http://capitolfaxcom.disqus.com/NoneenTue, 03 Mar 2009 21:56:45 -0000http://capitolfax.com/2009/03/03/distracted-legislating/#comment-18214190<p>Yea I know it fun to pick on the primary seat belt law... but guess what it works. Fewer people are injuring themselves or the injuries the receive are less sevre. Of all the traffic sats in Illinois that is a bright spot. Less poeple in the ER is better for all of us! So pick another nanny state law to bust on, as there are enough that don't work.</p>Anon3Tue, 03 Mar 2009 21:56:45 -0000http://capitolfax.com/2009/03/03/distracted-legislating/#comment-18214189<p>Rich, remember when the seat belt law went into effect...won't stop you for not having it on....unless you commit another violation...now we set up road blocks for "Seat Belt Enforcement Area Ahead" too abritary in nature...if we are driving down the road and happen to pass a school zone, whether students are outside or not, we will have to disconnect our cell phones and call back later??? Guess that $1.00 extra we'll all have to pay after July 1 to pay for more state police vehicles will be put to good use? not counting the extra $10.00 we'll be pulling out of the Drivers Ed fund for court supervision....<br>The added fees will generate $9 million more not counting the supervision fees?? where are we headed??</p>mayor111Tue, 03 Mar 2009 20:31:17 -0000http://capitolfax.com/2009/03/03/distracted-legislating/#comment-18214188<p><i>CELL PHONE DRIVING IS AS DANGEROUS AS DRUNK DRIVING AND SHOULD BE TREATED AS SUCH — OTHER ACTIVITIES AREN’T AS BAD.</i></p><p>I beg to differ.</p><p><a>Eating while driving doubles crash risk</a><br><a href="http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Insurance/P51290.asp" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank" title="http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Insurance/P51290.asp">10 most dangerous foods to eat on the road</a><br><i>Eating while you drive is one of the most distracting things you can do, according to several recent surveys by insurance companies and data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)....</i></p><p>The top 10 food offenders:</p><p> 1. Coffee. It always finds a way out of the cup.<br> 2. Hot soup. Many people drink it like coffee. Same effects.<br> 3. Tacos. "A food that can disassemble itself without much help, leaving your car looking like a salad bar," says Hagerty.<br> 4. Chili. Dangerous drips and slops down the front of clothing.<br> 5. Hamburgers. Grease, ketchup, mustard on your hands, your clothes and the steering wheel.<br> 6. Barbecue. Spicey and dicey. There is the temptation to lick your fingers. More grease on the steering wheel.<br> 7. Fried chicken. Ditto. Grease coats everything you touch.<br> 8. Jelly or cream-filled doughnuts. Dangers relate to oozing while cruising. Raspberry jelly stains difficult to remove.<br> 9. Soft drinks. Prone to spills and sudden fizzing if car makes sudden movements. Cola fizz in the nose is perilous while driving.<br> 10. Chocolate. Tempting but treacherous. Try to clean it off the steering wheel and you're likely to end up swerving.</p>Yellow Dog DemocratTue, 03 Mar 2009 18:46:27 -0000http://capitolfax.com/2009/03/03/distracted-legislating/#comment-18214187<p>When I worked at IDOT, I had to review crash reports to determine contributing causes. You would be surprised what people were doing before a crash. I had one set of data that nearly 50% of the crashes (out of nearly 200 crashes) were due to people driving distracted or impared (drunk, asleep, drowsy).</p><p>Driving is one of the most complex tasks that we do on a daily basis. We must make several thousand decisions per minute. Most of which are made unconsciously. At 60 miles per hour, a driver has covered the length of a football field in less than 3.5 seconds. AASTHO says that an average driver takes 2.5 seconds to percieve and respond to a complex driving situation - nearly 3/4 the length of a football field (220') is covered before the driver reacts.</p><p>Stupid people get hurt in stupid ways (Darwin Awards). Unfortunately, they often take innocent bystanders with them.</p><p>So put down the paper, GPS, cell phone, personal hygiene items, keep two hands on the wheel and pay attention to your driving, you might get home safely.