Ugh… If there’s one thing that I hate it’s when I see data manipulated in a manner such that it can confuse the masses. To this end, a few months ago an article was published on the My FOX NY website that was titled, “NJ: Ban on Cell Phones While Driving Works.” Since the article is short, I’m reposting the entire thing here for you to read before I tear into it.
New Jersey transportation officials say a year-old state law banning cell phone use while driving has resulted in nearly 109,000 summonses issued in the past 11 months.
That’s almost double the amount of tickets handed out during the previous five years for the offense.
A state law signed on March 1 last year makes talking on hand-held cell phones while driving a primary offense. That means police are now able to stop motorists just for talking on the phone.
Division of Highway Safety director Pam Fischer says the primary law is making a difference, resulting in about 10,000 tickets a month.
New Jersey is among four states and the District of Columbia that have made using a cell phone while driving a primary offense.
Alright. I call bullshit on this law “working.” What measure, exactly is being used to judge whether or not this law is working? Go ahead – go back and reread the article and tell me how we know the new law is working. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
Did you see anything? More tickets being written? Yeah, okay. And? What does this prove? Nothing!
I hate this type of crap because today’s society is so consumed with doing a million things in a day that it is a rare thing to read and critically review information that is presented to us by the media. This is the main reason why the mainstream media is garbage and there is a rising class of entertainment-as-real-news that is taking over the ratings.
Most people will read this post on My FOX NY and just read the headline and scan for a quote from someone official affirming or refuting the headline. In other words, there are probably masses of people out there who saw this bogus article and now, in passing, would comment that the cell phone ban in New Jersey is working. Let’s shed some reality on this situation…
Nearly everyone in New Jersey has a cell phone crammed in their ear while they are driving or their thumbs are going a mile a minute texting away in traffic. Don’t deny it, my fellow Garden Staters – you know that you’re guilty of this in the car. Don’t deny it! And that includes some of the worst offenders – our law enforcement officers!
Anyway, this cell phone ban is not working. And for the love of God, just because more tickets are being written does not mean that a piece of legislation is success! Just like most of the other traffic-related laws on New Jersey’s books, this cell phone ban is yet another way for local municipalities to raise more money off of the already broken backs of our overtaxed population.
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I agree with the premise of your writing… there is little evidence that the law is working. We need to see data on crashes or have independent surveys confirm that less people are on their phones while driving. However, I would HOPE that having a law in place and enforced DOES actually help – there are millions of law-abiding citizens out there who will think twice about making or taking an unnecessary phone call while driving, just because it is against the law. And that helps.
For the rest of us, who rely on our phones and our cars for work and productivity, I also have a suggestion – check out http://www.EasyHandsFree.com – a company that installs hands-free systems in almost any car. These systems are great, they allow drivers to take/make calls without even touching the phone. Eyes stay on the road and hands on the wheel. For people who really need to keep in touch while on the road, EasyHandsFree is a great solution, and you can get a proven, quality system installed for less than $400. I have one in my Jeep and it works great!
I agree with your origional idea which is that the article provides no proof of the cell phone law working. Actually, I would suggest still too many folks ignore it. To your other statement that most folks with cell phones do ignore it, this I dispute. Quite a few do, but most folks I know have acquired a hands free device and use it religiously… so perhaps the arthur of the article is not the only person who writes that takes creative liberties; take a look at yourself. Truely, it is a serious public safety issue and I have been nearly struck several times (I am behind the wheel daily for a living) by users of cell phones not abiding by a red signal, stop sign, or just plain drifting into my lane. Finally, you should become better informed to realize that there is case law excusing law enforcement when in performance of their official duties, not all communications are put over the air waves.
Thanks for the comment, TRH. A few counterpoints for the readers to consider…
First, I can take creative liberties because this is a personal blog/opinion website. This is not a news site nor does it want to be a news site.
Second, I am fully aware of the case law surrounding law enforcement’s ability to perform their duties. However, I am also aware enough to know when case law builds upon case law which builds upon case law, you can often wind up with a final directive/piece of policy that is unconstitutional.
the whole argument is ridiculous. If the law were working, the number of tickets being written would have to go *down*, not *up*. All this means is that they’re writing more tickets because they can. Saying the cell phone ban is working because more tickets are being written is like saying that laws against violent acts are working because more people have been locked up lately. If they were working, it would follow that we would see a decline in such things, rather than saying “hey, we caught more people, yay us! Just a thought.
And case law can bite my ass. Just because a police officer or what have you is allowed to cell phone or text while driving doesn’t mean he/she is able to do so in a technical sense. I am legally allowed to skip rope down my driveway if I’d like, but I’m not coordinated enough to pull it off. I always end up tripping over the damn thing. So just because I can doesn’t mean that I actually can or should.