NYC goes one step further, bans in-ear cellphone devices for cabbies.
Many states and municipalities are beginning to move forward with cellphone bans, making it illegal to use your hands and talk on the phone in the car. Hands-free devices such as bluetooth ear pieces fix this. For cabbies in NYC however, life just became a much bigger pain in the ass — the city has unanimously voted to ban in-ear cellphone devices, specifically stating: “in the immediate proximity of the driver’s ear”.
Numerous reports and studies have been conducted showing the increased risk cellphone use in the car presents. Even hands-free use has been shown to increase the risk of accidents. But does it really matter? How far will governments go with the ban hammer. Just as a cellphone conversation or texting can distract driving, so can talking deeply to a friend, fiddling with the radio, and adjusting the mirror. Will the government ban that too?
If I come across harsh, sorry, I’m merely saying it how it is — at some point, you have to stop safety proofing the world. If we ever reach a point in society where there is no way for a person to die by accidental means, we’re all going to be trapped in our houses surrounded by our own miniature force fields and plastic bubbles.
With that said, I can understand and generally accept a hands free rule for mobile talkers in the car. But banning pretty much any type of communication is stupid, short sighted, and in fact more dangerous than the ear pieces caused. Mind you, cabbies have been banned from most cellphone usage for close to a decade now. The only reason this is cropping up again is because the in-ear devices made it nearly impossible to tell if they were chatting to the passenger, themselves, or the person in their ear. Not so anymore.
What do you think? Is NYC getting too draconian in their ways? I mean, you can only ban so many things and services in life before it starts getting over reaching. In this particular case, I’d say NYC is going overboard. What’s your take?
