SF City Council

Sioux Falls Cell Phone Ban is rearing it’s head again

l3wis October 18, 2018 7Comments

Oh, Shucks, Sneve beat me to the punch again. I actually heard about this this morning but dilly-dallied and didn’t post about it. He’s a better writer anyway;

City Councilor Janet Brekke this week said she plans to propose new restrictions on the use of cellphones and other electronic devices while behind the wheel in the coming months.

I still really haven’t changed my position on this. If I were on the city council I would vote against the measure. But I think if Brekke gets the whole council involved in helping to shape the ordinance, she will get more buy in, and I see at least 4-5 of them supporting it. If it is a tie though, not sure how the mayor would vote.

I guess I don’t get to worked up about this. I actually am more worried about Christian crosses being painted on snow plows owned by taxpayers. I would follow the ordinance if passed, but here are my issues with it;

• While talking or texting on your cell phone is distracted driving, so is eating, doing your makeup, playing with your dog, etc, etc. Should we ban ALL activity extra-curricular in a vehicle? Well maybe. But guess what, we already have laws for that;

• Reckless or careless driving is already an offense. If it is determined you caused an accident while talking on your cell phone, you can be charged. Should these penalties be stiffer? Should they be felonies with jail sentences attached? YES! But that is a job for our state legislature (if we can just get them to stop worrying about abortion and guns so much).

• It has also been determined through national studies that even hands free cell phone usage in a vehicle is distracting, because it is the conversation that is distracting NOT the actual holding of the device. So how do you remedy that?

• Enforcement is really a pickle. I think our patrol officers have enough to do without trying to see if people are talking on their phones or not.

• Lastly,  I often tell people, there are good drivers and there are bad drivers. No amount of laws will protect us from bad drivers. Ever! I tell young drivers something I learned riding a bike on the streets of Sioux Falls, you must ALWAYS be a defensive driver.

Like I said, I would follow the ordinance if passed, because it would make me a safer driver. But I also think it is just compounding laws that are already on the books.