The difficulty is enforcement.

**spudchucka** · 21st January 2008, 06:19

Its dead easy to enforce. Cop sees you texting and driving = cop gives you ticket. Whether they are texting or not is irrelevant, if its in their hand while driving it is likely to distract them from paying attention to the road.

The only difficulty is most of you don't even trust cops to operate speed detection equipment honestly, (often accusing them of just making speeds up or issuing tickets to drivers based on speed readings obtained from other vehicles), so why would you trust them to police this when it would rely totally on the cops ability to spot offences and their integrity to police honestly?

**onearmedbandit** · 21st January 2008, 06:36

How many people here have complained of getting a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt when they are 100% sure they were? None I'm guessing. Same would apply for texting while driving. Your comparison spudchucka is, well pathetic.

**NighthawkNZ:Me** · 21st January 2008, 06:40

Originally Posted by 98tls

What am i missing here,as far as i am aware cops have eyes like the rest of us,"i am issuing you with a ticket for driving whilst using a cell phone" methinks that could work.

The only real way is if the cop catches you in the act... using detectors may become messy, as they aren't accurate enough to say it came from that car there. Same for Trianglation and spending fine to their bill...

I pulled over and did it.
My passenger was texting... (even though s/he still wears nappies and is in baby's car seat thats not strapped in properly behind me)

Sending a text message would be too quick to get a accurate speed, as it dials in, sends the message and cuts off in a matter of seconds

Originally Posted by Jim2

For peak hour traffic, just fine everyone through their bill who uses it between 7am and 9:30am. Yes this includes passengers. Tough. The inconvenience is worth 30 lives.

So we now get fined and ticketed for doing the right thing and not breaking the law... I as a passenger quite often answer the others halfs cell phone while she is driving... and if they really need to talk to her, I get her to pull over...

I as a businessman being driven around by my driver and or in a taxi, would answer my cell phone.

That I would disagree with...

Talking on the phone the phone (hands free of cause) is not as bad and can except that... its the act of texting and driving that gets me... typing the actual text requires more brain power and consertration than just talking on the phone you are continusily looking at the phone to see what you typed, and of cause requires a hand for an extended period of time to type when both hands should be on the wheel...

**spudchucka** · 21st January 2008, 07:04

Originally Posted by onearmedbandit

Your comparison spudchucka is, well pathetic.

No its not, you don't trust cops to police speed honestly so why trust them to police anything else, surely its just an opportunity to gather more revenue.

**onearmedbandit** · 21st January 2008, 07:11

Generalisations are even more pathetic.

**spudchucka** · 21st January 2008, 07:13

Originally Posted by onearmedbandit

Generalisations are even more pathetic.

Welcome to KiwiBiker, its one big generalisation!

**twotyred** · 21st January 2008, 07:13

Originally Posted by spudchucka

No its not, you don't trust cops to police speed honestly so why trust them to police anything else, surely its just an opportunity to gather more revenue.

Once they find away to make it pay,yup

**Bikernereid** · 21st January 2008, 07:16

You are supposed to get done for texting whilst driving in the UK but only today some stupid bloody woman nearly hit us whilst texting on the motorway. People will always flaunt laws if it they can get away with it, end of story.

How to enforce it before it causes an accident is something else.

Originally Posted by Big Dave

Texting when driving tragedy.
I read the 'difficulty enforcing' with some incredulity.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/...ectid=10487746

**onearmedbandit** · 21st January 2008, 07:17

Originally Posted by spudchucka

Welcome to KiwiBiker, its one big generalisation!

No, no it's not. Out of the 2000 active members here do all of them bitch and moan and accuse police officers of issuing incorrect speeding tickets? I'll answer that for you. No they don't. But I suppose years of being a police officer make you so cynical and paranoid you think everyone hates you.

**more_fasterer** · 21st January 2008, 10:41

Great post, Candor. Interesting that our road "safety" enforcement is being directed by treasury...

Originally Posted by candor

The "difficulty with enforcement" is double talk for the fact the resource allocation experiment (RAM) run in NZ since 1995 appears to inhibit or prohibit enforcement of things other than speed, alcohol and seatbelts.

These are termed as "the vital few" (Treasury Pathfinders project - website inaccessible to non Government staff)

So the guy was drink-driving, and texting, yet people are focussing on the fact he was texting??

**Headbanger** · 21st January 2008, 10:46

Originally Posted by spudchucka

Its dead easy to enforce. Cop sees you texting and driving = cop gives you ticket. Whether they are texting or not is irrelevant, if its in their hand while driving it is likely to distract them from paying attention to the road.

The only difficulty is most of you don't even trust cops to operate speed detection equipment honestly, (often accusing them of just making speeds up or issuing tickets to drivers based on speed readings obtained from other vehicles), so why would you trust them to police this when it would rely totally on the cops ability to spot offences and their integrity to police honestly?

Perhaps then your time would be better used for catching criminals, rather then revenue gathering the soft targets.

Amazing how our car was broken into and we were fobbed off by the police, yet they had no trouble finding time to pull us over and be dicks.

Respect goes both ways. If the Police have lost the trust of the Public then they are to blame.

**ManDownUnder** · 21st January 2008, 10:50

I like NYC's broken windows policy of old. Bust people on the small stuff - and the big stuff goes away.

Texting and driving? F wits.
Drinking and driving F'wits!

Both??? f'wits^2 ???

**James Deuce** · 21st January 2008, 10:52

Originally Posted by NighthawkNZ

Talking on the phone the phone (hands free of cause) is not as bad and can except that... its the act of texting and driving that gets me... typing the actual text requires more brain power and consertration than just talking on the phone you are continusily looking at the phone to see what you typed, and of cause requires a hand for an extended period of time to type when both hands should be on the wheel...

Sorry but talking on the phone is worse than a blood alcohol level of .08.

There is an ever increasing body of work to suggest that passengers shouldn't talk to the driver, there shouldn't be music or radio in a car and GPS needs to be ditched as well. Communication uses areas of the brain that are required for attentive driving.