Speaking of enforcement, why is it so hard to make tickets associated with red light cameras stick? If my car is caught running a red light by one of these cameras, I think it’s perfectly reasonable to send the ticket to me. If I was behind the wheel, then I fess up and pay the ticket. If not, however, you better believe that I would find the person who was behind the wheel. I’d love to see automated speeding tickets go out as well, but we need a way to make them stick before such systems could become effective. There is all this technology at our disposal, it works properly and effectively, and could help automatically enforce traffic laws, yet we can’t seem to make it stick from a legal perspective.

The accident comes amid attempts by several state legislators to ban the use of hand-held cellphones by drivers in the Bay State.

Numerous bills legislators filed this year to change the law have failed to gain traction on Beacon Hill, but Representative Joseph F. Wagner, a Chicopee Democrat and cochairman of the Joint Committee on Transportation, said yesterday that he plans a new push for legislation, currently in his committee, that would ban drivers’ use of text messaging and hand-held cellphones.

“The primary responsibility of people operating a motor vehicle is to drive,” Wagner said. “That requires a lot of time and attention, and things like cellphones and other types of technology that allow for communication between people are obvious distractions.”

I really like his sentiments in this last statement. It does seem like people are trying to do so many things while driving these days.