

I don't think enforcement will really be a problem. Patrol officers really only can enforce traffic law in between calls when you just come across it, but this is one of those infractions that you wouldn't have to be in the right place at the right time to enforce. You see it every darn day, and usually some other infraction (usually dangerous or stupid) draws your attention to the driver and then you see they are talking on their cell phone. Once it starts getting enforced, hopefully the risk of a fine is enough to deter a good amount of people from doing it. Plus, PPB has a traffic division that could really hit it hard at first to draw awareness. I think it is a great idea. It is my understanding that California's law doesn't apply if using a hand's free headset... I think that is idiotic. It is the not paying attention to the road rather than the lack of an additional hand that is the problem...

I've got to come over here to Italy to be safe on my bike. Where a license to drive is preceded by actual training, and drivers exhibit discipline and judgment that befit the activity of directing a lethal weapon. Prosecutors in Washington County recently concluded that running over two cyclists from behind, outside the fog line, in broad daylight (killing them both), involved only simple negligence and thus no criminal offense worth prosecuting. Pedestrians and cyclists are on their own. Greg's proposal would be a modest improvement. Real licensing standards for operating a car would help, too. One last thing about cyclists' infractions: their stupidity or bad judgment (using a cell phone, or blowing a stop sign) mostly puts themselves at risk, not so much others. In a car, it is pretty much the other way around.

And then we can outlaw old men in hats? Where does it end - you can't outlaw stupidity.

Under 21 the problem!?!?!?? You have got to be kidding.

What I see EVERY DAY commuting to PDX. Professionals, not kids abusing cell phones while driving.

So the kid was carrying on a 7 min conversation, so was he more or less distracted than the business man who is talking on his cell discussing the latest Wall ST. OP/ED, has his Palm Pilot open and is checking his schedule to see if he can make that 9:30 meeting, & has his laptop open and running with the latest Internet wireless access card checking his Charles Schwab portfolio.

The above scenario is quite common these days.

Your car is a car, not a mobile office to be used while driving.

And to all of those who would say "I need to do this, it's
business" BUNK. Business survived quite nicely for 100's
of years before cell phones, I'm sure it can survive long
enough for you to PULL OVER BEFORE USING A MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS DEVICE!!

Reguardless of WHO is using it, Cell Phones, laptops, PDA's, etc... & MOVING cars DO NOT MIX.

this is a great first step. anyone who followed the death of mike wilberding of beaverton later learned that not only was "the sun in the driver's eyes" (his original excuse for killing a man), but oh yeah, he was also talking on a cell phone when he made the illegal left turn that ended someone's life.

cool. orange. the link that broke is here:
http://www.bta4bikes.org/btablog/2006/08/10/in-memoriam-mike-wilberding/