The new cell phone law went into effect this week and Utahns across the state responded accordingly in this week’s letters to the editor across the summery and vacation-ready state of Utah.
The new distracted driving law is supposed to cut down on accidents from the distractions of a cell phone on the road.
It became abundantly clear to me on April 27 just how important it is to look up and pay attention to the road as a Riverton Police vehicle repeatedly swerved between lanes on I-15 as I drove past with my 5-month-old child in the back seat. Luckily, I was paying attention to avoid an impact.
When I passed the vehicle, I could see exactly what the problem was. The officer had neither hand on the wheel and was turned with full attention on his laptop.
While the law picks and chooses which aspects of cell phone use apply, perhaps we can all take a lesson from the spirit of the law and look up from our cell phones, and laptops, to focus on the road.
Lionel James Lewis, Sandy
Some people say that drivers in Utah are bad, and if this is true, then we need to step up our driving a bit. People aren’t taking action to improve their driving, so if it is necessary, Utah will have to enforce it by law. And this is what has had to happen. I am glad to see that Utah is making texting, dialing or doing pretty much anything else with your phone while driving illegal. However, I think that some parts of this law have been taken a little too far. If you are listening to music on your phone, it is illegal to take out your phone and switch to a different song. It is pretty much the same as pushing a button on the radio of your car, only on your phone. Despite overreaching on this law, I hope that we will see improved driving in Utah.
Dallin Oyler, Layton
Big lie caused destruction, thousands of deaths
All of the lies he mentioned did not cause one death of an American serviceman or woman. One of the biggest lies in recent memory was the one about Iraq having weapons of mass destruction and how we needed to go get them so they wouldn’t be used against us.
Well, that lie caused thousands of deaths of American servicemen and women, thousands of wounded both physically and mentally, and deaths of thousands of innocent civilians.
It is morally wrong, perhaps even criminal, to have to tell grieving parents that their son or daughter died as a result of a lie.
Yes, I agree with Mr. Reynolds, let’s remember some of the lies that politicians stated in the past.
Stephen Harris, Roy
Transferring land to Utah would cause harm
Commissioner Gardner’s assertion that federal land should be transferred to Utah, thus assuring “fund education, better care for our environment, grow the economy and attain energy independence” is false.
What he really means is that if Utah were given the land, county commissioners like himself would immediately sell off your former public lands to the highest bidder. Does anyone really think that the ordinary citizen would benefit from this? I would suggest the oil and timber industries, real estate developers and mine developers would get the lion’s share of land since they have the money to purchase it. Sounds like just another way for government to get more money.
Oh wait, we don’t like big government, except when it is our big government.
As to your point that Mr. Bundy “has done us all a big favor,” please count me out. I do not want favors from someone who refuses to obey the laws, proclaims he does not recognize the federal government, owes money to all Americans, yet parades around with the flag of the country he does not recognize.
Joe Kros, St. George
