California has just passed a law to prevent people texting while driving - I don't get this - maybe we should also pass a law to stop people driving while sleeping in the back seat of the car??????????

 That's a pretty stupid comment !  What don't you get ???? It's impossible to drive while sleeping in the back seat.  It is not, however, impossible to text while driving.  It IS, however, VERY dangerous !   It is actually far more distracting to try to text while driving than it is to actually talk on the phone.  The only distracting part of talking while driving is the dialing part... WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY TEXTING !!!!

Everyone wants to get so hung up on THEIR rights. "If I want to kill myself texting my boyfriend... that's my god given right".  Hey, that's all well and good.  But when I'm driving down the road I should have the right to know the nit-whit coming the other way is paying attention to what she should be doing... DRIVING !

If you are so addicted to texting or your texts are a matter of life and death... then simply pull over.  Is that really so hard to understand Laura ????  Really ???

We had 5 high schools girls killed out here when the driver was texting and hit a tractor-trailer head on... She probably didn't get it either !

Here is the story.

More to read.

I'm so sorry - I think you completely misunderstand me -  what I meant was that it is so obviously dangerous , that there shouldn't need to be a law to pull that person over and take them away to the nearest mental institution. I don't even use my phone when I drive. I am more aware than anyone of the dangers of driving - someone very close to me was killed in a car accident.

What I don't get is why we need a special law - surely this has to fall under the law of dangerous driving without a second thought.

Laura, you have to remember, this is CA.  If it doesn't specifically say you can't do this act, the case will get thrown out faster than bad tuna.  The CA state courts have maintained for years that if it's not specifically written, then it can't be enforced.

 Right. I was looking at the New York law against talking on a cell phone and is specifically states the act of holding it to your ear, so if while texting the phone is not near your ear then it would be deemed legal.  I understand what you are saying, unfortunately by your logic then there would be no need for a law outlawing drinking and driving.  It is so obviously dangerous that surely it should fall under some other law.  Unfortunately, not all people are driven by (and abide to) common sense.  Sometime you do have to legislate common sense... for their own good... or at least the innocent people they would kill.

 That being said, I'm not real sure how well you will be able to enforce this.  You can keep the phone on your lap, to hide it. Which ultimately makes it even more distracting and dangerous.

As far as teens go... some of this HAS to fall on the parents.  "YOU DO NOT USE THE PHONE WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING OR IT GOES AWAY... PERIOD" !

kblakely:

As far as teens go... some of this HAS to fall on the parents.  "YOU DO NOT USE THE PHONE WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING OR IT GOES AWAY... PERIOD" !

The trouble with this rule that I want my children to always have a phone so that they can call in emergency. What I would REALLY like to see - is the driving age should go up to at least 18. But this is going off the topic of Windows Mobile.

You are absolutely correct Laura. Common sense should come into play here. It shouldn't take a new law for this.

The only way to use a phone in a car is hands free and by voice. A problem most folks don't even think about is when you get in an accident using your phone while driving and have the phone in your hand, it flys away from you as the accident happens. The odds of having that phone in your hands after the accident are very slim. So now when you need your phone the most and you are trapped in your car and can't reach it because it is under your seat or flew out the window, you now have to wait for someone else to come along and call for you.

Doug Heidebrink:

If it doesn't specifically say you can't do this act, the case will get thrown out faster than bad tuna.

 Cool. Does that mean I can actually try driving while sleeping in the back seat of the car !

Wayne:

Does that mean I can actually try driving while sleeping in the back seat of the car !

So long as you're not texting at the same time !