When a legislative body takes action without debate, something powerfully stupid is bound to happen. When it’s justified as “for the children” — you can bet your pretty floral bonnet that the stupid rises to epic. And here it is — Dallas adopts a cell phone ban in school zones. (Props to Dave Levinthal for an awesome lede.) I tried to point out last week the reason has nothing to do with safety since, you know, no one can point to any problem with cell phone wielding drivers running down kids in school zones. It’s really about the revenue they can raise. But as a friend notes this morning, there’s really a much bigger cost to laws like this.
16 comments
Dallas, you are *not* the city I “married”. How can you shame me in front of other people like that?
At least five kids should be killed by cell-distracted drivers before they even consider something like this. And even then the problem might not be the drivers, but these dangerous “school zones” where children commonly run across the streets pell mell.
Me, I’m waiting for the Starbucks ban in school zones – you know it will happen.
No revenue will be made from this.
It is against the law to Speed in a school zone.
It is against the law to park your car unattended in the middle of the street in a school zone.It is against the law to have small children without car seats, children without seat belts. children(plural)in the front seat and Children riding in pick-up beds. It is against School rules to park in the teachers parking lot, and against their rules to but in the pick up line.
As a volunteer crossing guard at my child’s DISD elementary school for the past three years I see all of these crimes happen on a daily basis. Yet, I have Never seen a policeman. No police patrol = no tickets= no money
No, this is not about revenue.
Blame HP for this trend… next, I bet HP will ban talking to your passengers while driving through school zones and then? banning driving a 2001 or older car through a school zone.
2001? Please. You give them too much credit. I say 5 years is more than enough for “normal” people to replace their cars. Besides, what kind of poor person would want to be seen in a POS older than 4 years? What are they, poor or something?
Remember about five or six years ago when a kid was killed by a DART train on Lancaster Ave. That was in a school zone. They didn’t ban the train. The didn’t ban the convenience store where the kid was running too. Blech. Stupid.
Danno you make the point. What use is passing more laws “for the sake of the almighty and precious child” if there is so many it becomes ridiculous to try and enforce any or all of them. This cell phone law is for idiots who sit up in a city council chair and think that if they pass laws/ordinances that make people feel good, they will get re-elected and the police will just take care of everything else… you know….cause they are so bored and all. Parents need to put down their copy of “It Takes a Village” and watch over their own kids and quit expecting preferential treatment in the form of laws. Start using common sense even if it means putting down your cell phone while your kids are in the car.
Of course the City won’t make money on this. Not after they pay for the signs warning of the new law, anyway.
BTW, “pretty floral bonnet?” Firefly reference?
This ban is so the useless city council and local government can feel like they have done some good. If it were really about children, it would be more broad and include putting on makeup, eating, and reading while driving.
Typical city council cr@p.
Trey – Good reporting. I agree with you on the absurdity of this new law. However, the “…much bigger cost…” is, I believe, the most important part of your report. I’d like to know how many burglaries could be prevented or solved if the police spent more time on that and less time on motorist harrassment.
@Joan: I’m sure it has to be a Firefly reference. If it isn’t, then I feel like an idiot after my response.
does anyone elected official in Dallas have any common sense, really, man, i can’t take these bans and inane laws that get put on the books simply because one mommy’s precious little baby gets hurt
if you’re dropping off/picking up your kid at school or otherwise in a school zone during school hours and the cell phone rings, must you answer it?
still the ban is useless, frivolous and a waste of everyone’s time and effort
we need more personal accountability and more common sense people, short of that our elected officials will continue to mandate these superfluous laws and bans
we as the populous need to wake up and start acting like adults to prevent these idiotic debates to even begin
fat, drunk and stoopid is no way to go through life
Anonymouse and Joan: On target. I am Captain Tightpants.
The question is, why do they need officers to write these tickets. Can’t they just set up cameras to take pictures of automobiles? The cameras could be programmed to shoot the faces, and the handhelds would show up then and the ticket could be sent. No muss, no fuss. While they’re at it, they could scan for littering and tailgating and, especially, Driving While Black. What a moneymaker!
Banning cell phones in school zones is actually LESS SAFE — have you ever tried to switch a call from handset mode to bluetooth while driving?? That’s exactly what you now need to do as you’re about to enter a school zone!!!