Texting and Driving

TheRoadDog

How many people really think they are capable of texting and driving?

Last night I was riding home. On my motorcycle. Moving along at a pretty good clip. I was in the left lane and the car next to me starts to drift towards me. I really had little time to react and nowhere to go, except towards the center median. I'm inches from it when the driver looks up from her cell phone and corrects.

If you text and drive, you are a dumb@ss, and, if you think you are that rare, multitasking, person that CAN text and drive without impairment then you are a dumb@ss in denial.

m_a_b

Here, in the UK, it is meant to be illegal but is never enforced. It should an automatic ban.

TheRoadDog

Here, in the UK, it is meant to be illegal but is never enforced. It should an automatic ban.

I agree with you. They liken "Texting while driving" to "Driving Under the Influence" and I believe that is 100% true. I also believe that a person's Driver's License should be revoked when caught and a very stiff fine imposed. It's illegal. Everyone knows it. What is so important that you cannot wait until you pull over to LOL or OMFG.

Aside from the danger and the idiocy of it, too many people are missing out on what is going on around them while they have their heads down. Look up! Enjoy Life. Turn your cell phone off"

m_a_b

Aside from the danger and the idiocy of it, too many people are missing out on what is going on around them while they have their heads down. Look up! Enjoy Life. Turn your cell phone off"

That's what I love about biking. You're completely involved with the environment around you. The problem with car drivers is that they're cushioned and totally isolated from the real world.

Bahet

Aside from the danger and the idiocy of it, too many people are missing out on what is going on around them while they have their heads down. Look up! Enjoy Life. Turn your cell phone off"

That's what I love about biking. You're completely involved with the environment around you. The problem with car drivers is that they're cushioned and totally isolated from the real world.

I never text or talk on the phone and drive. I'm not isolated from the real world, just the elements and bugs.

Brunner26_2

I used to do it but I stopped a few years ago. Now I won't talk or text while driving. I had a couple close calls that woke my *kitten* up. I will read or type a quick message while sitting at a red light, but I probably shouldn't do that either. I hate seeing people text and drive.

Koldnomore

Funny, you don't HAVE to look down. Actually if you are looking down when you text you are doing it wrong.

If you have the right phone and know what you are doing you can text without looking down at all. I do it all the time and have never had any issues. Its only the retards who have a full keyboard open holding it with both hands while they are trying to drive that get in trouble. My phone stays DOWN, no where near my field of view. I text with one hand holds the phone and the thumb on that hand taps the key pad that I have memorized.

It takes a while to do it this way but it is completely non-distracting. It's like tuning the radio which people do on a regular basis. I actually text this way while walking, biking, and skating around too. If you have to look at your phone you are doing it wrong.. Just like those women who have to look in the mirror to apply makeup because they don't know where their faces are presumably.

Brunner26_2

Funny, you don't HAVE to look down. Actually if you are looking down when you text you are doing it wrong.

If you have the right phone and know what you are doing you can text without looking down at all. I do it all the time and have never had any issues. Its only the retards who have a full keyboard open holding it with both hands while they are trying to drive that get in trouble. My phone stays DOWN, no where near my field of view. I text with one hand holds the phone and the thumb on that hand taps the key pad that I have memorized.

It takes a while to do it this way but it is completely non-distracting. It's like tuning the radio which people do on a regular basis. I actually text this way while walking, biking, and skating around too. If you have to look at your phone you are doing it wrong.. Just like those women who have to look in the mirror to apply makeup because they don't know where their faces are presumably.

I would think it's at least somewhat distracting, at least reduced reaction time because your mind is elsewhere. We're finding out now that even hands-free use is distracting.

http://www.1011now.com/home/headlines/Study-Hands-Free-Texting-More-Dangerous-Than-Manual-Texting-204594911.html#.UZDdPbXqk1I

marsellient

I agree It's become a real problem. Watch people, especially on the highway and you'll see that drivers who are doing things like speeding up and slowing down and wandering over the lines are often distracted, usually by cell phones, and not just texting, it's often talking too. Even using Bluetooth to talk doesn't cut down much on the distraction because it takes the mind off of driving. People think they can multi task,but really we don't do it that well. It's more like trying to download more than one thing on a computer. The mind, like the hard drive, does a little bit of one and then a little bit of the other. If the attention is on the phone when it needs to be on the road, then bad things are going to happen. Not so long ago I was rear ended by a woman who admitted she was distracted by her kids. What's the difference? How many times have you witnessed someone sitting at an intersection after the light has turned green because their head is down on the phone?

m_a_b

If you have the right phone and know what you are doing you can text without looking down at all. I do it all the time and have never had any issues. Its only the retards who have a full keyboard open holding it with both hands while they are trying to drive that get in trouble. My phone stays DOWN, no where near my field of view. I text with one hand holds the phone and the thumb on that hand taps the key pad that I have memorized.

