Bright & Early: Hate To Say We Told You So Edition

July 22, 2009 9:30 AM 16 comments


Good morning, Nashville. It’s been almost a month since the texting while driving ban went into effect, and so far we’re hearing two things: Not many citations have been issued and law enforcement officers have no idea how to enforce it. Sheriff’s deputies in Montgomery County are particularly confused about how they’re supposed to tell the difference between texting and, say, dialing a phone number. Metro PD takes a slightly more draconian approach, maintaining that  “Ultimately, if the officer decides that you were [texting while driving] you’re going to receive a citation,” and “if drivers want to dispute the ticket, that’s what the court system is for.” We suppose that time will tell.

Photo by fallingwater123.

  • Sarah

    Wait what the hell is “midtown?” I've head that in bigger cities, but not Nashville. So the Vandy area?

  • http://www.thomasaka.com Thomas

    We're gettig a BWW in Hermitage too (the signs are already up!).. but sadly no one believes we're part of Nashville :(

  • J. McGuire

    Yes- very close to.. Midtown Cafe… near Midtown Wine & Spirits.. by Midtown Printing. Amazingly… they're all in the same area.

  • http://www.megmorris.com/blog megan

    I would have gladly traded y'all Murfreesboro's BWW for a 5 Guys years ago. We just recently got one. And I know it's comparing apples to oranges, but I'm just not a big BWW fan. Except for kicking ass at live trivia every Wednesday night. :)

  • http://loudestnoise.com David Cintron

    I can't wait to be pulled over for texting while driving. First off, I'd like to see a legal definition of text messaging and then I will represent myself in court and argue that I was making a phone call. How the hell can the dumbass cop tell the difference?

  • http://nashvillest.com Christy Frink

    Aw, we still love the Herm. We just don't like driving out that far!

  • http://nashvillest.com Christy Frink

    Yeah, diff'rent strokes I guess! But at the rate 5 Guys are multiplying, I wouldn't be surprised if y'all get one out there soon.

  • http://www.megmorris.com/blog megan

    Oh no, we've got one. I just would have rather gotten one years ago instead of the BWW we got. :)

  • http://nashvillest.com Christy Frink

    Ah, I totally misread that! In that case, I'm glad they finally realized that Murfreesboro needs some burger love too. We've got one within walking distance of the Nashvillest HQ and it's pretty dangerous…

  • Sarah

    I see what you did there.

    Still, I've lived here my whole life, and never heard anyone call that area as a whole “midtown.” No need to be an ass about it.

  • http://www.thomasaka.com Thomas

    Hey now, we're only 10 miles from downtown. Until they widen Hillsboro I bet I can make it downtown faster than you can from Green Hills :)

    The real issue is that there's really no reason to go to Hermitage unless you live there.

  • http://www.thomasaka.com Thomas

    Hey now, we're only 10 miles from downtown. Until they widen Hillsboro I bet I can make it downtown faster than you can from Green Hills :)

    The real issue is that there's really no reason to go to Hermitage unless you live there.

  • http://www.megmorris.com/blog megan

    If we decide to move to Nashville instead of moving out into the country somewhere, Hermitage is one of the places on our list. It seems to have more unique, affordable houses than the rest of Nashville, and I've heard traffic getting into Nashville isn't as bad as it is from other areas.

    But then again, I commute from Murfreesboro every day, so anything that takes less than an hour is fast for me.

  • http://www.megmorris.com/blog megan

    I have heard that they are looking for people who are swerving around in their lane or looking downward for more than just a few seconds, you know, OBVIOUSLY not paying attention to driving and should be pulled over anyway, but this was from the THP.

    I'm guessing they'll be able to tell if you're making a phone call by whether you put the phone to your ear shortly after pressing buttons.

  • http://nashvillest.com morganlevy

    I've lived here for five years and have heard it referred to as midtown quite frequently. I usually get bitched at if I dare to refer to it as downtown, so I've settled on midtown to save my neck.

  • http://loudestnoise.com David Cintron

    I refer to every area in relation to the Batman building.

    “Ya, from that address I don't think I can even see the antennas on Batman”