Chapel Hill bans ALL cell phone use while driving

[KickballDeac]

http://www.hlntv.com/article/2012/03/28/chapel-hill-bans-cell-phone-use-while-driving?hpt=hp_t2

Chapel Hill, North Carolina, has just become one of the first towns in the nation to pass a ban on all cell phone use while driving, according to the News & Observer. And when they say all cell phone use, they mean it. They’re not just talking about texting while driving.


Have a Bluetooth headset? Yeah, you can’t use that.


Does your car make calls for you? Sorry, you can’t do that either!

 

[ImTheCaptain]

too bad so sad.

 

[wakegrrl]

In the spirit of full disclosure, it's only a secondary violation. So they can only pull you if you're doing something else illegal, not solely for being on your phone while driving. And I think there's an exception for talking to a spouse or parent (or maybe that was a previous version...the town council has been talking about this forever).

 

[bojanglefunk]

In the spirit of full disclosure, it's only a secondary violation. So they can only pull you if you're doing something else illegal, not solely for being on your phone while driving. And I think there's an exception for talking to a spouse or parent (or maybe that was a previous version...the town council has been talking about this forever).

As soon as someone gets hit with this the law is going to be overturned anyways.

 

[ConnorEl]

Fine with me.

 

[HuskyDeac]

Hasn't cell phone use been shown to cause more accidents than drunk driving?

 

[Milhouse]

could've just banned woman drivers and accomplished the same thing.

almost every time i am behind a person driving poorly it's some dumb bitch cackling away on her phone.

 

[awakeandready]

I wish they would do this in the Triad as well. Half the time people on the phone aren't even driving THAT crazily but they're going like 15 miles under the speed limit.

 

[Wakeforest22890]

I doubt this is upheld, but I'm no legal scholar.

 

[RJKarl]

Why wouldn't it be upheld? It's more dangerous than drinking and driving. There's no constitutional right to tlak on a cellphone.

 

[bojanglefunk]

Why wouldn't it be upheld? It's more dangerous than drinking and driving. There's no constitutional right to tlak on a cellphone.

Because municipalities don't have the power in NC to pass that law. Laws can be overturned for reasons other than the fact that they violate a constitutional right. In fact, most laws that are overturned aren't overturned because they violate a right that is given by the constitution, but instead because they are outside the power granted by the constitution (here the NC constitution would be the one at issue).

 

[freakadeac]

Now how are UNC fans going to find out about the deals at Wal Mart?

...

 

[RJKarl]

Because municipalities don't have the power in NC to pass that law. Laws can be overturned for reasons other than the fact that they violate a constitutional right. In fact, most laws that are overturned aren't overturned because they violate a right that is given by the constitution, but instead because they are outside the power granted by the constitution (here the NC constitution would be the one at issue).

So towns in NC cannot pass public safety laws? No town can make any traffic laws?

 

[bojanglefunk]

So towns in NC cannot pass public safety laws? No town can make any traffic laws?

Are you serious? Is that what I said at all? The law is preempted by state law because the state is already regulating cell phone usage.

 

[RJKarl]

I asked questions. Here in HB, we have stronger cellphone laws than other places in CA.

 

[deacdiggler]

hard to believe that someone would interpret your questions as argumentative rather than just a quest for knowledge.

 

[deacondamo]

could've just banned woman drivers and accomplished the same thing.

almost every time i am behind a person driving poorly it's some dumb bitch cackling away on her phone.

You misspelled Asians. Although I guess you Southerners aren't exposed to that all too much. This happened to me just this morning. Guy was driving 55 in the left hand lane of a 65 mph highway. I passed him on the right and looked, obviously an Asian guy. Maybe the rules are reversed in Asia and slow people drive in the left lane. #noidea.

 

[deacondamo]

Lame tag, by the way. This isn't Pack Pride.

 

[Hogie]

How could they ever write even one ticket for someone using an in-car bluetooth? There's no possible way to know anyone was using that unless they're the dumbest person alive. Oh, you saw me moving my mouth? I was singing.

 

[Say Hey Deac]

In order for someone to challenge the law, someone is going to have to be cited under it, which is going to be difficult. This is one of those laws that may sound great in theory, but will prove extremely difficult for a police officer to enforce.