DW-PSP Not (Yet) Outlawed in Honolulu

February 15th, 2009, 14:43 Posted By: wraggster

Remember the PSP-playing bus driver in Honolulu? The one who wasn't fired? Now six months later, the mayor has vetoed a city bill that would have outlawed playing games while driving.

Saying it is too specific and almost impossible to enforce, Mayor Mufi Hannemann struck down the measure that made it illegal to send text messages or play video games while driving. "A police officer operating a motor vehicle will only have a second or two to determine if the driver is committing a violation by text messaging or playing a video game," Hannemann wrote to the council.

As legislation goes, this seems a little unnecessary and reactionary to the bus driving incident, and laws like that are usually bad ones. Besides, if someone plows into a school bus because they're duking it out with Charon in Chains of Olympus, they're probably getting popped for reckless or careless driving anyway. It's probably a stupid idea to drive while baking a birthday cake, too, but that doesn't mean it needs its own law.

But the original bill's 7-1 vote means it has a veto-proof majority, so, Oahu drivers, please put down your Patapon and DS styli. Of course I don't like to see gaming singled out for abuse among all other behaviors, but really - if you're driving, you shouldn't be doing anything other than paying attention to driving. And that includes talking on the phone. At worst it's unsafe, and at best, the inevitable slowdown you see when someone makes or takes a call causes congestion, cutoff lane changes, delays at signals, headaches, and anger. I don't know a single person who doesn't hate cell phone drivers, but everyone does it.

http://kotaku.com/5153682/dw+psp-not...ed-in-honolulu

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