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I suspect what it will really take is a MADD-style campaign to turn public opinion heavily against using phones while driving. Just zinging people when they ge

I suspect what it will really take is a MADD-style campaign to turn public opinion heavily against using phones while driving. Just zinging people when they get into a wreck won't modify behavior much; there needs to be a punishment for actually engaging in the behavior. Doing it with laws won't cut it either; the people who enforce said laws are some of the worst offenders when it comes to tinkering with mobile devices while driving, from what I've seen. (I wouldn't be surprised to find out it's a job requirement.) About the only mechanism that can really do the job with any sort of consistency is social pressure.

bittermang 15y ago
I've said this before, and I'll restate it again here for relevancy. We have spent people's entire lives vilifying drunk driving. We haven't had nearly as much time to demonize texting and driving. Comparatively, it's a relatively new phenomenon, even if the act of driving while distracted (cheeseburger, conversation, just plain not paying attention) are not. I've personally been in the car with someone who was so nervous and preoccupied with something that was on his mind, he rear ended a guy who was in front of us plain as day. He wasn't drunk, he wasn't texting, he was just thinking too much about things that weren't on the road. A lapse in judgement and observation and SMACK right in to the next guy's bumper. Education on why it is a terrible, horrible idea to text while driving is certainty a step in the right direction, though I've always been a believer in making the punishment fit the crime. Driving while texting and cause an accident? Take away your ability to send/receive text messages.