NHP going after drivers using handheld devices
Between now and Feb. 23, Nevada’s Joining Forces law enforcement team will be cracking down on distracted drivers throughout the state.
Nevada’s ban on handheld devices while driving went into effect three years ago and still law enforcement continues to spot and cite offenders every day. The law was enacted because of the more than 3,500 distraction-related crashes every year in the state.
Surfing the Internet, using a GPS or changing the song on your mp3 player are all illegal distractions taking motorists’ eyes off the road and causing crashes.
Distracted driving facts:
· Research has found that using a cell phone behind the wheel makes a driver four times more likely to get into a crash serious enough to cause injury.
· When sending or receiving text messaging behind the wheel, a driver’s eyes are off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, equivalent to driving the length of a football field at 65 miles per hours.
· The likelihood of crashes dramatically rise when your actions require a combination of visual, manual and cognitive attention
Life need not be so complex. Get yourself a Blue Tooth ear bud, learn how to voice dial, and tell your buds not to text you when you’re driving. In what way does this change your life?
In fact, as a 73 year old struggler with modern technology, someone will probably, and I hope will, tell us all some way to deal with texting through our Blue Tooth connections as well. And, with luck, I might even understand their explanation.
copper there is voice recognition software that can be put on your phone that will work with texting, it will read the text thru your ear bud and send it through your microphone
If they really want to get serious on catching and stopping future distractions, they need to have officers drive around in plain, unmarked cars.
Oh, and have you ever noticed a policeman driving and checking his computer or talking on the radio ? They don’t drive so well either !
Actually Steven, one of the rationales justifying marked cars is that they tend to deter minor offenses just by their presence. According to that philosophy, traffic tickets aren’t meant to stop the poor bozo who gets the ticket for driving improperly, and he probably will again. They’re meant to scare the folks driving by the stop and the flashing red lights into some sort of “come to Jesus” moment. Thus the reasoning behind flashy marked units.
Also it is, or used to be, a violation of State laws to have an unmarked car exclusively dedicated to traffic enforcement. Local agencies pay no attention yet rarely violate it (usually having better things, like real crime and pending divorces,to attend to), but marked CHP traffic units (and which ones aren’t?) are required, by law, to be clearly marked.
Which leads to the white CHP units we all see out there prowling for us. The state legislature, being largely elected by car drivers, was very reluctant to allow CHP to disguise their cars in white, until the CHP commanders – not bad politicians in their own right – convinced the legislature that the white cars would only be used for truck enforcement – which most everyone, possibly excepting the truckers – agreed with. Needless to say, the cat being out of the bag, CHP uses them for practically everything – especially in traps.
Next time you’re southbound on US395 and get stopped for doing 75 in a 65 zone that could (and typically does) easily support 80 or above, go ahead and quote my comments about white cars and speed limits. It might not get you anywhere, but there’s nothing wrong with entertaining the CHippie who stops you. They get bored too.
For reloman, I like the voice recognition stuff, but I seem to have the kind of a voice that is rarely recognized by Gates & company.
I’ve got calling my wife down, and even calling my kids (who, adults all, find my attempts very humorous when they go wrong – or even when they go right).
But I seem to have the kind of mid 20th century voice that confuses early 21st century technology. Thus such words as “pitch” or “bunt” or “duck” (that one comes up a lot in my conversations) or even “sockpuller” (that one less so) tend to create problems; not so much with my kids or grandchildren who are as iconoclastic as I (much to the claimed dismay – and hidden delight of my daughter whose in-laws have trouble believing that their darling son married an atheist and is raising sons who find religious fairy tales repugnant.) And the boys are actually old enough to use that word. I wonder what voice recognition would do with it if I said it.
Chiching! $$$$$ a chance to make some money…..nothing more.
Tell me driving around with a flame in your hand isn’t distracting
Driving around with a purse dog jumping all over you isn’t distracting
It’s all about what is going to return the most money
Copper, the most recent phones from Samsung and Apple have voice that actually learns your voice patterns. I am sure there are others too. Pretty amazing how accurate the new ones can be. Funny post on your part.