Serena Williams on the tennis courts.
Kanye West at the MTV Awards.
What's wrong with these two, I'll tell you.....B.E.D.L.A.M.
This makes me sick. Sick, Sick, SICK. The driver that’s too busy talking or texting on a cell phone that he/she cannot has lost their attention driving. You see these drivers every day. They weave in and out of lines, run lights, ride your tail, HAVE ACCIDENTS.
That’s right, they’re so busy yacking they hit something. Cell phones have become an essential feature of modern life. In June 2004, about 170 million Americans had a cell phone, an increase of more than 20 million from 2003. About two out of every three drivers now have a cell phone. Cell phone talking/texting is the number 1 driver distraction. Drivers who don’t pay attention or are distracted are three times as likely to be involved in a crash as drivers who pay attention to the road and talk/text on a phone.
Almost 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near misses occur within three seconds of some form of driver distraction. The number of crashes and near-crashes attributable to dialing is nearly identical to the number associated with talking or listening, dialing is more dangerous but occurs less often than talking or listening. The effect of phone use upon the perceptual responses of drivers is likely to constitute a greater threat to safety than its interference with vehicle control. Perceptual processes play a far greater role in automobile accidents than does vehicle control. "Improper lookout" and "inattention" are the two leading contributors to automobile accidents.
Those who talk on a cell phone while driving are four times as likely to get in a car accident as those who do not talk on the phone while driving. Some states or local jurisdictions expressly prohibit novice drivers from talking on a cell phone while driving. Novice drivers are those with learner’s permits and restricted driving privileges. In states like Alaska, California, Connecticut, Louisiana, Minnesota, and New Jersey texting while driving is against the law. The District of Columbia, New Jersey, New York, prohibit handheld cell phone use while driving. Several States prohibit all cell phone use by drivers under the age of 18 or 21, drivers with a GDL, and school bus drivers.
A jurisdiction-wide ban on driving while talking on a hand-held cellphone is in place in 7 states (California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Utah, and Washington) and the District of Columbia. Utah has named the offense careless driving. Under the Utah law, no one commits an offense when speaking on a cellphone unless they are also committing some other moving violation other than speeding. The law in 5 states Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, Ohio, and Pennsylvania specifically authorizes a locality to ban cellphone use. Localities that have enacted restrictions on cellphone use include: Chicago, IL; Brookline, MA; Detroit, MI; Santa Fe, NM; Brooklyn, North Olmstead, and Walton Hills, OH; Conshohocken, Lebanon, and West Conshohocken, PA; Waupaca County, WI; and Oahu, HI. Localities are prohibited from banning cellphone use in 8 states (Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Utah). Text messaging is banned for all drivers in 18 states and the District of Columbia. In addition, novice drivers are banned from texting in 9 states (Delaware, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Texas, and West Virginia) and school bus drivers are banned from text messaging in 1 state (Texas).
| | Laws restricting cellphone use and texting | ||||
| State | Hand-held ban | Young drivers all cellphone ban | Bus drivers all cellphone ban | Texting ban | Enforcement |
| no | no | no | no | not applicable | |
| no | no | no | all drivers | primary | |
| no | no | school bus drivers | no | primary | |
| drivers ages 18 through 20 (effective 10/01/09) | drivers younger than 18 (effective 10/01/09) | school bus drivers | all drivers (effective 10/01/09) | primary: texting by all drivers and cellphone use by school bus drivers; secondary: cellphone use by young drivers (effective 10/01/09) | |
| all drivers | drivers younger than 18 | school and transit bus drivers | all drivers | primary1 | |
| no | drivers younger than 18 (effective 12/01/09) | no | all drivers (effective 12/01/09) | primary (effective 12/01/09) | |
| all drivers | drivers younger than 18 | school bus drivers | all drivers | primary | |
| no | learner's permit and intermediate license holders | school bus drivers | learner's permit and intermediate license holders | primary | |
| all drivers | learner's permit holders | school bus drivers | all drivers | primary | |
| no | no | no | no | not applicable | |
| no | no | school bus drivers | no | primary | |
| no | no | no | no | not applicable | |
| no | no | no | no | not applicable | |
| drivers in construction and school speed zones (effective 01/01/10) | drivers younger than 19 and learner's permit holders younger than 19 | school bus drivers | all drivers (effective 01/01/10) | primary | |
| no | drivers younger than 18 | no | drivers younger than 18 | primary | |
| no | no | no | no | not applicable | |
| no | learner's permit and intermediate license holders (effective 01/01/10) | no | learner's permit and intermediate license holders (effective 01/01/10) | primary (effective 01/01/10) | |
| no | no | school bus drivers | no | primary | |
| with respect to novice drivers, see footnote2 | with respect to novice drivers, see footnote2 | school bus drivers | all drivers | secondary; primary for school bus drivers | |
| no | learner's permit and intermediate license holders | no | learner's permit and intermediate license holders | primary | |
| no | learner's permit and intermediate license holders | no | all drivers (effective 10/01/09) | secondary; primary for texting | |
| local option | no | school bus drivers | no | primary | |
| local option | no | no | no | not applicable | |
| no | learner's permit holders and provisional license holders during the first 12 months after licensing | school bus drivers | all drivers | primary | |
| no | no | no | learner's permit and intermediate license holders | primary | |
| no | no | no | drivers 21 and younger | primary | |
| no | no | no | no | not applicable | |
| no | learner's permit and intermediate license holders younger than 18 | no | learner's permit and intermediate license holders younger than 18 | secondary | |
| no | no | no | no | not applicable | |
| no | no | no | all drivers (effective 01/01/10) | primary (effective 01/01/10) | |
| all drivers | learner's permit and intermediate license holders | school bus drivers | all drivers | primary | |
| local option | no | no | no | not applicable | |
| all drivers | no | no | all drivers (effective 11/01/09) | secondary (effective 11/01/09) | |
| no | drivers younger than 18 | school bus drivers | all drivers (effective 12/01/09) | primary | |
| no | no | no | no | not applicable | |
| local option | no | no | no | not applicable | |
| no | no | no | no | not applicable | |
| all drivers (effective 01/01/10) | drivers younger than 18 (effective 01/01/10) | no | all drivers (effective 01/01/10) | primary (effective 01/01/10) | |
| local option | no | no | no | not applicable | |
| no | drivers younger than 18 | school bus drivers | no | primary | |
| no | no | no | no | not applicable | |
| no | no | no | no | not applicable | |
| no | learner's permit and intermediate license holders | school bus drivers | all drivers | primary | |
| drivers in school crossing zones | intermediate license holders for the first twelve months | bus drivers when a passenger 17 and younger is present | bus drivers when a passenger 17 and younger is present; intermediate license holders for first twelve months; drivers in school crossing zones | primary | |
| all drivers | no | no | all drivers | primary for texting; secondary for talking on a hand-held cellphone3 | |
| no | no | no | no | not applicable | |
| no | drivers younger than 18 | school bus drivers | all drivers | secondary; primary for school bus drivers | |
| all drivers | no | no | all drivers | secondary | |
| no | drivers younger than 18 who hold either a learner's permit or an intermediate license | no | drivers younger than 18 who hold either a learner's permit or an intermediate license | primary | |
| no | no | no | no | not applicable | |
| no | no | no | no | not applicable | |
Bottom Line, stay off the phone and pay attention or,
IT’S GONNA BE BEDLAM!
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