</p>Huh?Tue, 03 Mar 2009 18:40:01 -0000http://capitolfax.com/2009/03/03/distracted-legislating/#comment-18214186<p>An important bill muddled by silliness -- Rich, I promise I won't scream again for at least a year but CELL PHONE DRIVING IS AS DANGEROUS AS DRUNK DRIVING AND SHOULD BE TREATED AS SUCH -- OTHER ACTIVITIES AREN'T AS BAD. A person has control over fumbling with the radio or gps, with another person they aren't going to be rude and immediately hit the "off" button on the phone, or even interrupt, if an emergency comes up.</p>lake county democratTue, 03 Mar 2009 18:10:46 -0000http://capitolfax.com/2009/03/03/distracted-legislating/#comment-18214185<p>Not yet added to the bill...messing with your radio or GPS device.</p>SegatariTue, 03 Mar 2009 17:46:16 -0000http://capitolfax.com/2009/03/03/distracted-legislating/#comment-18214184<p>It's all basically a matter of it not being safe<br>to be around other people....everyone is dangerous<br>except for me.</p>EstebanTue, 03 Mar 2009 17:04:54 -0000http://capitolfax.com/2009/03/03/distracted-legislating/#comment-18214183<p>After driving 500,000 miles in NE Illinois over the last 20 years, I can honestly report that the main cause of accidents is driving-while-being-a-dumbass. Whether its a cellphone, a newpaper, alcohol, makeup, a GPS, the radio, the kids, reefer, other drivers, the weather, or imaginary voices, it is solely the responsibility of the driver not to drive like a moron. Many still manage to do it, even every day.</p><p>I don't know how the GA will put that into legislation. I do agree, though, that putting all of us back through defensive-driving school periodically would be a good idea. I did it to have a speeding ticket removed from my record about 15 years ago and learned enough to make it not completely worthless.</p>Lefty LeftyTue, 03 Mar 2009 16:54:40 -0000http://capitolfax.com/2009/03/03/distracted-legislating/#comment-18214182<p>You want to talk about distracted?</p><p>I was hit from behind by a chatty young thing on a cell phone while standing on a corner in downtown Chicago waiting for the light to change.</p><p>She said "scuz me sir, not you Yolanda, the guy I just run into" and then kept on walking and talking. She had a hands free blue tooth thingamagigger in her ear. She kept waiving her hands while talking.</p><p>We were both pedestrians at the time!</p><p>Outlaw that!</p>Louis G. AtsavesTue, 03 Mar 2009 16:53:30 -0000http://capitolfax.com/2009/03/03/distracted-legislating/#comment-18214181<p>Most distracting thing in the last few months. Getting up and not listening to the news until I had NPR on in the car. Speeding rapidly to the nearest place with internet access upon hearing Rod Blagojevich had been taken into federal custody. No driving and listening to the radio when indictments are imminent.</p>archpunditTue, 03 Mar 2009 16:48:32 -0000http://capitolfax.com/2009/03/03/distracted-legislating/#comment-18214180<p>I don't know much about the guy who introduced this thing.</p><p>Anybody know if his goal is to get plaintiff's an extra jury instruction, or whether the goal is revenue?</p><p>The idea that it might be for public safety seems ridiculous.</p>SkeeterTue, 03 Mar 2009 16:39:39 -0000http://capitolfax.com/2009/03/03/distracted-legislating/#comment-18214179<p>I have a TomTom that vocally gives me directions, so I don't have to read the map screen. Funny thing though, the voice sounds just like my wife!</p>NewDayTue, 03 Mar 2009 16:23:33 -0000http://capitolfax.com/2009/03/03/distracted-legislating/#comment-18214178<p>Vanilla - I disagree with you. The only accident I have been in is bumper to bumper traffic (going at the speed if idle) and ended up rear ended by a guy dialing his cell phone!</p>The KQTue, 03 Mar 2009 16:22:12 -0000http://capitolfax.com/2009/03/03/distracted-legislating/#comment-18214177<p>An earlier proposed law would make it a felony if you cause more than $1,500 to another vehicle in an accident caused by your negligence (i.e. if you violated some statute that causes an accident). I knew it was only a matter of time before picking your nose became a potential felony.</p>AnonTue, 03 Mar 2009 16:21:08 -0000http://capitolfax.com/2009/03/03/distracted-legislating/#comment-18214176<p>If the GA can do more than one thing at a time then so can I.