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Permalink Reply by joemac on January 5, 2011 at 12:07pm

I'm glad it wasn't worse, but it serves as a reminder that we have to always be on our toes out there. You almost have to governed by fear, even in situations that seem to be removed from danger, such as directing traffic. You just never know when some yahoo who is texting while driving is going to see you when it's too late, if he even sees you at all.

Driving a vehicle is not taken as seriously as it should be, in my opinion. Radios/stereos, cell phones, GPS systems, even other passengers, all represent distractions. Everyone needs to concentrate on their driving, which has become almost secondary to all the other activities in the car.

I never use my phone in the car, unless I'm parked. I have it turned onto 'drive smart' which sends an automatic message to the caller, telling them I'm driving and I'll call them back. I don't listen to music unless I'm on a long trip on a highway, and even then, I turn it off if I find myself concentrating more on the sounds than my driving. I don't like having passengers talk to me and I keep my dash lights turned off, which I find to be an annoying distraction. If I want to know how much fuel is left, I turn the thumbwheel up and then back down to off. I take driving as the serious task that it is. I wish everyone did.

Not to boast, but in over 42 years of driving, I've had two accidents, neither of which were my fault. Mario Andretti couldn't have avoided either of them.
*rant over*

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Permalink Reply by Fabulous Heather Days of Summer on January 5, 2011 at 12:13pm

I love this new law. And I love that it comes with a huge juicy fine.

And I love that they are enforcing it.

It is a huge deal where I live in Southern California - where people drive on average 80 mph on the freeways.

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Permalink Reply by Derek R. on January 5, 2011 at 4:54pm

Yes, I agree also, that this new law sounds great...AFTER the fact. We still need to find a way to eliminate the need for the fine in the first place.

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Permalink Reply by bill wilby on January 5, 2011 at 7:20pm

in philly a ladder is dispatched as safety company to block lanes on expressway ops it helps

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Permalink Reply by Billy Terry on January 5, 2011 at 10:52pm

Here in Alberta, we have a great partnership with the local law enforcement. This includes the Alberta Sherrifs, Commercial Vehical Enforcement, the County Peace Officers, and the RCMP ( Federal Police agency). At almost every call, other than medical assists, there is some form of law enforcement on scene with us. In the event we get to scene first and someone doesn't follow the law, all we have to do is obtain the licence plate, and a unit number if it is a company vehical, and give the information to the RCMP. The officers love to pay a personal visit to the offending driver, ask what happened, and then hand them a ticket for as many charges as they can. This usually includes dangorous driving, reckless driving, speeding through an emergency scene, failing to provide the right of way to an emergency vehical (when we are responding hot), failing to obey traffic signage (the stop/slow signs we use for traffic control) and occasionally public endangerment. Most of the charges will be dropped in court, but it gets the point accross beautifully.

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