New Jersey to Ban Coffee Drinking & Other Activities While Driving
At least that’s what they’re trying to do. While sipping a drink and eating are typically “benign” behind the wheel, one can agree that any kind of distraction could eventually lead to an accident.
You’ve seen it happen; a woman curling her hair on her way to work, a man reading the newspaper, anyone of any age texting, Facebooking or video chatting… the different types of distractions are endless, but drinking coffee?
The new bill proposed by the Garden State would’ve give law enforcement the capability to pull someone over for a distraction as minimal as drinking coffee or eating a burrito one-handed. Assemblyman John Wisniewski proposed the bill nearly a year ago, but has yet to arrive to anyone’s desk for an official vote, and it’s not the first time a bill of this nature gets proposed. A few years back this was called “the ham sandwich bill” and now it’s “the coffee bill.”
While there are supporters for this idea, most consider that prohibiting a person from drinking their morning cup of Joe is as un-American as banning Black Friday sales. Especially when fines would start in the $200 to $400 dollar range, and then continue to go up in $200 increments a third and fourth time until the individual could have their license suspended for up to 90 days.
As a Dad, husband, and simply someone that likes to be safe behind the wheel, I can agree that minimizing distractions while on the road is an excellent thing. That being said, I don’t see how authorities could draw a clear line on this matter as in what’s safe and what’s not.
You?
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Story via: [TTAC]
