Stop the Maryland Unsafe Driver

Posts Tagged ‘Texting’

“The evening of the 20th of February 2011 started with relief, as I was anxious to get back to the important work of the Alaskan Legislature. Heading into security after time with the line of passengers, I felt upbeat. I’d blocked out the horror of three months earlier, but after the pleasant TSA agent checked the ticket and ID, I suddenly found myself directed into scanning by the Seattle Airport’s full-body imaging scan. The horror began again. A female agent placed herself blocking my passage. Scan results would again display that my breast cancer and the resulting scars pointed a TSA finger of irregularity at my chest. I would require invasive, probing hands of a stranger over my body.

via Rep. Sharon Cissna Gives Account of TSA Experience | Representative SHARON CISSNA.

(I applaud Mrs Cissna’s stand, especially as a female cancer patient. Why we as a nation can’t seem to find a better way to make airport security work is beyond comprehension.

I’m touched by Mrs. Cissna’s statement that she would not want to “submit to that horror” of that “twisted policy” again.  I’m also reminded that an intrusive local, state, or federal government regulations have taken us into a nanny state.

There are regulations or laws that:

1. Allow teenagers to get abortions without the knowledge of their parents. Imagine how their parents must feel knowing that their daughter was allowed to submit to an intimate horror.

2. Permit legislatures to tax us into oblivion because they believe they know better than we do.  From Obamma Care to introducing a bill in Maryland that would require taxpayers to fund “financial literacy” courses for school students instead of focusing on the three R’s.

3. Allow private enterprise to declare eminent domain against citizen property owners so a bigger financial interest can make a profit using the land owned by someone else.

3. Allow governments to stop the exploration for and taking of natural resources available in our own country.

4. Allow union thugs to take over state houses and Democrat law makers to flee a state in order to prevent a vote and a necessary debate.

5.  Allow retirement ponzi schemes to proliferate and destroy local and state economies.

6. Make it easier for businesses to treat the older, and physically handicapped persons as worthless and unemployable. Age discrimination and discrimination against the handicapped exists but we pay it little mind.

7. Make it OK to text (use a cell phone) while at a red light. Oh yes, that’s us. Maryland.)

There are quite a few things we can get behind, we Democrats and Republicans. I just wish more eyes were open to the real injustices of this world and that we were really focused on solutions. Let’s hope this courageous Democrat Alaskan law maker takes her experience and runs with it – the right direction. Let’s get these laws changed. Let’s look at all of the kooky ones, the ones that make no sense, and the laws motivated by greed and politics. Let’s get it all done.

A House of Delegates committee will hold a hearing Tuesday on legislation that would prohibit a driver from reading a text message or e-mail while driving. The measure went before lawmakers last year, but differences between the House and Senate were not worked out, and the bill failed to pass.

Get the latest at the Washington Post:

via Post Now – More texting while driving rules in Md.?.

(Don’t forget things like:

1. Putting make up on while driving.

2. Shaving while driving.

3. Reading maps while driving.

4. Reading your printed directions while driving.

5. Observing your GPS while driving

6. Smoking while driving.

7. Drinking your soda while driving.

6. Eating food while driving.

Doing anything BUT driving.

Do we already have a distracted driving law? Why isn’t being deliberately distracted from driving already in the Maryland Code?)

Bans in New Jersey, New York and Maryland on hand-held cell-phone use and texting while driving have not compelled the Pennsylvania General Assembly to follow suit.

via Pennsylvania lagging on cell-phone laws – delcotimes.com.

(I suppose we will have to profile PA drivers now while we are on the road. Well, no not really. It doesn’t appear that the Maryland law is having a great impact. We just thought you might like to know PA is having the same troubles the MD legislature haves with cell phone laws.  Yes we have a law, but you can only be stopped and cited as a secondary offense. The officer has to see the chatting driver do something else against the law first.)

Last May, Rhonda Callahan was critically injured after a teenaged driver struck her 1934 Chevy Street Rod on Route 301 in Bowie, Md., police said. Callahan’s husband of 30 years, Doug, was killed.

Police say the teen involved in the crash ran a stop sign and was likely texting at the time.

Read the ENTIRE story at NBC Washington:

via Tragedy Precedes Maryland Cell Phone Ban | NBC Washington.

(STOP the MUD’s initial observations after October 15, are not good.  In an hour’s time on state highway 4 in Calvert County two drivers, one male and one female were seen yakking away.  We have speed laws and stop sign laws that are rarely observed. What will the laws change?)

