I ASSURE you only the things I mentioned come into my rates.. I know this b/c I know all of my information which has not affected my rates, which are very low and I drive a fairly new car with a loan still on it..

I smell lawsuit somewher down the line. Owning a cell phone no more predicts a traffic accident than owning a refrigerator.

Not everyone is and idiot and tries to do things they are not suppose to while driving a car.

Do I think the community should come down like a ton of bricks on some one who uses a phone while driving? Absolutely. The catesrophic results are well documented.

Why the technology doesn't exist to some how jam the phone signal when used in a car I don't know but I wish it did.

People who hate this as much as they do DUI could help a lot by simply hang up on those who are talking while driving.

I just wish anyone caught while driving and useing a phone could be deprived the privledge of having service.

I predict there will come a time where owning a cell phone does require either a license or insurance or both.

I predict there will come a time where owning a cell phone does require either a license or insurance or both.

I agree. Cell phones and driving do not mix.

What's the next ad...drinking and driving cost lives.

Texting and driving costs lives.

coming soon people.jmo

This happened near me:

A local judge is considering a state request to dismiss a lawsuit filed against an Illinois State Police trooper who lost control of his squad car and before a crash that killed two Collinsville sisters and injured a Fayetteville couple.

The lawsuit filed by Kelly and Christine Marler, who were injured in the November 2007 accident, alleges officer Matt Mitchell was e-mailing with another trooper and talking to his girlfriend on his cell phone moments before he crashed his police car.

The couple filed a personal injury suit against Mitchell in St. Clair County. But such suits against state employees are normally filed with the Illinois Court of Claims. That's where the family of Jessica and Kelli Uhl, who were killed in the accident, filed their wrongful death claim last year.

Troy Walton, the Marlers' attorney, argued in court papers that Mitchell's actions were not in good faith — and a violation of state law — making the suit valid in St. Clair County.


"Mitchell cannot argue with a straight face that his personal cell phone conversation while en route to the Route 4 and Stein Road accident constituted a uniquely governmental activity which he participated in solely — or, for that matter, at all — because of his status as an Illinois state trooper," Walton wrote.

Mitchell is represented by the state attorney general's office, which is arguing that circuit court isn't the proper venue.

St. Clair County Judge Patrick Young took the issue under advisement on Wednesday.

Mitchell is criminally charged with two counts of reckless homicide in the Uhl deaths, and two counts of aggravated reckless driving for the Marler injuries. That trial is expected in September.

On Nov. 23, 2007, Mitchell was headed to an accident scene when the crash occurred. But the accident scene he was responding to already was under control, according to an accident investigator. Mitchell had his lights and siren on at the time of the crash, most witnesses have said. Mitchell was driving 126 mph moments before he lost control.

An Illinois State Police timeline says Mitchell answered a call from his girlfriend about four minutes before the crash was reported to police. The call ended about 30 seconds before the crash report. While on the phone, Mitchell e-mailed another trooper, the timeline indicates.

Mitchell, of Huey, a small town in Clinton County, was injured in the crash. He was involved in two previous crashes in six years as a state trooper. One resulted in a $1.7 million judgment against the state.

State Police officials say Mitchell turned off his in-car videotape system before the crash. A new policy, in effect since last year, requires that video cameras in patrol cars be active when emergency lights are in use.

Mitchell has been suspended with pay.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/illinoisnews/story/275DEA683EEB5213862575F500084DF2?OpenDocument

That Illinois trooper killed two sisters.

I'll have to remember...

Next time I need to scratch my butt.

Pull over and moon traffic.

(Reckon THAT wouldn't cause an accident)

i agree that phones can be a problem on the road...especially texting. around here you already get ticketed for using them in school zones. it's a start.

if they really wanted to save lives, lower insurance rates and reduce traffic there's one idea i've wanted for a looooong time; driving tests. i never even had to take one...at all. while it's true that many people would simply be on their best behavior during the test and then drive however they wanted on the street, some people would simply fail the test because they suck at driving. it's a privilege, not a right and in the hands of a bad driver a 2-ton car is more dangerous than a chimp with an uzi.

You didn't have to take one?

We have to take a written exam and a driver's test.

I live in Cali and here it IS against the law to talk on your cell (unless you have a bluetooth or something hands free) text, email or whatever on your phone while driving.

nope. there was a 20 question really easy multiple choice test on a computer. that's it. i'd love to see a driven test to initially get the license, then possibly even check-up tests every 10 years or so. i know i'd pass easily, even parallel parking (which driver's ed did not teach) and anyone who thinks they'd fail needs to improve their skills or get off the road.

and when i comes to hands-free devices, i think people get too comfortable. they're still distracted by the conversation and pay less attention to their surroundings. i just try not to use my phone unless i'm at a light or something.

In California, you must use a hands free device while driving. I miss the good old days when all you had to worry about was that 3 seconds it took to take a quick hit from a bowl. Now its like: "Is that a cop behind us? Put the Nokia down, dude!"