Is justice served?

[Law Dawg (ret)]

Originally Posted by timsmith1966

If I notice someone texting I pull in front of them and jam on the brakes of my one ton Dodge, I love seeing the look of sheer panic and near death in their eyes when they see my brake lights and tailgate. Yep, I've been hit 3 times and each time their insurance has paid up to $1000 to replace my bumper and their cars are way worse. I do not feel regret, I feel I am doing my civic duty to take these menace to society drivers off the road.

...rant ahead: as much as I hate govt intrusion maybe there should be a law that holds cell phone companies responsible for their moronic users who try to drive and text or email at 70 mph and drift lanes

Wheew Tim, first so very sad to hear of your loss but...

What will you do if your vigilante actions cause a chain reaction accident and you bring grief to another family? The lady who took me out was on her cell phone and tailgating a van. When the van slammed on its brakes she swerved right into my R1150 GS causing a shattered collarbone. Only the hand of Divine providence kept me out from under car wheels...traffic was thick on two lanes that day and I was unconscious. Just some food for thought.

How about a law that requires phone companies to insert a program that causes texting and other functions of the phone shut off when traveling above a certain speed instead of opening more cash cows for the tort lawyers? Most (if not all) phones have a GPS function and the program could be implemented so a 911 call overrides it. Just my redneck technotard solution. Copyrighted but you can run with the idea (call you Congressman etc) as a better/safer solution than causing traffic collisions.

[timsmith1966]

Mark, thanks for the kind words, my post was mostly an angry rant about the lack of concern for other drivers (by texting, emailing... while driving). I think your technology idea is great, although passengers may complain about not being able to use phones while riding in a car. If the law was effective and strict enough (maybe similar to DUI) regarding the distracted operators more people would think twice about writing and email while driving.
ride safe
tim

[Moedad]

Originally Posted by timsmith1966

If the law was...strict enough (maybe similar to DUI) regarding the distracted operators more people would think twice about writing and email while driving.

I think this would be the simplest to implement and would probably have the best impact on cell users. First offense, misdemeanor 6 month suspended license, loss of insurance, and $10,000 dollars worth of legal fees to keep it from being a felony. Second offense, felony conviction, $5,000 fine, plus legal fees, and 90 days in jail with one year loss of license/probation. Third offense, felony, fines, 1 year in prison, loss of license for 5 years. This is all assuming no accidents are caused in which case add all the legal fees and possible civil suits, etc. It has to be agonizingly prohibitive. No more Mr. Nice Guy.

[CRASH]

Originally Posted by Moedad

I think this would be the simplest to implement and would probably have the best impact on cell users. First offense, misdemeanor 6 month suspended license, loss of insurance, and $10,000 dollars worth of legal fees to keep it from being a felony. Second offense, felony conviction, $5,000 fine, plus legal fees, and 90 days in jail with one year loss of license/probation. Third offense, felony, fines, 1 year in prison, loss of license for 5 years. This is all assuming no accidents are caused in which case add all the legal fees and possible civil suits, etc. It has to be agonizingly prohibitive. No more Mr. Nice Guy.

That would get someone's attention in a hurry, wouldn't it?

But instead we get:
" The fine for a first offense, including penalty assessments, is $76. A second offense is $190. However, although a violation of the handheld cell phone ban is a reportable offense and will appear on your driving record, it will not count as a point. "

Or for texting:
"The base fine for violating this law is $20 for the first offense and $50 for each subsequent offense. However, additional penalty assessments can make the fine more than double the base amount."

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encycloped...law-29709.html

[dstevens58]

It's the same country that allows drunk drivers to get off so easily. The drunk driver that hit my wife back in 2001 was on his seventh or eighth drunk driving offense, caused injury to my wife only got something like 9 months in jail for this "felony" offense.

This guy was out of jail before my wife was done with her physical therapy.

The laws of this country are way too lenient. But again, this is the same country who releases prisoners due to over crowding in order to keep more "serious" offenders inside.