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Utah Law Punishes Texters As Much As Drunks In Driving Fatalities
The NY Times reports on legislation in Utah which harshly penalizes people who cause fatal car accidents while texting. Instead of merely facing a fine, offenders may now get up to 15 years in jail — the same as drunk drivers.
"In effect, a crash caused by such a multitasking motorist is no longer considered an 'accident' like one caused by a driver who, say, runs into another car because he nodded off at the wheel. Instead, such a crash would now be considered inherently reckless. 'It's a willful act,' said Lyle Hillyard, a Republican state senator and a big supporter of the new measure. 'If you choose to drink and drive or if you choose to text and drive, you're assuming the same risk.' The Utah law represents a concrete new response in an evolving debate among legislators around the country about how to reduce the widespread practice of multitasking behind the wheel — a topic to be discussed at a national conference about the dangers of distracted driving that is being organized by the Transportation Department for this fall."
Perhaps, but at least it's fair in the sense that some malevolent behaviors aren't unjustly punished while others are given short shrift.
Like say, torture and warrantless wiretapping? We have a real double standard when it comes to lawbreaking: shmoes get sent to a Federal Pound Me In the Ass Penitentiary while we "look forward, not backward" on the rich and powerful.