Drivers Ignoring Cell-Phone Bans?

posted by Zach Patton

New stats in Washington, D.C., suggest that drivers are largely ignoring the District's three-year-old ban on using hand-held phones while driving:

"Obviously the enforcement is stronger, but it's also obvious that people aren't abiding by the law. And they should," said D.C. Council member Carol Schwartz, at-large Republican who co-sponsored the law in 2004.

Through October, officers issued 9,484 tickets this year to motorists driving with a cell phone in their hand, according to police statistics.

The number of citations already issued this year is 13 percent more than the 8,358 issued last year. In 2005, police issued 7,523 tickets to drivers using cell phones.

But is this a surprise? When New York City first instituted a similar ban, cell-phone use by drivers dropped by 50 percent. But the numbers steadily increased after that, even as the number of citations increased as well.  Same thing apparently happened in D.C. -- an initial falloff, but then a return to pre-ban levels of cell usage.

A quick look around the Interwebs shows similar experiences in Connecticut, New Jersey, and elsewhere. Should cities and states drop these laws that aren't being enforced or followed? Or should they, for example, increase fines to make this a more serious offense?

Comments

[Local Government Pontificator]

Increase the Fines!!!

[Jim Zavist]

Like many pieces of feel-good legislation, if it's not being enforced, or worse, being selectively enforced against the poor and/or the young, get rid of it! Two points - One, is there any hard data that validates the assumption that using a hand-held cell phone results in more accidents than using a hands-free one? And two, there's a much greater threat from people texting while driving (which can and is done in one's lap and out of view of the constabulary) than from carrying on a conversation on any cell phone.

[Jim C.]

Apparently, the District's statute is being enforced, since the number of citations keeps rising. There was nothing in Zach's item to indicate that it's selective enforcement. The problem in D.C. doesn't seem to be with the law but with the lawbreakers. I don't see the point in dropping a law because people ignore it. Laws and potential consequences are ignored all the time. That's why there are speeders, tax evaders, embezzlers and so forth. I don't know about the data, but personally I've seen enough cell phone-talking drivers pull out in front of me, weave in traffic and run stop signs to be convinced they are a danger. And I don't need data to agree that texting while driving is an even worse distraction.

[Jim C.]

Apparently, the District's statute is being enforced, since the number of citations keeps going up. There was nothing in Zach's item to indicate that it's selective enforcement. The problem in D.C. doesn't seem to be with the law but with the lawbreakers. Laws and their consequences are ignored all the time. That's why there are speeders, tax evaders, embezzlers and so forth. It doesn't mean the laws should be done away with. I don't know about the data, but personally I've seen enough cell phone-talking drivers pull out in front of me, weave in traffic and run stop signs to be convinced they are a danger. And I don't need data to agree that texting is an even worse distraction.

[Calvin Nourse]

Driving while using a cell phone, texting or dialing, is just as dangerous as drinking and driving. Although I can’t cite the research that proves it at this moment, when I see you on the road trying to dial that number, I consider it no different than if you had a beer in your hand instead of a cell phone. It took years for Americans to form the negative viewpoint of DWI, I’m sure it will take years of crashes and carnage before cell use while driving is seen by the average citizen as unacceptable. Perhaps if the penalties of cell use were the same as DWI we could make a change in behavior.
And don’t get me started about that woman who was putting on makeup on the freeway during rush hour traffic this morning!