+Zurawski 33 Posted March 6, 2012 Alright... I'm pissed and standing of a soapbox. I read this article this morning and for me it's the last straw: HUFFINGTON POST LINK In this article, this families daughter died at the result of Facebooking while driving. Now the family is making noise in regards to making Facebooking illegal. While I am sympathetic to the families loss and I in no way condone Facebooking while driving... I am furious with the current mind-set that anything "bad" should by proxie also be considered "illegal". This kid used poor judgement, paid the price for it with her life but somehow it's Facebooks fault for providing her a means to do so?! I am so sick and tired of people not accepting responsibility for their actions and or inactions and choosing to displace blame on everyone and everything else, creating bally-wick legislation and bills to effectively "protect us from ourselves". I've watch several similar developments like this in Wisconsin... One where a motorist stopped to help another person with a disabled vehicle on a bridge. The person was struck by another vehicle and was thrown from the bridge to their death. Now there is efforts underway to mandate the installation of a 14ft high fence spanning the length of the bridge. SERIOUSLY? Again, while this was a tragic accident, it was a freak occurrence that has never happened before over the lifetime of the bridge... Yet, its logical and practical the foist unnecessary cost burden upon the city and the taxpayers for something like this!!! Another (Yeah, I'm on a roll)... Kids playing near a swollen runoff canal... they fall in and drown. Tragic loss... Family wants a 14 ft. fence installed along the length of the entire canal system (Miles mind you) Ugh... Another "feel-good" resolution to placate a grieving family. Long and short... Our society has become so quick to displace blame instead of accepting the fact that some accidents happen... occasionally as a result of poor judgement and or outright stupidity. It is not the state or the governments job to protect stupid people from themselves... Meanwhile, Good, practical commons-sense laws designed to protect the many and not just the few... I don't know... drunk driving laws, child predator laws and drug offender laws are handled flippantly and with general morass. WTHell has become of my country and a rising percentage of the population? I'm at a loss.... but I feel better having vented. You may now commence beating me about the face and neck for being insensitive and uncaring. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slartibartfast 153 Posted March 6, 2012 I will not beat you up about it as I have lost a friend a motorcyclist who was killed by someone texting whilst driving and they only got a 2 year suspended sentence for it and in England it is illegal to text or use a phone without a headset... which I find stupid. Looks like what the parents want is to make it illegal to be able to use a phone etc whilst driving like in other states but you are right though the nanny state has taken over if you do something that gets you hurt when you should have used your commonsense instead you can make money out of it. I have heard other stories in the UK about it one of the best is falling while walking and suing the council for the state of the pavement... I heard of someone I knew who did this and my comment to them was along the lines of What happened to looking where you were going ? Oh I was too busy texting a friend... what next? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FastCargo 412 Posted March 6, 2012 Don't get me started... Check this out: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2010/09/30/texting-while-driving-bans-increase-crashes-study-says-rumpus-erupts/ It was found in studies that laws banning texting and driving caused no decrease in accident rates, and in some states, actually increased accidents due to drivers trying to 'hide' their cell phones while texting. A result of the law of unintended consequences...trying to regulate a symptom vs dealing with the root of the problem...distraction and misprioritization of tasks. And before anyone gets their panties in a bunch, I'm not advocating texting and driving. What I am advocating is that legislation isn't the answer. I've got tons of examples of other laws passed having the opposite effect... FC Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Silverbolt 104 Posted March 6, 2012 Welcome to the world of stupid people by choice (not by the lack of opportunity) ...its bad to know that it also happen in a developed country...here in brazil it happens oftenly that sometimes i feel like a stranger in a strange land. due to this kind of people. