A bill has been pushed by one staunch lawmaker to ban hand-held cellphones and prohibit text messaging when driving. Supported for its wisdom and effort to eliminate road accidents related to text messaging, the bill took effect on March 2008.
Now comes another wise bill calling to prohibit manual operation of GPS devices. Under such law, drivers will only be allowed to employ voice-activated systems to program devices while operated vehicle is in motion. If such law is passed, it would be the first of its kind in the United States.
Jersey City Democrat L. Harvey Smith introduced the bill on June 8, 2009 which states that only a voice activated GPS may be programmed while driving a car. Further, the bill proposes that violators will get a $100 fine for anyone caught text messaging or using a hand-held mobile phone while driving a car or any other vehicle.
Among the benefits included for the proposed bill would be that it will eliminate the hazards of manual GPS programming from behind the wheel. Even with GPS manuals clearly stating to avoid programming while driving, many remain stubborn and taking their chances at doing so.
The effort of Congressman Smith to combat distracted driving comes with a lot of opposition, saying manual GPS operations as similar to eating, changing DVD or CD, combing one’s hair or putting make up or a tie on while driving.
Still, many perceive a GPS device a distracting device like a satellite radio box with dozens of stations that streams all scores of the major league baseball on such tiny screen. Point is, not one lawmaker is proposing a ban on manual operations of a satellite radio.
While there is much wisdom in the proposed law, many perceive that common sense is what needs to be applied regarding their GPS system of choice.
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