Chris Dragan's Corner

A few years ago California introduced a law which bans texting or talking over the phone while driving. The problem is, that this law is unenforceable.

Every day I see many people clicking on their smartphones when waiting on the red light and often even when driving. Not only they risk their and other drivers’ lives, but they also show disrespect to other people. It always makes me angry when I am waiting on the red light behind somebody, the red light turns in to green and I am waiting multiple seconds before the clicker in front of me notices the green light. Often I have to honk to draw that person’s attention, the person starts driving lazily and keeps clicking.

The problem is so widespread that the police has no way of catching the clickers and enforcing the law. Maybe in 10 years we will have technology which blocks the phone when it is inside a car, maybe phones will automatically detect that they are inside the car and will lock their UI. Also self-driving cars will probably also take over when they detect that the driver is not paying attention or is drunk. Until then, the anti-texting law should probably be repealed, for it makes no sense.

What do you think? Do clickers annoy you when they are blocking your driving, do they offend you, or are you OK waiting for someone whose mind is somewhere else and not on the road?