It has been nearly ten years since (then) Governor Maggie Hassan signed the hands-free law prohibiting motor vehicle operators from using handheld electronic devices. We were told it would reduce traffic fatalities (Death on the Highway!). I never believed it and suggested things would get worse.
They did.
New Hampshire reported 95 motor vehicle-related deaths in 2014 before the law passed and has struggled to stay anywhere near it.
- 2014: 95
- 2015: 114
- 2016: 136
- 2017: 102
- 2018: 134
- 2019: 90
- 2020: 98
- 2021: 106
- 2022: 137
- 2023:127
- 2024: 100 (to date)
We don’t have other factors at hand, such as total vehicle miles traveled each year (I didn’t feel like digging them up). We do know that the majority of fatalities still result from the same triad of incidence that has always plagued young and old alike: impairment, Speed, and distraction.
We also know that since the hands-free law passed (even though we already had a distracted driving law), the State Police have (sort of/kind of) reimagined what “distracted driving” is.
There is also the matter of distraction in general. Once you remove things you can readily identify after the fact, like drugs, alcohol, or a medical emergency, the exact nature of the accident or the distraction becomes increasingly subjective. Human error, distraction, operator error, and even fatigue can be documented, but short of an eyewitness or a survivor, there is only so much you can do to pinpoint the actual source of that distraction.
The point here is that claiming a reduction in vehicle-related deaths from a specific distraction to justify taking away everyone’s freedom is far too self-serving for a reasoned cynic to accept at face value.
It is easy to do, but it is self-serving and a lot of guessing. But if you drive, you know. You see people on the phone or texting while driving. You see them looking at their lap, eyes nowhere near the road or their path of travel. It is a problem acknowledged by public officials, law enforcement, and irritating part-time pundits like myself. And everyone knows that the people most likely to do these things will do them without regard to the law, for which they might get a ticket (maybe).
For them, dying doesn’t even have a spot in the equation. And you see them everywhere. Ubiquitous. The law isn’t stopping it.
The result is the universal abrogation of liberty from everyone to address the few who won’t follow it anyway. We made the point repeatedly during the debate. There are as or more distracting activities you aren’t banning behind the wheel. The hands-free ban was always virtue signaling.
And now it’s an excuse to push for mandatory seat belts?
“The rising number of young drivers losing their lives on New Hampshire’s roads is extremely concerning — and it’s time to stop the trend,” said N.H. State Police Col. Mark Hall in a prepared statement Tuesday. “These tragedies have altered families forever and left loved ones devastated. As we continue to analyze data and trends, it is evident that a majority of crashes are preventable. We know that speed, impairment, and distraction remain leading causes of crashes in our state, and we urge everyone to rethink their driving behaviors to reduce the risk of collisions and save lives.”
…
New Hampshire remains the only state without an adult-occupant seat belt law.
First, young drivers have always been at a (significantly) statistically higher risk for accidents and death; that’s why their auto insurance is so high. And an opportunity to use dead kids to push for a mandatory seat belt law.
States with them do not have consistently better fatality numbers in any age group, and New Hampshire had fewer road-related deaths without a seat belt law before the hands-free law was passed.
Again, it is no secret that the sort of people who will ignore the law are the same people who are now looking down at their laps instead of holding the device at eye level where—still dangerous—they can at least see the road.
People are more distracted trying to not get caught than they ever were when they were free to use devices openly. Yes, we all see folks who ignore the law. Who use them in plain sight. And it’s annoying if we’re trying to comply. And there’s “never a cop around.”
And? “Hands-free technology meant to replace handheld phones and that “culture” is no less of a distraction, according to the NHTSA.”
We knew all of this before they passed the bill, and they did it anyway.
