From the Detroit Free Press:
Amanda McBride went into labor last week as she was on her way to North County Regional Hospital, the Bemidji Pioneer reported.
General Motors said Wednesday that it would give a year’s supply of diapers to the Minnesota woman who delivered a baby while driving a Chevy car.
She was driving a red 2005 Chevrolet [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Distracted Driving’
Giving birth while driving, now that is distracting
Michigan did it [distracted driving]
From Gongwer:
The House has just approved a move to make texting while driving a primary offense.
The Republican-controlled Senate passed the primary offense measure after the House originally had approved making texting while driving a secondary offense, meaning a police officer would have to pull someone over for another traffic violation to cite a person for [...]
They give out Pulitzer Prizes for this? [distracted driving]
Earlier this week the 2009 Pulitzer Prizes were awarded. The New York Times and Matt Richtel took home the National Reporting prize for their Distracted Driving series which openly campaign for banning the use of cell phones in cars.
This particular series relies almost exclusively on tragic anecdotes and technophobic scaremongering. The data presented in the [...]
Arguments for banning cell phones in cars
I spend a lot of time poking fun at the New York Times and other ’safety experts’ who want to banish cell phones from cars, so I thought it only fair to take some time to listen to some of their arguments. To kick things off, here is a recent public service ad from the Highway [...]
Will the safety experts call for a bumper sticker ban now? [distracted driving]
Trying to read a bumper sticker on another car can be distracting for many of us. And it can be especially dangerous if you tailgate the car in order to get a better view of the sticker.
But for some people, seeing a simple Obama-Biden sticker is enough to send them into a mad rage and deliberately cause [...]
Michigan Senate votes to make texting while driving a primary offense [distracted driving]
While they can’t find the time to balance the state budget, qualify for $800 million in federal road funds, or reform the state’s broken tax structure, the Michigan State Senate did find time today to pass sweeping legislation criminalizing the use of cell phones in cars. This is apparently a pressing issue—despite the fact that [...]
Now the New York Times says EMS computers are dangerous [distracted driving]
First they wanted to ban texting while driving.
Then they said talking on a cell phone is distracting to drivers as well.
Then they informed us that using a hands-free phone is also dangerous, because the conversation itself can be distracting to a driver.
Then they vilified cell phone companies for inventing and promoting the product in the first place.
Then [...]
You can ban cell phones but you can’t ban stupid [distracted driving]
One of the reasons that cell phone bans don’t seem to reduce traffic accidents is that in the scheme of things, talking on the cell phone is not one of the more dangerous activities that drivers regularly engage in.
And even if you do managed to stop people from yakking on the phone, they’ll just come up with [...]
Now the NYT wants to ban billboards too [distracted driving]
Not content merely to fear monger about the immanent national threat posed by motorists who chat on their cell phone, the New York Times has decided to take on a new bogyman: electronic billboards.
From the New York Times:
Safety advocates who worry about the dangers of distracted driving have a new concern beyond cellphones and gadget-laden dashboards: digital roadside billboards.
These high-tech billboards marry the glow [...]
Surprise! Surprise! Cell phone bans don’t make the roads safer [distracted driving]
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety just finished a comprehensive study of the effectiveness of cell phone bans and the results won’t be surprising to regular readers of this blog. Cell phone bans, it turns out, have no effect on road safety and accident rates.
To repeat: The effect of bans wasn’t mild, or slight or [...]
