What would you do?

Reader comment on: Texting While Driving Bans

Submitted by Paul Simmons (United States), Sep 28, 2010 15:44

You don't see a difference between texting and fiddling with the car's AC? Well I do. (By the way, what kind of AC do you have? Surely not one that requires the entry of 20 or more characters.) In any case, what would you have us do about the dangers inherent to driving while distracted? Allow a texting motorist with his head up his backside to slam into another car, leaving the other driver paralyzed for life, and then slap the texter with nothing more than a 10% increase in insurance premiums? Come on now.

I consider myself a libertarian guy. But people don't have a right to imperil the safety of others. That's not one of our rights. I don't know whether texting bans "work," just as I don't know whether the death penalty "works." But that's not the point, as the law rarely prevents crime anyway. No, the point -- whether it's a ban on texting or a ban on murder -- is to provide society with a legal mechanism for imposing a fine or a prison term or a death sentence on people who get caught doing things that we told them not to do.

We can't always modify other people's stupidity. But we can sure as heck punish it.


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The Future of Capitalism replies:

How about just reading the email by scrolling through the message from/subject lines? I wait until a stop light before responding.

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Other reader comments on this item

Title By Date
Texting while driving are well intentioned however... [123 words]Safe TextingDec 24, 2010 22:48
As a professional driver [89 words]Mr EvilwrenchSep 29, 2010 17:03
more harmless distraction [117 words]equitusSep 29, 2010 16:02
Gloves make it too hard to text while on my motorcycle... [27 words]styrgwillidarSep 29, 2010 12:28
anecdotal evidence [84 words]Old FogeySep 29, 2010 11:36
Where are the millions of accidents [109 words]Tom WadeSep 29, 2010 11:21
"better to regulate outputs than inputs" [109 words]PieFarmerSep 29, 2010 05:08
Really, if this isn't obvious ... [343 words]Long DriverSep 29, 2010 02:49
Add me to the chorus of disagreement [135 words]ChubfuddlerSep 28, 2010 21:22
too many people cant multitask [167 words]FenSep 28, 2010 19:43
Unserious [108 words]JoelSep 28, 2010 18:54
Followup [510 words]Lummox JRSep 28, 2010 18:06
Incentive not to Text while driving. [61 words]W. BourneSep 28, 2010 18:01
it does not follow from the data that texting is relatively safe [115 words]W4LTSep 28, 2010 18:01
checking e-mail is not the same as texting [143 words]deebSep 28, 2010 16:57
OBTW - Nanny State [64 words]lhogSep 28, 2010 16:55
More distracting [94 words]LhogSep 28, 2010 16:48
Cognitive Capture [94 words]JeffSep 28, 2010 16:43
Email is different. [89 words]DagwudSep 28, 2010 16:36
"I don't see how . . ." I do. [98 words]FredBSep 28, 2010 15:48
What is being measured? NOT if texting is going down or not. [175 words]DDSep 28, 2010 15:45
⇒ What would you do?
[w/response] [213 words]
Paul SimmonsSep 28, 2010 15:44
Are you kidding?
[w/response] [353 words]
Lummox JRSep 28, 2010 15:40
Texting IS dangerous while driving! [96 words]chicopantherSep 28, 2010 15:34
Prizes [53 words]JohnSep 28, 2010 15:32
At what point does Nannity become Insanity? [59 words]Owen McCallSep 28, 2010 15:31
Shifting sight and concentration from the road is bad, mmmkay? [72 words]Mark A. FlacySep 28, 2010 15:27
Partly disagree [111 words]DeanSep 28, 2010 15:25
Incentives? Penalties? [36 words]DonMSep 28, 2010 15:18
Texting not much worse than adjusting a/c? [92 words]GeneSep 28, 2010 15:17
Thanks again, NYT! [135 words]FerdSep 28, 2010 15:14
Disagree [81 words]Joe MelnickSep 28, 2010 15:00

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