Decius wrote:
On July 1 it will be illegal in Georgia for anyone to read, type or send a text message while driving.
Sigh.
And “driving” includes being stopped at red lights or awaiting an arrow in a turn lane.
I do not think that there is a rational explanation for this law as passed. Prove me wrong.
Do you support this law?
If so, do you think it ought to be illegal to look at a map while stopped at a red light?
If yes, then please explain why there is a national movement to ban reading text messages but there is no national movement to ban reading maps or other things and there has been no such movement over the long decades that maps have been available to drivers.
If no, then do you think it ought to be illegal to look at a map on a phone while stopped at a red light?
If yes, then please explain the difference between reading a map on paper and reading a map on a phone.
If no, then please explain the difference between reading a map on a phone and reading a text message on a phone. Please keep in mind that this question is longer than the maximum text message length.
In addressing these questions please avoid delving into a discussion about the amount of concentration involved in sending a text message while driving a car that is in motion. That is not at issue here. While the law in question banned that behavior, it banned a whole host of other behavior as well. If you support this law, you must endorse banning all of the behavior that it banned, and you must be able to rationally explain its scope.
Different states have passed different text messaging while driving laws with different wording, and the language in Georgia's law is among the most broad. Supporters of this law must be able to articulate why this language is preferable to more narrow language passed in other states.
Again, I don't think its possible to explain this law rationally, because I don't think that there is a rational explanation. The people who wrote this law did not take care to craft it in a reasonable way. It is intentionally overzealous. Prove me wrong.
Just wanted to add to the conversation that apparently the governor took a very long time in deciding to sign this, and only signed it under the condition that as soon as the next session starts, this law must be reworded to be less vague. He apparently had many qualms about the wording of this law, but I am guessing he just wanted to go ahead and deter people from texting while driving (especially inexperienced drivers) until they could iron out better wording/more clear law. There is a family in Georgia who lost their son because he ran off the road while texting and accidentally killed himself, and that family is lobbying big time for this law to be passed. Anyway, it will be interesting to see how they reword the law when the new session starts.
