Oregon’s New Law (HB2377) is Illogical

Posted by Jacob Johnson on January 25, 2010 under Law, Politics | Read the First Comment

Oregonians passed HB2377 which became effective in 2010. The leading sentence for describing the intent of the law is that it “aims to reduce distractions for drivers so Oregon roads are safer for everyone.” This law perhaps originated from the 2002 study released by Harvard Center for Risk Analysis that 2,600 deaths and 330,000 injuries are related to auto collisions while cell phones were in use.

So I understand cell phone usage while operating a moving vehicle is distracting, and therefore dangerous. What I don’t understand is why we are focusing on cell phones, and not:

(1) Eating – “Eating while driving seems marginally more dangerous than talking on a cellphone (1.6 to 1 odds vs. 1.3 to 1)”

(2) Changing the radio station – “National Highway Safety Traffic Administration reports that most drivers engage in activities that take their attention away from the road. These activities include:
- Talking with other passengers: 81%
- Playing with the radio or CD: 68%
- Eating or drinking: 49%
- Using a cell phone: 25%”

(3) Applying make up (sorry girls) – “According to the NHTSA and VTTI study, the principal actions that cause distracted driving and lead to vehicle crashes are:

– cell phone use.
- reaching for a moving object inside the vehicle.
- looking at an object or event outside of the vehicle.
- reading.
- applying makeup.”

(4) Multiple Teens – “Two teens in a car increases the likelihood of a crash by 86 percent, three teens by 182 percent, according to research conducted by Johns Hopkins University”

(5) Navigation Systems – While I could not find research conducted on this subject, watching the driver in front of me swerving in the lane while typing into the nav system tells me this activity is dangerous as well. Heaven forbid you are doing this on your mobile device and are pulled over for “texting.”

Passing this law was illogical…why not prohibit the radio station from being changed, make up from being applied, navigation systems (non voice activated) from being used, or big macs from being eaten as these are all known to increase the distractions that drivers face? (“Driver distractions are the leading cause of most vehicle crashes and near-crashes. According to a study released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI), 80% of crashes and 65% of near-crashes involve some form of driver distraction”) Because something tells us this is infringes on our liberties and is too restrictive to our freedoms. Because we are giving the government too much power that constricts our ability to make and have choices. Yet, it is socially acceptable (probably in large part from the university research) to isolate and focus on cell phones, when we know eating is more dangerous. I applaud Oregonian’s (and other states) efforts to save lives with safer streets, but the laser beam focus on cell phones does not make sense, and should not have passed (unless the others above were included as well).

With an upcoming special election (in Oregon) that is attempting to increase taxes for higher income professionals as well as increasing taxes on business (based on sales), I am concerned there is potential for voters to employ the same laser beam focus without considering the ramifications.