Nathan Macomber understands the logic behind a bill passed yesterday that bans drivers under the age of 18 from using cell phones, he just doesn’t agree with it.
“As a kid, we think it’s BS,” the 17-year-old from Newton said about the combined House and Senate bill, which also bans all drivers from texting. “From a lawmaker’s standpoint we see why it got passed. We understand where they’re coming from but as kid we know enough to concentrate on the road.”
A new Pew Research Center study found that almost half of adults who text message have done so while driving and about a third of 16- and 17-year-olds admitted that they had done the same. Macomber doesn’t text and drive with his new touch-screen smart phone but said he memorized the keyboard on his old handset well enough to keep his eyes on the road and one hand on the wheel. He then said he does plan to follow any new laws.
But Lenore McBrearty of Milton, a student at Village Auto in Quincy, said it will be hard for her peers to adhere to the new law.
“It’s a teenage thing, we don’t listen to rules,” McBrearty said. “A lot of my friends have their license and they’re used to texting and driving.”
