So a St. Pete Times reporter decided to call up Sen. Jack Latvala, the Republican chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee, and asked him about the possibility of the Florida legislature passing a ban on talking on cellphones while driving.
"You know the NRA saying that if they want my gun they'll pry it from my cold dead hands? That's what I think about banning cellphones and driving," said Latvala replied. "Absolutely no chance."
He happened to be making the remarks on his cellphone while driving. He then got distracted, lost control of his car, swerved into another lane, and crashed into a car heading the opposite direction. The paramedics then pried his phone from his cold, dead hands.
OK, just kidding about that last part, but Latvala really was giving the quotes while driving.
His remarks comes just days after the the National Transportation Safety Board suggested that all states pass laws banning the non-emergency use of cellphones or other electronic devices while behind the wheel.
Between January and October about 2,218 car crashes in Florida alone were blamed on drivers using electronic devices. That number only includes the amount of drivers who admitted to police that they were using a cell phone while driving, so the number in reality is likely higher.
While more lawmakers may be open to some sort of ban on texting while driving, the Republican-controlled legislature doesn't seem prepared to make any outright bans on driving while chatting for obvious Republican reasons.
"It's definitely big government overreaching, it's definitely nanny state," Rep. Jeff Brandes told the Times. Oh, definitely. Definitely nanny state. What's next? Them big gubbernent commies gonna tell us we can't drink while driving?
"It's another attempt by the Obama administration to control our lives," Latvala added. "I think it's overblown. There are laws on the books against careless driving."
Damn straight Latvala, how dare that Obama forbid us from using cellphones while driving! Can't he get to work on getting Government out of lives all together? Like allowing woman to make their own reproductive choices and allowing gays to do normal people stuff? When's he gonna get on that?
This, may we remind you, is the same legislature who will decide in the upcoming session if they want to repeal a law on dwarf tossing.
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