Cell Phone Jammers

[DDO-VFR]

Well put Knife, and I agree also.

We just had a fairly strict cell phone/laptop/pda law passed (doesn't go into effect until Jan 2011), so we've had a lot of dialog on this. Enforceability is a big concern. All the LEOs have acknowledged it will be impossible to 'catch' everyone, or even a majority.

The longer-term better answer to me seems to be to use technology to help save us from ourselves. A couple possibilities - cell phone jammer in all cell phones, activated by the phone's accelerometer (i.e. over a certain speed, no phone). Doesn't help passengers, but maybe activated within X distance of the steering column. Cell phone jammer in all vehicles, activated when over a certain speed. (Also doesn't help passengers yet, but we'll see the ability to have only the area of the driver scrambled before long at all.)

Ironically, I'm generally against the erosion of personal choice, but I'm in favor of our new law. I've already seen way to much stupidity in my lifetime related to cell phones and not paying attention.

Everytime I hear this 'not enforceable' thing regarding cell phones it makes me cringe and want to spit on the ground. :cool: How about we go for the 'low hanging fruit'...IF YOU SEE SOMEONE WITH THEIR PHONE IN THEIR EAR THEY GET A TICKET. Try as I might, I just can't figure out what the heck is so difficult with that. Don't need to hide by the side of the road, with a calibrated radar gun, that you've been trained to use, HOPING to catch the one in a hundred drivers that might be speeding without a slow car in front of them to block their reflection...etc. Just look to your left or right and see the turd beside you on the phone. I can stand by a traffic light and see one out of three drivers is on the phone, just point for them to pull over, bingo done. Bet you dimes to donuts I can get 100 violators in 30 minutes. The biggest problem would be writing the tickets fast enough!

Contrary to what they would have you think, THERE IS NO DESIRE to reduce cell phone use in cars. It's window dressing, cover your ass laws. Study after study has shown that talking on phone is as bad or worse than DUI and yet there is no attempt to curb phone use.

Now I've got to go ride my bike to settle me nerves... :laughing6-hehe:

rant off

Brian

[Auspanglish]

Well put Knife, and I agree also.

We just had a fairly strict cell phone/laptop/pda law passed (doesn't go into effect until Jan 2011), so we've had a lot of dialog on this. Enforceability is a big concern. All the LEOs have acknowledged it will be impossible to 'catch' everyone, or even a majority.

The longer-term better answer to me seems to be to use technology to help save us from ourselves. A couple possibilities - cell phone jammer in all cell phones, activated by the phone's accelerometer (i.e. over a certain speed, no phone). Doesn't help passengers, but maybe activated within X distance of the steering column. Cell phone jammer in all vehicles, activated when over a certain speed. (Also doesn't help passengers yet, but we'll see the ability to have only the area of the driver scrambled before long at all.)

Ironically, I'm generally against the erosion of personal choice, but I'm in favor of our new law. I've already seen way to much stupidity in my lifetime related to cell phones and not paying attention.

Actually you were almost onto something... a long time ago when hands-free devices started coming out and the whole issue as to the added danger iwas flairing (still is)... I got to thinking... as with all electrical devices, after a time the price drops dramatically... it would thn be perfectly feasible for car manufacturers, to be legally obliged to install hands-free devices in all vehicles, thus making the law a moot point...

OK, it's true, since then it has be shown that it's the act of maintaining a conversation which detracts from one's attention to driving, much more so than the act of holding a pohone to one's ear... (not that this needed to be proven, it's pretty obvious)... but in my opinion, a hands-free situation is still much more desireable than a hands-on one...

Yes, I am more than aware that it's not a perfect-world solution but it would be a step in the right direction... what would it cost the manufacturers... Sweet F.A.

Obviously I am not condoning dangerous driving when I said earlier that one should let the police police. To suggest as much is preposterous. There are things we can do to draw people's attention to the issue on a 1-1 level, some are more effective as educational tools and others are more effective for venting one's frustration... that's also personal choice...

I don't enjoy the way the arm of the law is reaching further into certain aspects of my private life either, but... there must be laws as not everyone is responsible (or mentally stable for that matter)...

Just my 2 cents' worth.

The most I will ever do with a mobile phone in a car (and I don't own a car) is read a text message when stopped at the lights... never reply.

I would like to see this widely extended practice put to an end as much as anyone. I'm sometimes impelled to fight fire ith fire as well... but I have thought it through and I disagree with using the jammer in this case. I sincerely feel that the police should police this much more strongly than they do... is there not an incentive for law enforcers to issue a certain number of tickets a month?? There's a real easy target for govt. fund raising.

[vfrcapn]

Everytime I hear this 'not enforceable' thing regarding cell phones it makes me cringe and want to spit on the ground. :cool: How about we go for the 'low hanging fruit'...IF YOU SEE SOMEONE WITH THEIR PHONE IN THEIR EAR THEY GET A TICKET. Try as I might, I just can't figure out what the heck is so difficult with that. Don't need to hide by the side of the road, with a calibrated radar gun, that you've been trained to use, HOPING to catch the one in a hundred drivers that might be speeding without a slow car in front of them to block their reflection...etc. Just look to your left or right and see the turd beside you on the phone. I can stand by a traffic light and see one out of three drivers is on the phone, just point for them to pull over, bingo done. Bet you dimes to donuts I can get 100 violators in 30 minutes. The biggest problem would be writing the tickets fast enough!

Contrary to what they would have you think, THERE IS NO DESIRE to reduce cell phone use in cars. It's window dressing, cover your ass laws. Study after study has shown that talking on phone is as bad or worse than DUI and yet there is no attempt to curb phone use.

Now I've got to go ride my bike to settle me nerves... :laughing6-hehe:

rant off

Brian

The problem is the same with speeders, just too few police and way too many people speeding. It's not that police ignore it, they just can't be everywhere. CA has had the cell phone/texting law in place for 18 months or more but it seems largely ignored, I see people all the time. There's just never an officer around when I see someone on the phone...kind of like there's never a police car around when the yahoo in the lowered Civic passes me way too close at 100mph. As long as people feel there's a good chance they won't be caught they'll continue using the cell phones and driving nuts. The best solution would be training and a change in attitude about driving. That has to start as soon as someone is old enough to pick up the keys and even before with the parent's actions.

CA is considering significantly raising the fine for cell phone use while driving since the current law has been largely ignored, I think the fine is $50 for first time offense, they're considering something like $350.