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OzzyKP
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Rockville, MD
Oct 1999
time: 00:21
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El Transcripto:
Fox News - Teen Cell Phone Bans
June 28, 2005
Host: A lot of studies out there showing that driving and talking on the phone is a very dangerous mix, but what happens when you add youth and inexperience to all that? Some people now want to ban cell phones for teen drivers. Is that the answer to keeping us all safer on the roads or is it age discrimination? Joining us now, President of the National Youth Rights Association, Alex Koroknay-Palicz, and also here, Barbara Harsha, she's the Executive Director of the Governor's Highway Safety Association. Barbara, first you, should teen drivers be treated any differently than the rest of us?
Barbara Harsha: Yes, they should. Um, teen drivers are 6.4 percent of all licensed drivers, but they're involved in 18.4 percent of all motor vehicle crashes that result in 13 percent of all fatalities.
Host: Ok, so let's just get the stats in there and see how Alex responds. Alex, it's hard to respond to statistics like that.
Alex Koroknay-Palicz: Well, I mean, those statistics don't really talk about the issue here, which is cell phones and cell phone use is distracting for all drivers whether you're 30 or 40 or 50 years old, or whether you're 16, so to put a ban just on one segment of the population, we think is unfair discrimination and we shouldn't stand for that. And whatever law you're gonna have, you should treat the population equally.
Host: Barbara, what about it? Is it because of the attention span of teenagers or what?
Barbara: Well, it's mostly because they are, um, inexperienced drivers. They, they don't, uh, have, have the, judgement, they don't have fully developed judgement, are easily distracted. We know from the research that passengers also distract, uh, young drivers, so anything that distracts a young driver is something that should, uh, be gotten rid of and we really wanna help young drivers focus on the task of driving.
Host: Well, Alex, there is a learning curve to everything, particularly with driving, something as complicated as that. While you're in that beginning stage of the learning curve, shouldn't you have all your attention focused on driving and not be distracted by a cell phone?
Alex: Well, two points. First of all, that learning curve can start at any point. Y'know, there are new drivers that start driving at 18 or 25 even and they don't have to have any of the restrictions that teen drivers have.
Host: Lemme stop you right there. Barbara, what about that? Shouldn't this apply to anybody, no matter how old, if they're a beginner driver?
Barbara: It, it should. It should apply to any novice driver and I think some states are considering doing that.
Host: Alright, so Alex you won on that point, what's your next point?
Alex: Ah, the next is that, y'know, studies show that the problem with teens using cell phones while driving is there reaction time is the same as a senior citizen. Now, think about that as, if a senior citizen not on a cell phone has poor reaction times, what we're doing is penalizing youth for being no worse or not better than senior citizens we, y'know, let off the hook.
Host: Let's throw that back to Barbara. What about senior citizens if, in fact, their reaction time is the same as teenagers, shouldn't they have the same restrictions, Barbara?
Barbara: Um, well, um, very few senior citizens use cell phones that I know of [nervous laugh], um, and what we wanna do is not penalize teens but protect them. Um, they're clearly over-involved in crashes. Uh, we know that there are things they do that distract them from the driving test-- task, so why not, um, prevent them from driving distracted.
Host: Understood, but if, in fact, senior citizens have the same attention deficit problems that teenagers do. If seniors have the same as teenagers, shouldn't both groups be disallowed here?
Barbara: No, actually, older drivers are, on a per capita basis, are far less involved in crashes than, than teenagers. So, that doesn't--
Host: Probably because of the speed they're driving at, I would suspect, but that--
Barbara: Well, they're self-limiting drivers as well.
Host: Ok, alright, well, Barbara Harsha and Alex Koroknay-Palicz, we thank you both for coming in and let us know how this shakes out, ok.
Alex: Thank you.
Barbara: Thank you very much.
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mrmitchell
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Ozzy, you're my hero.
Maybe if you keep filling bits every now and then for them they'll give you a big part. They seem to like you.
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OzzyKP
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Rockville, MD
Oct 1999
time: 00:21
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quote:
Originally posted by Wiglaf
The ironic thing about this crusade for kids' rights is that kids are not active in participating in your organization on a national scale.
In this case, for a demographic to be discriminated against, that demographic needs to realize it. If they don't, and they don't, then that undercuts your arguments that they will be proactive and responsible members of the community.
If they can't defend themselves then they aren't interested. Then therefore adolescents should not be given the right to vote or participate in big-boy democracy. And that's really your main contention with your organization, not cell phone rights. On that issue, statistics speak for themselves, I think. If not, fine, let them drive with phones. ..that's more of an ordinance than a civil-rights issue.
Big point remains that they aren't capable of democracy. |
Ummm, most of our members are in high school. Most of our board (or at least most of the people running for the board this year) are in high school. Some are even in middle school.
Youth are definitely actively participating in the organization. Am I 17 anymore? No. But I was when I first got involved, but the drumbeat of time marches on. So rather than throw out our most experienced leaders we keep people around so they can keep this organization alive and healthy. There isn't anything scandolous about it.
We are a mixed organization though, plenty of people over and under 18. What is interesting though is how people criticize us from both directions. Either accusing us of being a bunch of adults who are making a big deal where none exists and youth couldn't care less. Or a bunch of whiney teens who will understand why youth rights isn't a big deal once they get older.
We are a bunch of youth who do care, and adults who still think youth rights is a big deal.
And finally, ordinances ARE civil rights issues. Simple ordinances are how Jim Crow laws existed. Simple store policies allowed all forms of discrimination. Just because people aren't being lynched doesn't mean its not an important civil rights issue.
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Wiglaf
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Cambridge
Dec 2000
time: 23:21
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quote:
By that reasoning you'd disenfranchise 2/3 of the electorate. |
I've seen 2/3 of the electorate get mobilized about abortion and the Iraq War. The last time 2/3 of the kid population got mobilized was to screw in those drive-in theater places.
For the youth movement to be worthwhile it needs to maintain that kids will be responsible members of the electorate. And yes Ozzy I would expect that a Youth Power board would be made up of mostly high schoolers, but I have a feeling your membership is not consistent across the board.
IE, I see 88 people on your message boards (only 5 are members; the others are just browsing) now and only a handful of chapters across the 50 states.
If I had looked at a woman's suffrage board back in the day I have a feeling I'd see something more substantial.
Last edited by Wiglaf on 29-06-2005 at 23:15
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28-06-2005 23:52
. The point about Seniors being involved in less crashes (whether or not it is because they drive so) is a good point on her side.
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I remember her saying that & wanting to comment on it at the time. Anything that distracts, huh? Say goodbye to billboards, streetsigns, and basically anything that might look interesting along the side of the road. 
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