[quote name='UncleBob']It's quite different. First and foremost, you're suggesting that the government step in and restrict passengers from being able to talk/text while in a moving vehicle. This is no where *near* yelling fire in a crowded theater. Second, unless, of course, there is a fire, there's no legitimate reason to be yelling fire in a crowded theater. There's a multitude of legitimate reasons as to why someone might have a conversation while driving - on or off the phone.
And - for the record, I can send a short text message on my phone using a single hand and without taking my eyes off the road any longer than it takes for me to look into the other seat/cup holder and grab my phone. Less time than it would take most people to change the radio station. I don't text while driving often (hell, for that matter, I often don't even have the radio on while driving), but I can do it with less effort than someone digging through their purse or yelling at their children in the back seat. I haven't had a single moving violation in the years since I've gotten my cell phone either (currently sporting an Illinois Safe Driver sticker on the back of my license).
I do - however - agree. It can be dangerous - but a minority of people being unable to "handle such a small personal responsibility" should not force the entire population into loosing rights.[/QUOTE]
Ok I have never called someone an outright liar online before, but you sir are a liar. No one can send a simple text message other then maybe thx or ok in the 2 seconds it takes someone to change a radio station or set their phone down. Putting that aside though and pretending that you text at the speed of light is the fact that most people do not. I cant go out anymore without seeing someone driving stupidly because of texting. Every time we go out without fail there is at least 1 or 2 people that we see texting while looking down and not at the road. I have seen numerous accidents almost caused by this, and the main reason its an almost is because the non texting driver did something to avoid the accident. Just last week we had someone driving about 10 miles in a 30 mile zone, we cut him some slack and figured he must just be looking for a specific house since he was in a plumbing van...but nope as we pulled past him he was texting on his phone, wrists on the wheel head down in the same position most texters are. As we pulled past him the guy looked up and realized he was about to hit a parked car. This is your typical texter.
I think one problem bob is you do not realize that you are an intelligent and responsible person. You do not hold other people to the standards you hold yourself, you just assume they live life at the same standards. Problem is they dont. The average American does not pay attention when texting in the car, the average American does not save money for a rainy day, the average American does not invest in their retirement, the average American does not do research in to their health care....the average American does not take any kind of personal responsibility for themselves and as a result everyone around them pays for it. This is 90% of America and I would say let them kill and injure each other since its not my place to tell them what to do. However the problem is those idiotic 90% effect us 10% that actually give a shit about our personal well being.
This is why I am ok for the government to step in and make rule after rule and regulation after regulation. In the last 50 years or so we have proved we can no longer take care of ourselves, we have proved that the conservative dream of small government and people and business doing the right thing is the tooth fairy. If we do not have government run healthcare then we have high numbers of uninsured who turn up at the hospital and pass their expenses on to the rest of us. If we do not have regulation in the business sector they trash the environment, send every job overseas(or to Mexico)they can and find ways to basically cheat people. And if we do not have laws about when and where you can smoke then you have smokers in public places harming everyone else.
If this was an issue like wearing a seat belt or not I could care less, you only hurt yourself. As with the above issues though this hurts both the responsible and irresponsible members of society. When we prove we can take care of ourselves again, or at least respect that our descions effect other people, then I will start worrying about losing personal freedoms to the government. Till then I am more scared of Norbart no insurance and Tiffany Texter then Uncle Sam.
