Monday, May 16, 2005
 
Not Impossible, Just Arbitrary
Both Neil Steinberg and Richard Roeper have weighed in on the new ordnance, whoops, sorry, ordnance is against the law in Illinois, ordinance banning use of cell phones while driving.

Roeper calls the ordinance "impossible to enforce:"
    Last Thursday I was in a cab crossing Michigan Avenue. There was a temporary backup because of a truck backing into a garage just east of Michigan, and we found ourselves right next to a traffic cop. She could clearly see that my guy was gabbing away on his hands-free phone, but she didn't say a word to him about it. So I spoke up -- and he reluctantly hung up, just as he was sailing past the address I had given him in the first place.

    If cops don't care about the thousands of cabbies using hands-free phones, are they really going to direct their energies toward finding motorists using hand-held phones? Are they going to position themselves at the city limits, just waiting for an unsuspecting motorist to cross 87th Street while still on the phone?
My dear Mr. Roeper, it's not impossible to enforce, but it would take a lot of effort to enforce the new ordinance, taking law enforcement resource committments from more important things. Chicago cops won't enforce this ordinance every time they encounter an infraction, but they will enforce the ordinance when they want to. That is, when they want to stop you for something or take a look in your car, they'll simply pull you over for talking on the cell phone.

Legislation in the twenty-first century doesn't address major crimes against people and property; rape, murder, and assault have been illegal for centuries. Instead, our elected leaders have to search for new things to criminalize. They've got all day to think it up since that's their full time jobs: to examine new technologies and brainstorm about how to criminalize and/or tax it.


- posted by Brian J. @ 7:31 AM
Comments: Post a Comment

<< Home
 
To say Noggle, one first must be able to say the "Nah."