Monday, February 5, 2007

Cleveland City Council to Consider Banning Cell Phone Use While Driving


This article on male infertility because of cell phone use aside, I think most of us consider our cell phones a way of life. As a Realtor® I cannot imagine not having one. I know that Brooklyn, Walton Hills and North Olmsted don't allow me to use it while I'm speeding, er, driving down the road - may as well stay within the letter of the law! Of course common sense has to come into play even when I'm in a community that DOES allow it. I know the State of New York passed a ban; I wonder how that is working there?
Why am I bringing this up now? Well, Councilman Dolan (Ward 21) has introduced legislation to ban cell phone use while driving, in the City of Cleveland. You could spend a couple of months in jail (probably unlikely) or many hundreds of dollars in fines (much more likely). My opinion? There are people who pay too little attention to their driving, be they on the cell phone, applying makeup, fishing for some mysterious file under the seat (is it not amazing how frequently we see that?). Banning cell phone use still does not preclude someone from being stupidly distracted in a different way. I would have loved to link to the City Council page here but their site is still not working (I will add it if that changes anytime soon). OK good news, the City Council Website is now up and running.

My last bit about cell phones is a shout out to Michele Connors post on Active Rain today regarding the Do Not Call Registry. You can get all the details from her post, but the synopsis is this. You may like telemarketer calls, but if you don't, or don't want to pay for cell phone minutes while listening to a telemarketer, you can call the Do Not Call Registry at: 888-382-1222.

In less than two weeks, telemarketers will legally be allowed to solicit on cell phones and that is a big change in policy. So this is a heads up. When you call the number above, make sure you are calling from the phone you want to register. The registration is good for five years. The website has complaint forms you can use when telemarketers call you (once you are on the Registry List of course). If you would like information on the general Do Not Call Registry for land line phones check the FTC site here.
A little music to lighten things up, thanks to Travis Tritt.

Peace Out - 3C