Thursday, October 25, 2012
Needham parents: Tell us your mobile phone rules.
When surveyed last spring, 43 percent of Needham sixth graders said their parents don't monitor their cell phone use, though they reported spending an average of 2.04 hours daily sending text messages. With many cell phones these days capable of doing much more than sending or receiving calls—from texting to Internet surfing to video watching—allowing kids unbridled access to their phones is not all that different from letting them loose on the Web. Needham Youth Services Jon Mattleman recommends parents assert their authority—remembering who pays the bill—and set some limits on phone time for the middle to high school age. So what do you think? Should kids be allowed to keep their cell phones in their bedrooms, or do you take them away …
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Different techniques will be tested during the two-year program.
In an attempt to stop texting while driving, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is funding a program in Massachusetts that will station police on highway overpasses to spot drivers texting while driving. The traffic safety administration is giving $550,000 for Massachusetts and Connecticut to “help them plan and conduct high-visibility anti-texting enforcement programs,” according to the federal agency. “Each state will receive $275,000 to develop and train police officers on better methods for spotting drivers who are texting, and to develop media techniques that alert the public to the perils of texting and driving,” according to the transportation agency. Some of the techniques that …
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Do you know how many hours a day your kid spends online?
Needham sixth graders send an average of 23 texts per day. They spend about two hours each day sending messages by phone and several hours on the Internet doing homework, surfing the Web, playing games and going on Facebook. And 31 percent of them say they can’t tell their parents all the websites they visit. That’s the finding of Needham Youth Services’ latest Safe Surf Workshop Survey, conducted last spring during a program at High Rock School that educates sixth graders about safe Internet use. (See the survey results as a PDF in the image gallery at right.) The department has offered the Safe Surf program annually for several years, and the topics have changed over that time, according to Youth Services Director Jon Mattleman. In the …
42.274301
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High Rock School
77 Ferndale Rd, Needham, MA
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Needham Town Hall
1471 Highland Ave, Needham, MA
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Friday, January 27, 2012
The Boston Globe reports that legislation went through Thursday.
A ban on operating a cell phone in any way while driving in Massachusetts is one step closer to becoming a reality, according to the Boston Globe. The Globe reports that the State Legislature’s Joint Transportation Committee unanimously passed the bill on Thursday as a continuation of 2010’s Safe Driving Law. The current law allows those over 18 to talk on a cell phone while driving, but bans texting. Those under 18 are currently banned from using a phone in any way while driving. Rep. Joseph F. Wagner is quoted by the Boston Globe in the same article as saying that the bill is a “common-sense measure” and that its passage with “save lives.” Penalties for driving while on a cell phone under the new bill have not been announced, but the …
Monday, January 9, 2012
A public forum will be held Tuesday to discuss new proposals.
Drivers who like to talk on the road will soon have to purchase a hands-free set if certain members of the public have their way. MyFoxBoston reports that the State Legislature’s Transportation Committee will host a public forum Tuesday evening to discuss toughening the laws surrounding cell phone use in a moving vehicle. While texting is currently illegal while driving in Massachusetts, motorists are allowed to have voice conversations and are not required to use a hands-free device. That privilege could change depending on what the Transportation Committee decides to propose after Tuesday’s meeting. Those arguing for tougher phone laws are also considering another proposal, according to MyFoxBoston, that would ban the operation of a cell…
Rusty Shackleford
9:04 pm on Saturday, October 20, 2012
The problem is if the driver says they are dialing, and not texting, then NO VIOLATION more ›