banned
Last week there was a collision of two subway cars in downtown Boston. The driver of the car that slammed to the train in front of it admitted he was texting while operating his train, which ran the Red stop signal and caused the crash. Around 50 people were injured and there were no fatalities. This is a better outcome than the crash that happened last year were the driver was killed after her train ran a stop signal and slammed into another train. They suspected she may have also been on her phone, but it was never proven.
Today the MBTA powers-that-be officially banned all rail operators from carrying their cell phones while operating their trains. There are pros and cons to this decision and at this time I’m not sure which side I’m on. According to T employees, very few of them use their cell phones while working and when they do use them, it’s because their assigned radio equipment failed during an emergency and they have to call an official to report in.
Banning cell phones was the knee-jerk reaction I was excepting from the MBTA, and for the most part I’m glad they made any decision at all in such a short period of time. However, the main point of this post isn’t to bring to light train operators on their cells, but drivers on the roads.
The state of Massachusetts is currently in a financial bind like every other state in the Union. Out local government is scrabling looking for ways to cut cost and increase revenue. One gold mine is ticketing people who use their cells while driving. A few years ago MA put into effect a ban on cell phones while driving, which isn’t enforced at all. There were many times where I see people get into near misses or run lights cause they’re on their phones. One time I saw a guy run a light right in front of a cop. The cop didn’t pursue and upon closer inspection I realized why…HE WAS ON HIS CELL PHONE! This thing doesn’t just affect law abiding citizens but it affects those who are supposed to be enforcing the laws in the first place.
I feel little effort can be made to enforce this and wake people up to the reality that driving while holding your cell is just as dangerous as drunk driving. One cop stands on the corner and when he spots someone driving with their cell, he just walks into the street, points and signals them to pull over. It’s a similar tactic used to pull over speeders, and will work better downtown than on a highway. Since there are a ton of cops downtown anyway it should be that difficult to enforce, but things move slow here in the gold ol’ Bay State. We’ll see what develops.
MBTA, cell phones, laws
Reader Comments (1)
Last year, California made it illegal to hold your cellphone and talk on it while driving (hands-free is OK). This year, it is also illegal to text while driving and even to text while stopped at a red light because you could miss when the light turns green.
A few months ago we had the worst commuter rail accident in 4 decades with 25 dead and 135 injured because the conductor was texting (he was also killed). After that, the Metrolink system banned cell phone use while operating the train but it took them a while to come to that decision. Los Angeles is very cellphone dependent and despite the laws against texting and talking on a cell phone while driving, I see drivers do it ALL THE TIME. It is rather annoying because the reason I notice is because a driver is too busy talking on the cell to notice that I'm trying to cross the street or that the light has changed. Most of us really aren't in critical situations where a cell phone call or text message can't wait until we're off the road.