</p>dupage danTue, 03 Mar 2009 16:13:22 -0000http://capitolfax.com/2009/03/03/distracted-legislating/#comment-18214175<p>Get real!</p><p>I used to sit in crawling traffic twice a day during the week. I left home at 7:30 to hopefully get to work by 9:00. What did they expect me to do during that time? At 20 mph, or slower, I was barely moving - barely driving.</p><p>Get real! At that speed I could eat, drink, shave, clip my fingernails, pick my nose, listen to the music - <i>at the same time</i>. Passing a law like this would not only be insulting, it would cause more accidents when drivers went into comas from crawling 90 minutes, twice a day in their cars. Without these daily niceties performed while I drive, I would have had nothing to do but speed, tailgate, and go road rage all over the geezers in their Camrys and Accords.</p><p>Crashes happen when cars speed, <i>and are then distracted</i>. Outlawing distractions is ridiculous.</p>VanillaManTue, 03 Mar 2009 16:07:42 -0000http://capitolfax.com/2009/03/03/distracted-legislating/#comment-18214174<p>Not only are radar detectors not illegal, historically when a ban is discussed, the industry argues that they're safety equipment. "They help drivers obey the speed limit." Seriously.</p>Excessively rabidTue, 03 Mar 2009 16:01:53 -0000http://capitolfax.com/2009/03/03/distracted-legislating/#comment-18214173<p>Years ago, I would regularly see a young lady in a red Fiero that was very skilled at putting on pantyhose while at stoplights. Could I be cited for being distracted by *her* personal hygiene?</p>Ken in AuroraTue, 03 Mar 2009 15:59:48 -0000http://capitolfax.com/2009/03/03/distracted-legislating/#comment-18214172<p>==I read, while stopped at red lights. I hope that’s okay, since I don’t read while I’m moving.==</p><p>Yes, but you'll be in operation of your vehicle. Cops and legislators don't care about small things like whether you're actually driving. Sort of like how you can be given a DUI even though your car's in park, turned off, and your just sitting in it with the keys in your hand.</p>AnonTue, 03 Mar 2009 15:59:29 -0000http://capitolfax.com/2009/03/03/distracted-legislating/#comment-18214171<p>--I use an earbug with my iPhone.--</p><p>Must also be distracting pretending your Mr. Spock, and you and the crew of the Enterprise are traveling at warp speed to engage the Romulans in the Alpha Nebula :)</p>wordslingerTue, 03 Mar 2009 15:57:34 -0000http://capitolfax.com/2009/03/03/distracted-legislating/#comment-18214170<p>==I think radar detectors amount to about the same thing as burglary tools and ought to be banned, if we’re going to ban any of this stuff.==</p><p>After reading this, I about posted that they are illegal. After looking it up, however, it's an odd thing that detectors are legal, unless you're driving a commercial vehicle (federal law), but radar jamming devices are illegal. Either way, you can technically be ticketed for having anything in between you and your windshield (detectors, GPS, fuzzy dice, dancing Jesus').</p>AnonTue, 03 Mar 2009 15:56:08 -0000http://capitolfax.com/2009/03/03/distracted-legislating/#comment-18214169<p>I read, while stopped at red lights. I hope that's okay, since I don't read while I'm moving.</p>ConservativeVeteranTue, 03 Mar 2009 15:54:45 -0000http://capitolfax.com/2009/03/03/distracted-legislating/#comment-18214168<p>I don't think banning "personal grooming" is such a bad idea. Ever see ladies on the Chicago expressway's putting on makeup on their way to work? Guys using an electric razor and their rearview mirror to get rid of the stuble on the way to a meeting they're already late for. It sounds stupid when it's written down, but I don't think it's a terrible idea.</p><p>I do have a problem with GPS not being excluded....I use mine constantly...especially while driving in the city.</p>NickTue, 03 Mar 2009 15:52:44 -0000http://capitolfax.com/2009/03/03/distracted-legislating/#comment-18214167<p>I use an earbug with my iPhone. My problem has been finding the names on my phonebook. Takes forever and is admittedly very distracting. Need voice dial.</p>Rich MillerTue, 03 Mar 2009 15:49:30 -0000http://capitolfax.com/2009/03/03/distracted-legislating/#comment-18214166<p>Need to add the cell phone to the list of bad driving habits.</p>Honest AbeTue, 03 Mar 2009 15:48:18 -0000