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Piecemeal 450 Posted March 6, 2012 From my experience with the human race all I can say is that as time goes on, this problem is becoming more and more endemic. I've got a zebra crossing right outside my house complete with flashing lights at either side of the road, yet I've lost count of how many times drivers whiz by while pedestrians are trying to cross. It's even happened to me a few times. I could be half way across and yet some drivers have this "what the f*ck do you think you're doing!!" look on their face, while only stopping at the last moment. Personally I think as time marches forward, as technology makes our lives more convenient, and as more and more new inventions come on the market, the human gene pool moves ever closer to the minus figures. People are gradually losing the ability to think for themselves. I only shudder to think what humankind will be like in twenty-five years Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lexx_Luthor 57 Posted March 6, 2012 How about flying while facebooking? Yep. If you wanna drive, you drive -- you don't play games, or drive on alcohol or drugs. In private, all that's fine. The roads are not the place for it. Zw:: Now the family is making noise in regards to making Facebooking illegal. False. This kid used poor judgement, paid the price for it with her life... This kind of poor judgement forces other drivers, bikers (yea askem), and pedestrians to pay the price for the games. That is what driving laws are to prevent from happening. Yea, if I'm on the road, or anywhere near a road, we ban facebook while driving ... FWD lol Before boasting against un-needed .gov interference in our lives, you start paying attention to why the .gov favours the giant banks and legal tender laws and the borrowing, and the debt financed Forever War for that matter. It all ties together. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
column5 62 Posted March 6, 2012 WTHell has become of my country America is over. Time to move on. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Dave 2,318 Posted March 6, 2012 You can't fix stupid. 3 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lexx_Luthor 57 Posted March 6, 2012 FC:: And before anyone gets their panties in a bunch, I'm not advocating texting and driving. What I am advocating is that legislation isn't the answer. I've got tons of examples of other laws passed having the opposite effect... I gotta mitt you are right. I get bunched up because I bicycle alot, and you are right. The only thing I can think of that is acceptable (to me) is much higher free market gas prices. Back in the 2008 gas price ramp, I think I noticed (somewhat) fewer drivers but I saw the most amazing slow down in highway traffic speed, even the big trucks. When drivers' value their time more than gas, they drive fast. The opposite happened in 2008 with the high gas prices, and for the first time I felt safer on the highway. Article:: At the time, Sauer was driving 80 mph from the Utah State University campus... Granted, if student loans cover their gas, they won't slow down lol. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Brain32 265 Posted March 6, 2012 Yes, this texting and driving is a case of preemptive legislation which is common in many areas of law today and in many cases pretty mindless. Also you can be sure that many outright stupid legislations are actually there for somebodies profit, I've had a lot of example here from speed-bump in silly places, traffic signs on places and situations that are hard to connect with any kind of intelligence and many other examples in which tracing the money not once raised an eyebrow.. Not much difference between that and those fences I'm pretty sure of that...because somebody will be paid to raise those fences and somebody will pay for that, who will pay? You will! Just as I paid for the speed-bumps that are destroying my car on a road between nothing and nothing so nothing can have a safer pass across the street. We live in an age of extreme consumerism and parasitic capitalism which is driven not by progress as it was before but by generating needs on expense of personal responsibility and common sense. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Zurawski 33 Posted March 6, 2012 (edited) Zw:: False. Before boasting against un-needed .gov interference in our lives, you start paying attention to why the .gov favours the giant banks and legal tender laws and the borrowing, and the debt financed Forever War for that matter. It all ties together. I stand corrected... Facebooking while driving... The laws are already in place... it's called inattentive driving or driving while distracted. Why is it necessary to label it and put yet another redundant law on the books. Simple... People want to have something to blame for their stupidity and arrogance. I will not allow you to attempt drag this into a "bad government" argument... This is not a case of bad government, bad fiscal governmental or a prolonged war. This is nothing more than the government placating societies inability to shoulder their own personal responsibilities. If you want to pidgin a "bad-guy" let's look at the blood-sucking lawyers who help push forward frivolous bills like these examples so they have yet another opportunistic vehicle to gouge individuals, companies and governmental agencies alike! Edited March 6, 2012 by Zurawski Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Silverbolt 104 Posted March 6, 2012 You can't fix stupid. unfortunatelly this is what i notice every day. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lt. James Cater 62 Posted March 6, 2012 One of the most qualified Darwin award candidates i've heard of in quite some time. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Capitaine Vengeur 263 Posted March 6, 2012 Mah, following this path, it could soon be illegal to have your girlfriend give you some good pampering while you drive smoking a big joint behind your purple glasses! Er, is it already?... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
