From an article in yesterday’s projo,
Amid growing reports nationwide of fatal car accidents tied to cell phone use, Rhode Island lawmakers are considering a pair of bills that would ban hand-held mobile telephones and prohibit text messaging while driving.
As we reported earlier, there was a teen killed in Taunton not long ago, where the driver admitted to sending a text message while driving. If nothing else, perhaps an act like this would result in at least a fine.
A 2007 survey by AAA and Seventeen magazine found that 46 percent of 16- and 17-year-old drivers said they text message while driving and 51 percent talk on cell phones while driving.
It’s not just teenagers. In a recent Zogby poll, 66 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds said that they’ve driven while texting. And now that Blackberries and other PDA devices have become more popular, many adults are also guilty of driving while typing, legislators say.
Yikes! No wonder I see so many people on the phone while I’m riding along in traffic. While the legislature is banning things, perhaps we could add reading, watching movies, dressing, etc. to the list of activities one should not do while driving.