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Saturday

30

January 2010

Study Shows No Impact From Cellphone Bans

Written by , Posted in The Nanny State & A Regulated Society

The only thing worse than nanny attacks on freedom is when the restriction is completely ineffectual:

A national crackdown on distracted driving takes an unexpected turn today. A new study shows that the number of traffic crashes did not drop in three states and the District of Columbia after they banned drivers from using handheld cellphones.

They go on to express surprise at the results.  But ought we really be surprised?  The ban is difficult to enforce, which means people are likely to ignore it.  Moreover, there are infinite ways to be distracted by driving.  Someone who isn’t holding a phone to their ear could be using blue-tooth instead, or changing radio stations, or playing with their GPS, etc. etc.

At the end of the day we have to ask ourselves, if their own safety isn’t motivation enough to pay attention to the road, are laws really going to make any difference?