So I’ve came to the conclusion that distracted driving is essentially just as worse as drinking and driving. Cos well, it also interconnects, no? Drinking while driving is also distracted driving. And if we talk about someone drinking a lot before they drive and whether distracted driving should be punished the same way, I think it should be punished if it’s like, excessive.
Multi-tasking while driving should be limited but, if it’s clear the driver is doing horrible at it, it should be punished like a drunk driver would, but I don’t know, the judgement can be at a mark of perception and how the police feels, and if that’s a new law, it could be improperly used and taken advantage of to hurt innocent people, so what do you think? @Discussions?
Personally, I feel like this is quite a complex topic.
I have three very noisy siblings, so when they go wild in the back of the car, yes, my parents (one of whom being the driver) will get distracted for a time, until the situation calms down.
Charging someone the same way for drinking while driving and getting distracted while driving just doesn’t seem to make sense. Unforeseen circumstances happen. Drinking is a conscious choice that the driver makes - the kids starting to wrestle in the back isn’t. You see what I mean? Sure, if the driver was on his phone or something like that, I’d be more inclined to charge them similarly to drinking, but not if the circumstance was out of their control.
I feel like it should be punished worse.
Because in a way you are in a clear mind and so you consciously make the choice to do something behind the wheel.
Getting drunk is a conscious choice, but once you’re drunk, you can’t make rational choices. So I think that the moment someone makes a conscious and rational choice to endanger themselves and others, it should be punished more severely.
A factor I don’t really see being discussed is how the actual enforcement will happen. Distracted driving is the number one cause of car crashes, and most of that is in the category of phones being used. Even if there is no present law related to it, there is still the backlash of taking care of the actual crash. The only way to enforce that is to use a breathalyser for alcohol and hope that someone is high enough to seem that way with drinking and driving. There are plenty of people that can drive alright on substances without going full blackout.
So it’s hard to actually catch everyone, but at that amount, it feels more redundant to go to those lengths. Yes, it sucks that fatal distracted driving or drunk driving is a thing, yet it may be more influential to look at the reasons for why they happen as opposed to depending on the law to scare everyone into following suit.
On the enforcement part, at least where I live, it can be considered racial profiling to pull over certain drivers if it even seems like something with the car is off. The idea that distracted driving should be punished can certainly help in some areas done right, but there needs to be some way to keep that in check in the first place.