INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Indiana lawmakers voted on several bills Wednesday, this time not involving property taxes.
In the House, a bill that would impose a statewide smoking ban in most public places in Indiana has died.
The House Public Policy Committee heard only brief testimony on
the bill before chairman Rep. Trent Van Haaften of Mount Vernon said there was no more time to consider it.[…]
The bill would have banned smoking in most public places, with
exceptions for bars, bowling alleys and casinos. The bill’s author, Rep. Charlie Brown of Gary, pledged to push the legislation again next sessionThe House Public Policy Committee also saw a bill to make it illegal for people use hand-held cell phones while driving be withdrawn yesterday.
State representative Vanessa Summers of Indianapolis has sponsored similar legislation in the past. But she withdrew her bill after several members of the committee raised concerns about it.
Rep. Eric Turner says Summers did not provide statistics showing how many accidents are caused by drivers talking on cell phones.
And so is putting on makeup, talking to your kids in the back seat, staring at that good looking babe driving in the BMW next to you, stuffing a quarter pounder down your gullet to feed your oversized butt, changing CD’s or messing with your i-Pod, etc, etc.
DT
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Which is why I’m against “Ban X While Driving” legislation and all for “Jail Time for Injuring/Killing While Driving Distracted” legislation.
If you’re jacking around with anything in you car and hurt/kill someone because you weren’t paying attention, the consequences should be stiffer than a temporary license suspension and $1,000 fine.
Well that’s good news this time around, with the score Adults 2 Nannies 0.
That’ll put a knot in their shorts for a while.
MichaelK,
At least you’re consistent. I watched a guy try to drive a stick shift and talk on a cell phone. It didn’t take him long to figure out why that doesn’t work. Common sense should have told him what experience had to tell him.
Every driver should know what they can and cannot do while driving. Some drivers can get distracted through a simple conversation with a passenger. Some people can change a CD while at a red light.
I agree that the conquences for stupidity in general should be higher. Some people just have a grudge against cell phones. Anything that takes your eyes off the road, (like a TV set) should be illegal. Stuff that can be done with one hand is more of a gray area.
The last thing any rational person should want is another frickin’ law on the books prohibiting cell phones while driving, and here’s the simple reason why….slippery slope……everyone sighs when you say slippery slope, but you know damn well, a couple of years after the cell phone use has been banned some moron is gonna kill someone because they were applying makeup while driving and sure as hell, some moron legislator will introduce a bill and so on. Once you open the door to make a “possible distraction” an arrestable offense you’ll need to clarify literally hundreds of activities in a car that could be distracting.
Like….a plain cheeseburger is NOT distracting, but a Taco could be. Better make a law!!
Tell the legislators to STFU.
Smoke & mirrors is all this is. It’s a way to distract the public from the
real issues.
brother, can you spare some CHANGE? if I had the money, I’d invent a handheld stereo player that looks like a cell-phone. then I could walk, and drive around, and sing to the songs, and look all self- important, pompous, and pretentious a real wheeler- dealer, local moveer and shaker. look at me I’m sonebody.
as dirty harry callahan once said- ” a man’s got to know his limitations”
and darwin said ” it just thins the herds of the stupid”. just stay out of the line of fire of these idiots, and you’ll be ok.
what next? dashboard slot machines?