Senators Propose Bill Prohibiting Phone Calls On Planes

SonicSpike writes with news that two U.S. Senators, Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), have proposed legislation to ban cell phone calls while aboard an airplane. This follows a recent announcement from the FAA increasing the range of electronic gadgets travelers can use while flying, and a vote by the FCC to consider allowing phone calls during flight. However, even as those government agencies work to lift regulations on in-flight technology, the Department of Transportation is pondering a in-flight call ban of its own, saying it might not be "fair" to consumers to have to listen to other passengers talk on the phone throughout a long flight. FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said, "If we move beyond what we do here today and actually update our rules to allow voice calls on planes we can see a future where our quiet time is monetized and seating in the silent section comes at a premium."

Comments

what?

[Charliemopps]

Are they going to ban them in restaurants next? Movie theaters? What an idiotic premise!

Re:what?

[H0p313ss]

Are they going to ban them in restaurants next? Movie theaters?

That would be nice. We already know there's a special hell reserved for those who talk at the theater.

Re:what?

[glavenoid]

It should be up to the airlines whether or not allowing voice calls would cater to their passengers, but airlines should have leeway on how they enforce their policy, such as being able to forcibly disembark a passenger immediately upon violating a voice-call prohibition.

Re:what?

[X0563511]

Indeed. There is zero reason this needs to be legislated.

This is just congress fucking off instead of doing what they are supposed to be doing, again.

Re:what?

[SJHillman]

"such as being able to forcibly disembark a passenger immediately upon violating a voice-call prohibition"

I propose an exception - if the violation happens before take-off, they should have to wait until the plane reaches a certain minimum altitude before the forcible disembarkation.

Re:what?

[edibobb]

We should ban talking altogether. Terrorists have been known to use speech in training as well as in the execution of terrorist attacks. Child pornographers and drug cartels are also frequent users of speech.

Re:what?

[gstoddart]

Are they going to ban them in restaurants next? Movie theaters? What an idiotic premise!

In a restaurant, I can ask my waitress to tell you to STFU. If she fails to, I can (and will) walk out.

You already can't use your phone in a movie theater.

Being stuck on a plane for several hours while some sales wanker is on a conference call -- well, let's just say the cabin crew might have to break up a few fights and deal with the fallout of someone who has had enough. After you've won buzz-word bingo for the 3rd time in 15 minutes, it wears thin, and people have already been stressed out by the process of going through the airport.

Mark my words, I bet it would take less than 2 years before the first in-flight murder of a cell phone user or something silly like that. Because the people who feel they can't avoid using their cell phones often have absolutely no awareness of those around them, because they feel whatever they're doing is so important that the rest of us should have to put up with it.

Re:what?

[Virtucon]

Yes it's called the Alamo Drafthouse.

This person is why Cell Phones need to be banned on airplanes in this country. If I had to listen to her talk endlessly on a flight I'd probably look for the nearest emergency exit and throw her out! Yeah, there'd be collateral damage but honestly if a person can't be bothered to not use their phone in a theater what makes you think that they'll be polite on a plane?

Re:what?

[DexterIsADog]

Yeah, it would be awful if congress were to, say, spend enough time to rationally examine energy policy, and pass laws to encourage responsible nuclear power in addition to renewables.

Re: what?

[Anonymous Coward]

Sure, and the trumpet player who's travelling to his next performance should be allowed to make productive use of his time by practicing. It's not like you have a right to peace and quiet at the expense of his convenience.

Join the conversation

[tomhath]

If the person next to you is talking on the phone just join in. Comment on what they say, ask what the other person said, etc. Someone rude enough to have a phone conversation in a crowd won't catch the sarcasm, but at least you'll annoy them as much as they annoy you.

Re:Really?

[CohibaVancouver]

What's difference between talking on a phone and talking to someone I am traveling with as far as noise disruption?

Because of low (or absent) sidetone on cell phones, people tend to speak much more loudly than they would in a regular conversation. Additionally, if the connection is poor people tend to shout. This is why most people find cell conversations disruptive.

Charge $10/minute

[aegl]

Airline keeps half. The rest is distributed to the people sitting next to the person making the call.

Re:i'll make sure my kids make lots of noise

[Dragonslicer]

s/fog horn/vuvuzela

No jury in the world would ever convict the guy that kills you.

Give me liberty or give me silence!

[mosb1000]

Talking on a cellphone in public should be a federal crime. In fact, let's give up all our freedoms in order to avoid minor annoyances!

Re:Good morning Vietraq

[Bill_the_Engineer]

Which has already proven to be less harmful to the USA than when the DNC rammed Obamacare (is that "racist") through, without even reading it ("must vote for it, to see what is in it"). So far, Oregon spend 300 million to enroll 44 people, good FUCKING use of tax dollars.

You're kidding right? The amount of money we spent and the amount of interest we will pay to fund the two wars dwarfs any economic damage that Obamacare supposedly will cause. We won't know the final cost of the wars since we will be paying for the casualties that return home for quite a long time.