It was a good day for Nancy Detert, R-Venice, whose texting bill died in the Senate last year. This year's version passed its third committee vote on Thursday, with just one more to go before a full Senate hearing.
But it's a mild ban. Texting drivers could only be ticketed if they had already been stopped for some other offense, the first offense fine is only $30…and it doesn't apply to the kind of roadway texting that Detert does herself.
The senator she says when she has to send a message from behind the wheel, she fiddles with her Android phone, brings up a speech-to-text app and dictates. Unlike manual typing, she claims, it is not distracting.
"My eyes are still on the road, as opposed to the original texting which was the Blackberry, where you had to type with two thumbs, and there was no way you were looking at the road," Detert said.
Several studies suggest many Americans text while driving, although big majorities think it should be illegal. But two years ago, the Highway Loss Data Institute found that traffic safety did not improve in states that banned texting while driving.
HLDI president Adrian Lund reported in 2010 that car crashes actually increased in three of the four states that were studied, possibly because drivers' effort to avoid detection made texting even more hazardous.
"she fiddles with her Android phone, brings up a speech-to-text app and dictates"
That is just as distracting... if not more trying to navigate technology while driving....
Posted by: What? | January 27, 2012 at 10:27 AM
You can NOT have your full attention on the highway when you're trying to think of what to say on a phone.
Police officers have to train to achieve that ability for long months. 1st, by being the responding officer, on the radio, in a 2 man unit, then transitioning to driving and responding. To facilitate the skill police departments use a version of the '10' code so their answers can be short and concise. "10-4" as an example.
I don't know of many 'civilians', including the Senator, who have trained in acquiring the skill.
The Senator is putting her safety, as well as those who transit the highway around her, at risk.
Posted by: John Totten | January 27, 2012 at 02:13 PM
I no longer like the idea to conduct such a survey, I am glad for the results, but not the fact that they are 100% truthful.
Posted by: writing term paper | January 27, 2012 at 02:43 PM
What sweet photos! You can see how rainy it was from the hricurane from the pictures of Ruthie chasing the chicken. I cannot believe how old your niece and nephew are now! They were so young when we were at UU!
Posted by: Ramzi | April 20, 2012 at 07:58 PM