(Sept. 27) — Sending text messages while driving was the culprit in the deaths of an estimated 16,000 people from 2001 to 2007. Even more sobering, researchers warn that fatalities have shot up significantly since 2005.

Read the story at AOLNEWS.COM:

via Texting and Driving Is Growing American Killer, Study Reports.

“Texting bans haven’t reduced crashes at all. In a perverse twist, crashes increased in 3 of the 4 states we studied after bans were enacted. It’s an indication that texting bans might even increase the risk of texting for drivers who continue to do so despite the laws.”

via IEEE Spectrum: Text Messaging While Driving Laws: Do They Decrease Safety?.

(uh oh. Could we be in trouble here?)

WASHINGTON, July 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — AAA applauds Delaware on becoming the 30th state to outlaw text messaging by all drivers. Governor Jack Markell signed the bill into law today, making Delaware the 11th state in 2010 to ban text messaging while driving. Last September, AAA launched its campaign to pass texting bans in all 50 states.

“By passing a law banning texting while driving, Delaware continues the momentum in statehouses across the country in outlawing this dangerous form of driver distraction,” said Robert L. Darbelnet, AAA president and CEO. “In the last two years alone, almost half of all states – 12 in 2009 and 11 this year – have enacted text messaging bans for all drivers. AAA is encouraged by the recent and rapid progress toward our campaign goal of passing texting bans in all 50 states.

“Too many people are being injured and killed in vehicle crashes that are preventable. AAA will continue to educate the public about the mental and physical distraction associated with text messaging while driving and continue to advocate for texting bans in states without such laws.”

Delaware’s new law also makes it illegal to talk on a handheld cell phone while driving. Delaware joins California, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Washington, and the District of Columbia in permitting drivers to talk on a cell phone only with a hands-free device.

“AAA Mid-Atlantic congratulates the Delaware Legislature and Governor Markell on the passage of this new law to combat distracted driving, and we commend their efforts to improve highway safety in the state of Delaware,” said Don Gagnon, AAA Mid-Atlantic president and CEO. “AAA Mid-Atlantic has long advocated for comprehensive distracted driving legislation and this is a major step forward in combating texting and other distracted driving in Delaware.”

Legislation to establish or improve an existing ban on text messaging while driving is currently being considered in the following states: California, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

The following states and the District of Columbia now prohibit text messaging by all drivers: Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. Delaware’s law will become effective January 3, 2011. Delaware joins Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming in enacting text messaging bans for all drivers in 2010. The effective dates for those new laws are as follows:

* Delaware – January 3, 2011

* Georgia – July 1, 2010

* Iowa – July 1, 2010; penalties effective July 1, 2011

* Kansas – Effective immediately when signed on May 24; warning citations to be issued until January 1, 2011

* Kentucky – Effective immediately when signed on April 15; penalties effective January 1, 2011

* Massachusetts – October 1, 2010

* Michigan – July 1, 2010

* Nebraska – July 15, 2010

* Vermont – Effective immediately when signed on June 1

* Wisconsin – December 1, 2010

* Wyoming – July 1, 2010

As North America’s largest motoring and leisure travel organization, AAA provides nearly 52 million members with travel, insurance, financial and automotive-related services. Since its founding in 1902, the not-for-profit, fully tax-paying AAA has been a leader and advocate for the safety and security of all travelers. AAA clubs can be visited on the Internet at AAA.com.

via AAA Commends Delaware as it Becomes the 30th State to Prohibit Text Messaging While… — WASHINGTON, July 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ –.

They might be too young to be designated drivers, but on Monday teen Girl Scouts from Southern Maryland learned all about texting while driving and other important advice for maintaining road and pedestrian safety.

Read the ENTIRE article by Gretchen Phillips, staff writer at somdnews.com:

via Road safety lessons come early for Scouts.

BALTIMORE — Maryland’s emergency management and trauma system is recognizing May as Trauma Awareness Month as an opportunity to warn the public of the dangers of distracted driving.

The event was also a reminder that texting and driving in the state will soon be outlawed.

via Trauma Awareness Month Recognized In Md. – Baltimore News Story – WBAL Baltimore.

(That’s nice. In Maryland, you have to ask for the definition of “outlawed.”  Using a cellular telephone is not a primary offense and texting is still allowed if you are stopped at an intersection. Despite causing trauma, it is still, sort of OK to use your cellular phone in traffic.)

Take the No Phone Zone pledge and the TXT Responsibly Oath at the links to the left.  Decide now that you care about safe driving and arriving alive.