By Michael Kennedy
Texting while driving is dumb. Passing unjust laws is dumber.
A just law must be applied equally to a population and must not discriminate. The texting ban that recently passed the Kentucky Senate, as part of Senate Bill 23, is unenforceable and discriminates against drivers without smartphones.
The bill looked dead, but Kentucky state Sen. Denise Harper Angel attached the restrictions on texting to a larger public safety bill. Never mind the fact that it is completely unenforceable.
The bill bans “any person operating a motor vehicle in motion on the traveled portion of the roadway from writing, sending, or reading text-based communications using a personal communication device. This includes text messages, e-mail, Internet and instant messaging…. Exclusions to the bill would be the use of a GPS feature of a personal communication device.”
Now when the police of Kentucky aren’t fighting crime, setting up speed traps, staking out stolen cars, or checking whether drivers are wearing seatbelts, they can differentiate a driver texting from one punching in an address on Google Maps.
Will officers make accused motorists prove their phones have GPS functionality? Will they have to map the route to the nearest Krispy Kreme? Drivers with old or entry-level phones would never be able to convince an officer they were using the GPS function. This law discriminates based on income, since nicer phones tends to correlate to higher disposable incomes.
Still texting from behind the wheel on that old RAZR? You better upgrade to a GPS-enabled phone before Jan. 1, 2011 or you’ll be subject to a $25 fine ($50 for subsequent citations), plus court costs.
Harper Angel’s bill has good intentions. Far too many people are dying because of distracted driving: This caused 199 deaths in Kentucky last year, according to her press release. But cell phones in general, the radio, all GPS devices, food, makeup and other passengers are all distractions. We should probably ban them too. How many accidents have occurred while the driver was having a conversation?
At some point, government needs to stop passing arbitrary, unenforceable laws over every conceivable issue. Drivers who choose to text while driving understand the risks, but they decide to do it anyway. This law will only do more harm than good, diverting police officers that have real crimes to fight.
