Like we've seen before, the government is trying to force individual states to place a ban on using cell phone devices (or the like) to text message. If they follow through with the ban, they will continue to receive money to fix, clean, and rebuild federal highways. The situation gets a bit slippery when determining what exactly to ban?
Now obviously the standard cell phone will be banned, and its text messaging features banished. Exiled along with the trusty cell phone is the blackberry, iPhone, and all touch screen type devices. The idea is to minimize the amount of "distracted-driving" that Americans are doing. While driving at a high speed on a highway, just taking your eyes off the road for a few seconds can cause approx. 100 yards of blind driving.
Distracted driving is not simply texting however, it includes any activity that causes you to take your eyes off the road. That is essentially where this article comes into play. Truckers have small computers inside their cabs that help them keep on schedule, find their next location, and keep close contact with dispatchers. The drivers claim that the computer is not distracting, but "After videotaping truckers behind the wheel, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that those who used on-board computers faced a 10 times greater risk of crashing, nearly crashing or wandering from their lane than truckers who did not use those devices."
This distracted driving is not to set up the nights social events, but rather to keep on schedule and make a living. If drivers pulled over to use their computer every time they needed to, they would lose approximately 1/4 of their time on the road. My question to you... When lives are at risk, does it make a difference if the distracted driving is to make a dinner date or to make a living??
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/28/technology/28truckers.html?_r=1
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