New Assignment For The MADD Folks

[SillyPuddy]

"Stand up and be counted. Start your own grass roots organization and change the laws if this is a point of concern for you."

** Well I sort of figured it like "If it's not broken, why re-invent the wheel"? MADD has huge legislative powers. Why not leverage on those powers to go beyond alchohol???

 

[CdwJava]

"Stand up and be counted. Start your own grass roots organization and change the laws if this is a point of concern for you."

** Well I sort of figured it like "If it's not broken, why re-invent the wheel"? MADD has huge legislative powers. Why not leverage on those powers to go beyond alchohol???

Sure ... why not leverage it to go for greater gas mileage, higher safety standards in construction, lobby for hybrid vehicles ... ?

The question is NOT why should they not leverage their power, but, rather, why SHOULD they?

Theirs is a special interest group with a single focus. Perhaps someone can change their charter and add this to their direction, but it will likely cost them political capital because there will be people who will oppose phone legislation - especially in CA. So, why should they risk deluting the area they are strongest in to seek another branch of legislation?

As has been suggested, if you think cell phones cause greater carnage on the roadway (and the facts do not bear that end result out), then go right ahead and start a movement of your own, or, join MADD and seek to co-opt it for that end.

- Carl

 

[Echo1]

SillyPuddy ~

Again.... organization with a FOCUS. Drunk driving and it's aftermath. I just cannot state this any more clearly for you.

I'll ask again because you don't seem to see my question....if this bothers YOU, why don't YOU do something about it?

MADD has societal and legislative goals. We are focused on one area of the law. As long as people continue to die at the hands of drunk drivers and others continue to kill by driving drunk, we have our hands full.

We'll leave the cell phone issue with those who may choose to start a lobbying entity of their own (hint hint)

 

[BigMistakeFl]

BigMistakeFl

"A study in The New England Journal of Medicine reports that drivers who used mobile phones while driving were four times more likely to crash than those who don't, a rate equal to that for drunken driving at the .01 blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level."

<Statistics have to be taken with a grain of salt; they can be manipulated too. I think both are dangerous and would like to see a ban of cell phone use while driving. I've seen how many drivers seem to become oblivious to driving when they have a phone in their ear. But MADD isn't about that, so I don't think they should be expected to take up that cause.>

"At least 25 countries restrict or prohibit cell and other wireless technology: India, Israel, Japan, Portugal and Singapore all prohibit mobile phone use while driving. Australia, Brazil, Chile, Croatia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iran, Italy,Lebanon, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, the Philippines, Romania, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates prohibit the use of hand-held cell phones while driving. Drivers in the Czech Republic and France may use cell phones but can be fined if they are involved in crashes while using such a device.

Restrictive legislation has been proposed in 40 states in the US, but only New York State, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C. have passed laws regarding cell phone use and driving."