Cell Phone Driving: It Should Be Illegal. Supplemental Article #1
Since I published my article titled Cell Phone Driving: It Should Be Illegal , Something catastrophic happened here in my home town. I didn’t witness this accident on Lilly Road in Menomonee Falls Wisconsin, but it was all over the news. It was a fatal traffic accident involving a teenage cell phone driver who had passengers in the vehicle with him. The news broadcasts clearly outlined the fact that the teenage driver was engaged in cell phone use at the time of the accident. The teenage driver survived the crash; One of his passengers didn’t. This happened during the 2008-2009 winter season. This is the extent I’m going to go on this incident because it is not my intention to cause additional sorrow in this matter, but then the circumstances involved in the accident are those we need to know about if we want a cell phone driving ban.
Then since I wrote the article, I’ve had more observations regarding cell phone drivers. I’d like to talk about one particularly. Again, this happened in Wisconsin, and it involves a ‘County Snow Plow Truck’. For peace keeping reasons I’m not going to give the name of the county as shown on the side of the yellow and blue truck.
A two lane road (side by side traffic) I see a county plow coming toward my direction in the oncoming traffic. About a half block away I see him take out a residential mail box at the end of someone’s driveway with the wing blade on the passenger side of his plow. The plow being the oncoming traffic eventually passes me in traffic going the other direction with the two yellow lines being the only thing between us on the road. As we pass each other I see this plow operator is on the cell phone. I have a big problem with what I just saw. Property damage as a result of cell phone driving. My concerns with this incident go farther than just the property damage.
First of all, … your on tax payer time pal; Why are you on the phone? Don’t say you’re talking to your boss, … if your boss wants to call a guy in one of the county plows, he or she would call on the truck mounted two way radio.
Most importantly, the huge liability involved in doing this. Especially in this type of vehicle. These county trucks have controls for operating two separate massive plow blades plus the controls for the salt spreader on the back of the truck; In addition to operating the clutch and stick shift when driving these rigs. Cell phone driving while operating a plow truck is absolutely unacceptable. No if’s, and’s or but’s about it.
Everyone knows kids love to play in the snow. They make designs, wrestle, build and tunnel in snow. If a plow driver is cell phone driving while driving one of these heavily equipped trucks, he or she isn’t giving their job the full attention and prudence it deserves. It would be a total nightmare to hear that a plow truck scooped up a playing child, turning it into a bag of broken bones as it was swept down a street by a negligent snow plow operator. This plow driver is lucky the only thing he hit was a mail box, … but even that shouldn’t have happened. Again, … we need a cell phone driving ban. When are our law makers going to open their eyes.
Even if we can’t succeed in banning everyone from cell phone driving, another option is banning cell phone driving for things like snow plow operators, cab drivers, school bus drivers and any construction equipment operated on public roadways. Then for that matter, keep it simple, …go after a law that bans cell phone driving in any work vehicle.
Reporter Joseph Toth
Washington Micro Bank BBS
