BY KEVIN SAWYER – They say that such a thing could only be thought up by politicians from New Jersey. Recently, politicians in that state have proposed a law that would make it a crime for anyone caught drinking coffee while they are driving. New Jersey politicians have already established a law like no other in the country. It is currently illegal for anyone to pull into a gas station and pump their own gas.
The actual proposed law states forbids, “any activity unrelated to the actual operation of a motor vehicle in a manner that interferes with the safe operation of the vehicle on a public road or highway.” And, of course, as usual, the politicians refuse to define what any of that means so it will, apparently, be left to the police to decide what such unrelated activities would be.
The proposed law, it seems, is aimed to eliminated distracted driving. Recent statistics from the New Jersey Division of Highway Safety states that over 800,000 vehicle crashes were blamed on distracted drivers between the years 2010-2014. Nearly 3,000 of those crashes happened in 2014 alone according to the state agency.
The Democrat politicians who have written the proposed law have stated that they have modeled it on the current distracted driving laws in Maine. In 2009, the state of Maine made all manner of distracted driving a crime. The proposed penalties for breaking this new proposed law would be gradual fines beginning at $200 and going upward to $800. After the third fine, the driver’s license will be suspended and the driver will do 90 days in prison.
The Democrat sponsors of the legislation say, as they usually do, that the law is not aimed toward punishing people. The law, they say, as they usually do, is to “educate” people. Drinking coffee while driving is already against the law in Minnesota.
PHOTO CREDITS: Pixabay