Stop him before he starts texting behind the wheel
By adamg - 2/2/09 - 9:24 am
Paul Levy takes the first of his 12 steps: He admits he is powerless over his addiction to yakking on the phone while driving:
... If you are a friend or colleague who detects that I am talking with you on a mobile phone while driving, please hang up on me.
But we need more than that. Please, Governor Patrick and MA legislators. Pass a law with real penalties. Catch me in the act, and make me stop. And, while you are at it, stop everyone else, too. ...
For Levy, at least, there is hope. He used to be a CrackBerry addict.
Comments
Paul Levy wont take responsibility for his actions
Paul Levy wont take responsibility for his actions. He calls on his friends to do so.
We've all driven behind drivers yakking on the telephone. They are distracted and they are a danger to others.
Distraction is the number one cause of automobile accidents... #1.
Why are the matters these cellphone-distracted drivers considering more important than the health and well being of the people they encounter in their two-ton motor vehicle driving 40 miles per hour? The answer is becuase the profits have bought lobbying influence and campaign contributions that cause or elected officials to vote against your interests.
Im almost incapable of
Im almost incapable of driving while on a cell phone. Im that crazy guy you know that if he absolutly has to call you will call you at a red light talking really fast (Im normally not a fast talker) then hangs up when the light turns green. Ive seen other people who can do it well, but I cant turn properly on a phone, I cant use my blinker, and god forbid I have to turn my wipers on, it just isnt going to happen...
Absolutely have to call?
I can't think of a single reason why someone absolutely has to call anyone while driving.
If you have to call 911 because of some sort of emergency, can't you pull over & stop?
Youve obviously never been
Youve obviously never been running late, or gotten a call from someone three times in a row because they are in a panic (mostly when that happens its something like, were out of juice out of juice out of juice!!! but I have too many old relatives to ignore three phone calls in a row lol.) I dont make a habit of it, and dont drive while talking, I think the stop light thing is a good compromise.
Nope
No, I've never felt I had to take a call while driving - that's why they invented voice mail.
If there's a real emergency, the caller should be calling 911.
Am I seriously the only
Am I seriously the only person in the room who has ever picked up a cell phone while in a car??? I thought I was being conservative by getting everything done in between lights while at a full stop...
I wish!
If you were the only one it wouldn't be a problem!
(Are you one of those people who stays at the full stop yacking after the light turns green?)
Nope, Im one of those people
Nope, Im one of those people that watches the lights of the other street so when it turns yellow I cut off the person on the phone throw it aside, and am ready to go. I used to always drive old cars so I needed to be the first person to start moving otherwise I would be engulfed by the cars behind me, now that I have a newer car I tend to be the first one off the line and am going at the speed limit before I realize how fast Im going.
Well
Well, all right then.
How did we manage?
Back in the olden days when we only had telephones at home?
Our lives were falling apart every moment then, weren't they? Every time we got in a car, the world would end, and we wouldn't even hear about it until we got home again.
Many people in business had
Many people in business had a home phone and a business line which covers you for most of the day. I also remember as a kid my father had some friends who always went to the same places to eat/drink (be is bars, restaurants, or local social clubs/knights of columbus halls) and it was a pretty common to call the establishment looking for the person (the Simpsons is a classic example, the prank calls on Moe wouldnt be quite as funny now that everyone has a cell phone.) So for many people they were covered under the phone radar 75 percent of the time, and just avoided it while in transit. In more recent times it is considered rude to call an establishment looking for someone unless its an absolute emergency, but it seemed to be quite common before pagers.
Not quite as quick as cell phones, but people were reachable non the less.
No Cell
Disclaimer: Rant is not directed specifically at you, Shady.
I have no cell phone. I have never had a cell phone. I get along just fine. I usually show up on time, but if I don't manage to do so, I explain when I get there. And nobody has ever berated me. Perhaps I have nice co-workers and friends, and you don't. Get some, if possible :-)
I have no desire whatsoever to be reached by anyone so vapid that they feel it is urgent to tell me that they are out of juice, no offense.
If you feel that you must have a phone available at all times, keep it in your pocket. Set it to vibrate. When someone calls, enjoy the massage. But don't think you can operate the fucking thing while driving and still maintain your previous excellent reaction times. You can't. It's that simple.
Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com
Technological solution
For a few hundred dollars, he can get a device that blocks cel phone signals.
Quasi legal, but they do work. I don't see why he can't use one in his own personal car to retrain himself.
Some people use them on commuter trains when others are being loud and rude.
quasi-legal? Nope, illegal
quasi-legal?
Nope, illegal says the FCC.
Really?
Got a link for that ... or are we supposed to take your opinion of it as law?
