Illinois Texting and Internet Surfing Ban

[Jesse Risley]

Also, the laptop as a GPS unit idea won't work either. A friend of mine got a $100 ticket for that plus court costs for fighting it and losing it.

I assume this had to be prosecuted under the pre-existing legislation that discusses "video monitors" being visible to the driver?

 

[Tyler Allison]

Just means I need to factor in $100 tickets into my chasing hobby for cops with chips on their shoulders.

 

[Joe Schaub]

I assume this had to be prosecuted under the pre-existing legislation that discusses "video monitors" being visible to the driver?

Yes. GPS units are just that: GPS units. Laptops have internet capabilities and DVD players.

I agree it's a BS situation but I don't want to see anyone get a ticket for it.

 

[Tim Shriver]

I have always had a concern with single spotters driving, navigating, talking on radios
and phones while using their laptops at the same time.
With one person it is just plain unsafe.

The law is a mixed blessing, it will prevent those that have no business
texting, laptoping and putting people in danger. At the same
time it does restrict those that do practice good driving skills.

In the end, we need to live with it and adjust to it.

Wisconsin is working on a no texting or wireless communications
use while driving bill. But we succeeded in getting an exception
for ham radio usage.

Tim

 

[Bob Simmons]

Seat belt laws have been primary for ages in most states...

That would be news to me. It's still secondary in most states that I'm aware of.

EDIT: I stand corrected. According to wikipedia 30 states had it as a primary offense and 19 states had it as secondary as of June 2009. New Hampshire still didn't require seat belts. I guess my travels just haven't taken me into many primary offense states. More likely is that the changes were just after my travels. It was 25 primary and 24 secondary just two years earlier. It's still secondary here in Ohio. They have a color coded map of the states if anyone is interested.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seat_belt_legislation_in_the_United_States

Not that any of this really matters to me. I always wear my seat belt.

 

[Bob Simmons]

Yes. GPS units are just that: GPS units. Laptops have internet capabilities and DVD players.

I can play a DVD on my GPS and I understand some of the new ones have internet access capability, I believe for traffic updates.

 

[Paul Knightley]

I like the part where the police say they'll get records from the phone company to prove people were/were not texting at the time of the crash.

If I get a text message at 4:40pm, and get in an accident at 4:40pm, does that mean I was reading it when the accident happened? What if I didn't press the "read" button yet?

Is the first thing you do when seeing an accident is record the exact time to the second, so that you can compare to text message timestamps afterwards? If I'm typing a message and get in a wreck, but don't hit send, how would they know?

As I mentioned - it's a feel good law. They'll set up a sting operation once or twice a year, get a few thousand dollars and some press, and everyone will be happy. But I'll still text and drive.

People have been killed over here in the UK by other people driving into them whilst texting on a mobile phone. So it's not something which should be treated lightly.

 

[rdale]

So it's not something which should be treated lightly.

Of course not. But will changing a law have any impact? Absolutely not. Maybe on that side of the pond, and if so I'd suggest you start pressuring for that restriction, but it won't change Americans' behavior.

 

[Joe Schaub]

I have a friend who is a state police officer and he told me that the texting ban is showing alot of promise.

So far, he has known of 47 tickets in his district for texting while driving and two of them were issued after they were determined to be a contributing factor in accidents.

There are ways of the police to find out when a text was read and sent.

 

[Tyler Allison]

There are ways of the police to find out when a text was read and sent.

As someone who does forensic investigations as part of my day job...no there isn't. Nice scare tactic by the officer though.

Even so..point here is...it's a law that won't change anything.

 

[Kevin Green]

You must not do forensics very often then. A cell phone is nothing more then a computer, and like all computers, they can typically be easily examined by a qualified examiner, nevermind what the telecos keep for their own reasons.

Just in my area, they have written a couple dozen of these tickets in the past few weeks. Many crash related, but not all.

As someone who had their car backed into by someone texting, I'm all for it. The law is like every other law. We have laws against homicide, domestic violence, money laundering, and drugs, but it doesn't stop behaviour. But, if it keeps that one person from running into me, I'm all for it.

 

[Tyler Allison]

A cell phone is nothing more then a computer

Believe whatever you wish.

-Tyler

 

[John Wetter]

I agree with Tyler, another dumb law. How about just handing out an inattentive driving ticket as they always have? Just a reason for the author of the bill to get some TV time. Just like the laptop in the cockpit... They already were punished and lost their licenses from the laws on the books, we don't need another law to cover what was already covered.

 

[Tim Shriver]

As someone who does forensic investigations as part of my day job...no there isn't. Nice scare tactic by the officer though.

Even so..point here is...it's a law that won't change anything.

With all due respect, there are several ways to get this information. Server records, air time records, cell tower logs and the cell phone itself.
Even if you delete said records they can be retrieved with special software.
Each email and text leaves a trail from you to the receiver.
Not easy, but it can be done.


Never say never.

I won't argue if the law will be affective or not, but I do support
the idea of not texting while driving. With two daughters and a wife
that do it I see how dangerous it is first hand. I simple will not let them do it anymore when I am in the car.

Tim

 

[Tim Shriver]

I agree with Tyler, another dumb law. How about just handing out an inattentive driving ticket as they always have? Just a reason for the author of the bill to get some TV time. Just like the laptop in the cockpit... They already were punished and lost their licenses from the laws on the books, we don't need another law to cover what was already covered.

I do know that proving inattentive driving can be hard to prove as it is
subjective at times and open to interpretation.
The texting law is a little more specific in most cases and appears
that it would be easier to prove then inattentive driving.

But when the phone is buried into someones head it becomes an easy case to prove.

Tim