Friday Foto
Ahhh, you’ve gotta love a Friday afternoon in Kingston. I just came in from a nice, long walk downtown. After 4 months of hibernation, I figured it was time to get out and reacquaint myself with our fine town. There’s still a chill in the air but the ice is melting and people are everywhere. It’s that perfect time when you can go out and enjoy the sun but still skate at Market Square.
I love peeking in the lovely shops on Princess Street and admiring the great architecture along King Street but there was one thing I saw repeatedly today that bothered me: texting and driving. It’s still rampant. Seeing a driver looking at his or her lap for 10-15 seconds straight is frightening and it makes me wonder what Kingston Police are doing about it. A conversation about this very thing came up on my Facebook newsfeed yesterday. A friend in Kingston saw an officer talking on his cell while driving. When the law came into effect last year, CKWS did a piece specifically about police and ambulance drivers and it turns out that they are above the law when it comes to cell phone use in cars. But why?
Don’t get me wrong, I think police officers should have cell phones if that’s what they’re using to communicate with their headquarters but why are they above having hands-free devices? And most important of all, why aren’t they doing anything about the hordes of people who are still using their phones while driving? Just last week Toronto police held a week-long cellphone driving blitz, ticketing over 2000 drivers for not following the new(ish) law. Perhaps Kingston needs to toughen up and do the same to remind folks that this bylaw is real and necessary. Using hand-held devices puts lives, or at the very least, our vehicles, at risk.
What do you think? Are you still texting and driving? Do you have a hands-free device for your car? Or maybe you’re of the opinion that this is a silly law. I just don’t want to be responsible for paying the bill when someone has an accident because they were too busy texting their buddy or playing Angry Birds.
If texting en route is so important, maybe we should just take public transport as today’s lovely photo suggests.
Thanks to NapaneeGal for that!
Fully agree, I have a big problem with my money (tax dollars) paying to heal people who do stupid stuff. Drinking and driving is in a league of its own, but texting certainly fits the criteria. What an ingenious way to save our heath care system.
There is no excuse for the police officers to be exempted from this law. There are hands free devices that will in no way infringe their ability to do their job – although don't they use those over-the-shoulder radio things to communicate? Or am I watching too much TV?
Anyhow, the enforcement of these kinds of laws is important and should be taken very seriously.
While they're at it they could spend a little time cracking down on the bicycle riders who ride on sidewalks and the people in Cataraqui Woods who park on them.