by Brendan Trainor
Distracted driving and safety laws The Reno City Council’s new “inattentive driving” laws could get you cited for applying makeup, eating a Big Mac or sipping a Slurpee while driving. It carries a fine that approaches $500. A recent survey claims 47 percent of Americans would have a hard time raising $400 to pay for an emergency. Reno Attorney Larry K. Dunn criticized the law for its vagueness and how it puts too much discretion in the hands of the police officers enforcing it. The police have responded with assurances they would only enforce the law in extreme cases, implying an actual accident or traffic violation was required for a citation. Assurances against one’s interest are like a man promising to respect you in the morning. Reno is not Ferguson, Missouri, but large fines enhancing a ticket for a lane change smacks of revenue enhancement. The careless driving statute that also went into effect is described as a way
to curb street racing. So, why didn’t it just say that in the first place? Weren’t there already laws against dragging, or lane changing, or negligence? What we have are two catch-all laws that can potentially snare almost any behavior and ding drivers for an extra $500. If the laws are meant to be narrowly tailored, why weren’t they? Perhaps they cannot be. If there is an accident, is the officer going to look for food wrappings on the floor of the vehicle? A lipstick smear on the upper lip, perhaps? Besides the troubling vagueness of the laws and uncertainty as to how they will be enforced, there is a serious issue of real-world effectiveness. Basically, people will do what they’ve got to do in this life, and drivers who drink or eat or fiddle with the radio will continue to do so, only more covertly, and take their eyes off the road for a few more seconds just so they won’t get caught. Several studies show many states that have passed anti-texting laws have
experienced more texting-related accidents than before the laws were passed. Limiting the contact that police have with the public is also a way to limit escalations that can lead to police overreaction. Most of the police shootings and other deaths involving members of minorities started with traffic stops for minor offenses like broken tail lights. As Dallas Police Chief David Brown said after his officers were ambushed, we expect too much of our police. Simply training the police in de-escalation techniques may not be enough. Maybe we should limit the interactions of the police and the public in more conscious ways. These new laws will only encourage more police/public interaction. Washoe County Sen. Don Gustavson has tried many times without success to repeal Nevada’s motorcycle helmet laws. The idea is that many motorcyclists complain the laws are counterproductive because their hearing or vision is impaired by helmets. Helmets
FREE Letters ........................... 3 Opinion/Streetalk ........... 5 Sheila Leslie ................... 6 Brendan Trainor............. 7 News ............................. 8 Green .......................... 10 Feature ........................ 13 Art of the State ............ 18
reduce head injury but increase neck injuries. Seat belt laws encourage more risk taking on the road. Air bags can suffocate children and shoot shrapnel when engaged. On the other hand, raising the speed limit to 70 or even 80—like Nevada on certain roads—increases compliance without affecting safety. The Reno City Council believes its new laws will have predictable, certain results. Libertarians see that laws usually cause unintended consequences. Since the only tool government has is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Maybe Uber and driverless cars will be the free market solution to traffic overregulation! Or maybe the future will continue to be more limited than it should because many city councils will pass shortsighted laws. Ω
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