Does anyone have a link to a
Does anyone have a link to a web site the sells the device?
My guess is that it's not illegal to own, just illegal to use.
Link please.
Jammers
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/04/technology/04jammer.html
"Using the jammers is illegal in the United States. The radio frequencies used by cellphone carriers are protected, just like those used by television and radio broadcasters.
The Federal Communication Commission says people who use cellphone jammers could be fined up to $11,000 for a first offense. Its enforcement bureau has prosecuted a handful of American companies for distributing the gadgets — and it also pursues their users."
Im not sure how valid it is, but it is the New York Times...
http://wireless.fcc.gov/services/index.htm?job=operations_2&id=cellular
"Blocking & Jamming
The operation of transmitters designed to jam or block wireless communications is a violation of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended ("Act"). See 47 U.S.C. Sections 301, 302a, 333. The Act prohibits any person from willfully or maliciously interfering with the radio communications of any station licensed or authorized under the Act or operated by the U.S. government. 47 U.S.C. Section 333. The manufacture, importation, sale or offer for sale, including advertising, of devices designed to block or jam wireless transmissions is prohibited. 47 U.S.C. Section 302a(b). Parties in violation of these provisions may be subject to the penalties set out in 47 U.S.C. Sections 501-510. Fines for a first offense can range as high as $11,000 for each violation or imprisonment for up to one year, and the device used may also be seized and forfeited to the U.S. government. "
http://www.fcc.gov/Reports/1934new.pdf
thank you shadymilkman
thank you shadymilkman
Cell signals are blocked in hospitals and reastaurants ...
How can it be illegal to block cell signals?
They're blocked in important places, and unavailable enough in other places ...
They also cut people open in
They also cut people open in hospitals, sometimes they get a waiver to do things regular people can not lol
Blocking cellphones is different from jamming them
Blocking cellphone signals just means building a Faraday cage so that the signals can't enter. That's passive and totally legal.
why do we need more laws?
I'm actually disappointed in Paul that he would want more governmental legislation on anything that can be controlled by individual self will. Dude, don't use the phone. put it down. call later. get some self control. it's not like heroin or crack. it's a freaking phone.
I don't want more government intervention in life. I want my fellow human beings to get a grip and behave.
Dr. Levy, I'm kind of disappointed in you. I've been reading you for a really long time -- and this just bums me out. It's good that you put the call out to your friends and peers to blow up your spot if they think you're on the phone and hang up on you. It's kind of like the Red Hot Chili Peppers song when Anthony is singing "if you see me getting high, knock me down." But he doesn't say "if you see me getting high, pass more laws to punish me with REAL consequences." Asking your friends to hang up on you if they suspect you are behind the wheel is good. More laws? no.
Put the phone in the back seat or the trunk. And if we see you on the phone, we'll knock you down, knock you down. (sing it chili fans!)
Hmm, too subtle?
Golly, I guess I was too subtle for the humorous posting to be seen as humorous.
Folks, I used myself as a subject in this post to subtly refer to the thousands of people I see driving around while they gab on the mobile phones. That way, it wouldn't seem like I was lecturing.
I do, however, believe this is worthy of legislation. It will not happen otherwise.
To Amusings -- By the way, I am not a doctor. But I have to have the phone available to be reachable for emergencies at the hospital. Yes, I know how to pull over when it rings . . .
thank you
for the clarification. i totally took you seriously because you've never been silly to that extent in your writing. when one normally does not write satirically, i hope one forgives that one's readers didn't see the smirk.
sorry for calling you dr. levy.
:-)
Around 2000-2001 when I was
Around 2000-2001 when I was about 19, I had the same thing, where I liked talking on the phone while driving. Back then, I used to turn my phone off whenever I was in the car. No temptation, no answering incoming phone calls, etc.
More often than not the
More often than not the person facing me across the intersection is on their phone and they do that sloppy left turn with one hand on the wheel. Drivers around here are already self centered enough without a phone in their hand. I personally have no problem not taking calls while driving but there are a lot of people who cant seem to start their cars without lining up a series of calls. I'm all for the law, with heavy fines to help close the budget shortfall! Massholes are our great untapped natural resource.
More Often Than Not
I've stood on a corner of a busy street around 5pm on a Thursday or Friday, and counted the number of drivers holding a mobile phone to their head. It was approximately 50%, which is way higher than I expected.
As many of them were making evening plans, they may have been cutting short the plans of an unlucky pedestrian, bicyclist, or other driver.
Solution!
Get a scooter.
You will either pull over to use your phone or just wait until you get wherever you are going before you deal with whatever somebody wanted of you.
I haven't been on the phone while driving ever since I started driving around on 2 wheels. ;)