alt Hacker News> Not only does that not have anything to do with texting, but it has nothing to do with the roads.
From both the NYT video and their article:
> And that increase is unique to the US. Most other wealthy countries haven't seen a similar surge, suggesting that possible culprits, like the raise of smartphones, don't tell the whole story.
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> If you hit someone with a tall-ass truck in Portugal, I'm pretty sure he's going to fall over just like he would in the USA.
How popular do you think the tall-ass trucks are in Portugal?
I didn't see that statement in the (door-shaped) video, so I'll take your word for it.
> How popular do you think the tall-ass trucks are in Portugal?
Not very, which is why I was mystified by your question. Why would we NEED special sanctions for non-Americans?
Not addressed (as far as I saw) are the penalties for texting & driving in different countries. In the USA, they're basically nonexistent.
But let's say there's no difference, and no difference in the prevalance of this behavior. Texting is still going to be far more deadly behind the wheel of a giant barge. In fact, the vehicle difference serves as a multiplier for the deadly outcomes of it.