B52STRATO 215 Posted March 6, 2012 (edited) One of the most qualified Darwin award candidates i've heard of in quite some time. Nice one. But can't beat the Canadian glasses salesman who, to prove the quality of what he was selling, ran to the window... and crash-landed several floors below... Edited March 6, 2012 by B52STRATO Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lexx_Luthor 57 Posted March 6, 2012 Zw:: The laws are already in place... it's called inattentive driving or driving while distracted. That's fine after the fact, but I it won't work for those risking drinking and driving until they kill somebody. Yea *any* law can be abused, but men and women can be so sloppy on the roads -- or in the air -- that we need preventive laws. I was venting too above, about sloppy drivers. Just thought of this, and maybe some places do this -- after every accident, czech the twit-face or cell records (if possible) and if the perps texted or talked while driving, and it can be shown that the behavior contributed to the accident, then ramp the punishment into orbit, and advertise it widely -- think lasers and pilot eyes which many of the perps don't know the danger of, because its never talked about. WTHell has become of my country and a rising percentage of the population? I'm at a loss.... but I feel better having vented. A population of Debtors -- encouraged into it by government? It does all tie together. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Typhoid 231 Posted March 6, 2012 Alright... I'm pissed and standing of a soapbox. You may now commence beating me about the face and neck for being insensitive and uncaring. I agree with you. As Dave pointed out, you can't fix stupid. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+Zurawski 33 Posted March 6, 2012 (edited) A population of Debtors -- encouraged into it by government? It does all tie together. No law is worth the spit used to wet the quill if it's not enforced... Like I said, the laws are already there. Giving it a name and by proxy creating a redundant law does not give it any more teeth. All it does is weaken the judicial system because when you give it a "name" it losses it's global empowerment because it's protectorate become focused on that single infraction. Gun laws don't stop criminals from carrying guns... Drunk Driving laws don't stop habitual offenders and in this case... Texting while driving laws will not stop the self-absorbed morons from texting while driving. That said... these laws might work if the punitive damages were damaging and were enforced with strict application. Sadly, we are saddled with a criminal justice system where the criminals have more rights than those who they prey upon. Drunk drivers are released to re-offend with little real repercussion until they kill someone. Child predators are released and almost instantly re-offend, stealing the innocence of children or outright destroying their lives, futures and the souls of their parents. Why? Because some panty-waist wine sipper who believes they are more evolved than the rest of us, label these blights on society with made up illnesses, coddle them and blindly commit to throwing copious amounts of money at fancy rehabilitation programs designed to help them... Meanwhile the rest of us have our pockets picked by the government to support these worthless programs under the pretense than they can be made into model citizens... A population of debtors? Not sure if you've looked around lately but every civilized nation in the world is beholden to it's government looking for social support, debt amnesty and absolution for being burdens on the tax system. The US is definitely not alone... I know I'm waxing poetically but there was time when a man didn't want anything he could not provide for himself, his word was his bond and held no one but himself responsible for maintaining his moral compass... Sadly we live in world where most everyone is looking for the next hand-out, cannot be trusted any further than you can throw them and have no moral compass because the society intelligentsia allows them to live with little fear of repercussion. Edited March 6, 2012 by Zurawski Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lexx_Luthor 57 Posted March 6, 2012 Z I'm getting it, but its an understandable if over reaction to wreckless driving, and FC's right it may cause more problems with perps trying to hide the behavior and you are right its another complexity for bueracracy -- and what about the next technowonder while driving (TWD)? But then my idea ealier about looking at twitface/cell records after an accident might be useful, as long as every body talks about it and its well known and respected or no law helps here. Zw:: That said... these laws might work if the punitive damages were damaging and were enforced with strict application. That's what I was thinking. Exceptions are always a problem if a "leader" of some sort is involved (not always political). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
