For Feb. 7----Road Watch…
OK, so there’s a recent study by the Highway Loss Data Institute that some legislators and the AAA believe that knocks the winds out of the sails of the issue of the need for a statewide ban on using hand-held cell phones while driving.
I think we need a widespread poll of drivers/readers – not just the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety which only conducted a study of insurance claim data from three states and the District of Columbia before and after hand-held cell phone laws were passed.
Their study found that there were no reductions in crashes in those states after the bans took effect. Do these statistics also include accidents attributable to alcohol- and drug-related use, speeding and reckless/aggressive driving? That’s not made clear.
Such bans have been enacted in seven states so far, including nearby New Jersey, Utah, Oregon and Washington.
An AAA Mid-Atlantic spokeswoman last week said the study was “significant” as Pennsylvania and numerous other states seek to implement such bans for drivers in a belief that it will make the roads safer.
The AAA said the study reinforces a long-held AAA concern that hand-held cell phone bans have limited impact because they cause drivers to switch to still-risky, hands-free cell phones.
The spokeswoman further added that hands-free phones offer no real safety advantages over hand-held phone because conversation (or DUIC) is the distracting factor, not the device itself.
H.B. 2070 – which also bans texting while driving -- is still in the Senate Transportation Committee and awaits a vote in the Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Sen. Dominic Pileggi is aware of the recent study, said his spokesman Erik Arneson.
He said that’s an issue Pileggi would like to see discussed in detail at a public hearing, which the transportation committee is considering holding.
Sounds good to me, like in a large auditorium at the Delaware County Community College, not some cramped borough hall.
Rep. Greg Vitali, D-166, of Haverford – to no surprise -- agreed with the study and staunchly maintains that the chief problem is “…not so much the talking but rather the aversion of the eyes from the road.”
In a rare occurrence, fellow columnist Gil Spencer even saw eye-to-eye with Vitali. I don’t.
He and others don’t get it that PREOCCUPATION is the key fact that makes DUIC such a dangerous distraction. To “preoccupy” is to dominate or engross the mind of a person, according to the dictionary.
You can be engrossed in a phone conversation and be looking out your windshield, but you still may not be paying attention to what’s in your field of vision – road conditions.
In other words, your mind’s somewhere else, get it?
It’s almost like daydreaming – deep in thought about some personal or stressful problem or some task that has to be done, etc.
Changing the radio, CD player or defroster buttons isn’t comparable. You can always take a sip of coffee when you’re stopped at a light.
It’s not the same as preoccupation. Get it!
Any vote on this important issue should be judged on the consensus of the driving public – especially those who have to daily endure careless drivers glued mentally to the hand-held cell phone stuck against their ear as they drive one-handed.
R1 Airport Line
Due to anticipated severe weather, SEPTA has cancelled scheduled work this weekend and will operate regular train service on the R1 Airport Regional Rail line Saturday and Sunday.
For the past several weekends, SEPTA shuttle buses have transported riders between 30th Street Station and the Philadelphia International Airport while overhead wire crews and Amtrak was performed.
The weekend shuttle buses will resume Feb. 13-14, March 13-14, March 20-21 and March 27-28.
Outbound Airport Line trains will terminate at 30th Street Station where waiting buses will carry passengers standing by en route to the airport.
Shuttle buses will depart 30th Street Station nine minutes later than the scheduled train departure time.
University City (Convention Avenue) customers will be able to board shuttle buses destined to the airport every half-hour starting at 4:36 a.m. and continuing until 11:36 p.m.
Eastwick Station customers will be able to board shuttle buses at Bartram Avenue at Station Drive to the airport at 4:54 a.m., then every half-hour from 4:54 a.m. until 11:47 p.m.
Inbound buses to Center City Philadelphia from the airport will depart Terminal A through E at 4:59 a.m. and then every half-hour from 5:22 a.m. until 11:52 p.m.
Traffic Delays
Chester, Parkside and Brookhaven – ADA ramp construction with restrictions between 21st Street and Beachwood Road 7 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays.
Chester – Seventh Street, ADA ramp construction with lane restrictions at Highland Avenue 7 a.m.-4 p.m. weekdays.
I-95 North/South – Upper Chichester, Lower Chichester, Chester, Upland, Ridley Township, Ridley Park, Tinicum, Chester -- Intelligent Transportation System Foundation installation with lane closures between Naamans Creek Road and Broad Street 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays.
I-476 North/South (Blue Route) – Nether Providence, Ridley Township and Springfield, ITS installation with lane closures between I-95 and U.S. Route 1, 9 p.m.-5 a.m. weekdays.
Haverford – Earlington Road, Aqua utility installation between Earlington and Covington roads 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays.
Upper Darby – Providence Road, Aqua utility installation with lane restrictions at Sycamore Avenue 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays.
Also, Garrett Road, PECO Energy installation between Shadeland Avenue and Riverview Road 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays through Feb. 19.
Aldan – Providence Road, Aqua utility installation with restrictions at Albert Avenue 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays.
Collingdale – MacDade Boulevard, borough utility installation between Felton and Roberta avenues 9 a.m.-3 p.m. weekdays through Feb. 25.
I-95 North/South ramps to the bridge – Chester, bridge construction with 15-minute stoppages on ramps 12:01 to 5 a.m. Wednesday.
Ridley Township – Fairview Road, Aqua Pa. utility installation, closed/detoured between Sherman Avenue and Emlem Street 7 a.m.-7 p.m., with 24-hour closure, detour posted Feb. 15-26.
Chester Pike – Ridley Township and Eddystone, PECO Energy utility work between Simpson Street and Old Bullens Lane 9 a.m.-3 p.m. through Feb. 18. Work began Jan. 28.
Baltimore Pike (U.S. Route 1) – Middletown and Chester Heights, bridge replacement with lane restrictions between Darlington and Station roads, 24-hour restrictions through June 2011. Work began Oct. 12.
Road Watch appears Sundays. Only messages and mail with phone numbers will be considered. E-mail: jroman@delcotimes.com.