Driving while using your cellphone makes it more likely you’ll have an accident, it’s difficult to imagine anyone not knowing that, but governments also see it as an opportunity to make some money: Rhode Island’s lawmakers predicted a vast $6.2m in fines for drivers caught holding their handsets while at the wheel.  Now, however, budgetary “revisions” have scaled back that somewhat optimistic figure (which would’ve required 100,000 penalties to be issued) to just $473,000.

“With a budget that has so much pain, we need to make sure it’s as correct as possible.  We need to rely on numbers that are reliable and accurate and not just a guess” House Majority spokesman

It makes you wonder who came up with those figures in the first place: Rhode Island police would’ve had to stop more than 270 drivers a day, every day of the year, to reach the 100,000 estimate, which I can’t imagine would leave them much time to chase up other crimes. 

[image source: www.cellphonesafety.org]