comment: >
  
  Leaving your hi-beams on while driving around other people should carry the same weight as drunk driving. Mfers are out here blinding me.
context: Pretty sure I drive better drunk than I do while texting. >
  
  How do you know…? >
  
  I don't. Lol I won't even drive the next morning. >
  
  Agreed. But it's hard to prove. As it is now, it's just a ticket with a cop's word against the person. 
  We would be giving cops absolute authority to ruin someone's life with zero proof. A DUI charge would financially ruin your average American who lives paycheck to paycheck. >
  
  yeah that's true. A cop once pulled me over for being on my phone. In reality i was just vaping. It's really exhausting to "prove" you did nothing wrong. Of course this doesn't apply to every cop but the one i had was so hurt in his ego because he was wrong, that he desperately tried to find something else i might have done wrong. It took 30 minutes till i could go on.
  I don't really know any good way of catching drivers on their phone that wouldn't lead to other big problems. >
  
  In the UAE there are artificial intelligence speed cameras all over the place that can detect if you are texting and driving and then it is forwarded to humans for verification and you get ‘black points’ and if it exceeds a certain number of points you get your license taken away. Texting and driving is extremely dangerous. >
  
  I'll drink to that! >
  
  In Norway you get a fine equivalent of 700 USD and 3 "strikes" out of 8 before you lose your license.  
  As a motorcyclist, I'd wish it was more. >
  
  As a motorcyclist I know you see the worst of the worst driving.
  I hope that penalty is just for the texting. Where I was from in the US the fine for drunk driving was about 25 times higher than this but texting was right around here.. I think. >
  
  I agree! Every time I see someone texting while driving it just makes me mad. >
  
  Agreed, but is this even an unpopular opinion? >
  
  I think it's even worse. I can't quote the statistic, but I would be willing to bet on it that more accidents are due to phone use rather than alcohol use. >
  
  Make the fines as high as they are for commercial drivers and it might make people think twice. It’s a $2750 fine in the US for a commercial driver to hold their phone while driving. >
  
  I think it's much worse >
  
  If you keep it in your lap, it's hard to prove. >
  
  Texting while driving is actually more dangerous than driving drunk, I'm in favor of upping the punishment for both crimes.