OK, so we're back on this bandwagon again. Radio and TV ads pumping-up the latest round of "click it or ticket" incomplete sentence fragment threats designed to scare us into using seat belts.I'm confused. Why? I'm glad you asked.
Supposedly, the local and state police will pull you over if they see that you aren't wearing your seat belt, since it's now a primary offense. So is driving while talking on a cell phone in New Jersey, and I have yet to hear a radio or TV ad campaign directed at those nitwits.
If I drive without wearing a seat belt and I have an accident, I am the only person affected. My beltless body is thrown willy nilly around my car, bouncing off my steering wheel, gear shift lever and windshield until all that's left is a greasy spot. I'm dead, and the guy in the other car is presumably still alive because he was wearing his seat belt. That's their side.
If I am driving while talking on my cell phone, I am distracted and, they say, a threat to others on the road. If I have an accident that is the result of my distracted yakking, I not only injure myself (if I'm not wearing my seat belt) but the other driver or pedestrian that I have hit because I wasn't paying attention to what I should have been doing. That's also their side.
Isn't driving while using a cell phone a more destructive habit than not wearing a seat belt? It is if you're the other person.
I think it's time for a radio and TV ad campaign that tells these inconsiderate slobs that we're out to get them before they get us. There doesn't seem to be a concerted effort on everyone's part to keep cell phone users from driving. The enforcement is patchy. Some areas are tougher than others. If that's true, let's loosen up the drunk driving laws too, so I can booze it up and drive around certain areas without fear of being pulled over. The law needs to be enforced everywhere, not just where they feel like enforcing it. If it's too much trouble then maybe they need some help.
Besides, if they can see a guy driving around without his seat belt fastened, isn't that more difficult to spot than a guy with his hand to his head talking on the phone? Sure it is, but they can pull the seat belt people over everywhere.
We'll need a nifty sentence fragment slogan like the seat belt one, but I'm confident that the knobs in Trenton can come up with something catchy. How about "Shut up and drive" or "Turn off your God damned cell phone, you fucking moron!" I like that one.
We can text it out to everybody so we're sure they know about it.
2 comments:
I agree. If someone wants to be stupid enough not to wear a seat belt that's their business and of no threat to any other driver.
But as you said, driving while talking very much puts others in danger. Our priorities all laws are so backwards.
My cell phone has over $400 in credit. I turn it on just to make sure it still works, other than that, I have no fascination with the devices.
I always wear my seatbelt. I would feel odd if I wasn't wearing it.
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