Sorry, but if you're doing anything else then you're not concentrating on driving. If you're not concentrating on driving then you shouldn't be on the road.

TheRoadDog

Funny, you don't HAVE to look down. Actually if you are looking down when you text you are doing it wrong.

If you have the right phone and know what you are doing you can text without looking down at all. I do it all the time and have never had any issues. Its only the retards who have a full keyboard open holding it with both hands while they are trying to drive that get in trouble. My phone stays DOWN, no where near my field of view. I text with one hand holds the phone and the thumb on that hand taps the key pad that I have memorized.

It takes a while to do it this way but it is completely non-distracting. It's like tuning the radio which people do on a regular basis. I actually text this way while walking, biking, and skating around too. If you have to look at your phone you are doing it wrong.. Just like those women who have to look in the mirror to apply makeup because they don't know where their faces are presumably.

That's the attitude I was talking about. Definition of denial. Put you phone away while driving. What's so damned important that you can't pay attention when your hurtling down the highway in an unguided missile?

k8blujay2

I have been in the car with someone that would text and drive... Never will I text while driving... I have also almost been run off the road by a texting driver...


While I do talk on the phone while I drive, I do it almost totally handsfree thanks to Ford's Sync System. To me it really is no different than if who I am talking to is sitting right next to me in the car and to be honest, when I talk to someone while I'm on my commute back home, I daydream less (which is just as dangerous as texting or talking while driving).

k8blujay2

Oh and to add, I don't even like looking at a GPS or Google Maps on my phone while driving... thank the Dear Lord that Google FINALLY got their act together and put the audible directions in their app AND I can hear it over my Sync system.

Koldnomore

Sorry, but if you're doing anything else then you're not concentrating on driving. If you're not concentrating on driving then you shouldn't be on the road.

Tell that to all the people I see driving while eating their favorite McDonald's, applying makeup, brushing hair, reading newspapers (yes I have seen this), programming GPS's, reading maps, singing, listening to music, and playing/talking/ disciplining kids in the back seat of their cars. People do a lot of things while driving and always have, so unless they make EVERYTHING but driving illegal they can go take a flying leap.

m_a_b

Tell that to all the people I see driving while eating their favorite McDonald's, applying makeup, brushing hair, reading newspapers (yes I have seen this), programming GPS's, reading maps, singing, listening to music, and playing/talking/ disciplining kids in the back seat of their cars. People do a lot of things while driving and always have, so unless they make EVERYTHING but driving illegal they can go take a flying leap.

Every day there are 9 people killed in the USA by distracted drivers. Are you saying that's acceptable?

atsteele

Sorry, but if you're doing anything else then you're not concentrating on driving. If you're not concentrating on driving then you shouldn't be on the road.

Tell that to all the people I see driving while eating their favorite McDonald's, applying makeup, brushing hair, reading newspapers (yes I have seen this), programming GPS's, reading maps, singing, listening to music, and playing/talking/ disciplining kids in the back seat of their cars. People do a lot of things while driving and always have, so unless they make EVERYTHING but driving illegal they can go take a flying leap.

Oh I see now. Because "everyone else" is driving while distracted, you figure that you should be allowed your choice of distraction. We should all lower our driving to the lowest common denominator. That makes sense.

marsellient

All I can say is that a little research about multitasking might change some attitudes here. Cell phones and cars are a bad combination, in my opinion. Of course cell phones and walking aren't all that good either. I've seen people walk into other people or things while getting a little screen time on the street.

wineplease

Every day there are 9 people killed in the USA by distracted drivers. Are you saying that's acceptable?

Totally unacceptable, but drivers are distracted by many things other than using phones. Remember the days drivers would read maps while driving? People eat, change radio stations, turn to check on children, use their GPS systems. Your mind is elsewhere when you're listening to music or a book on audio, too.

Brunner26_2

Sorry, but if you're doing anything else then you're not concentrating on driving. If you're not concentrating on driving then you shouldn't be on the road.

Tell that to all the people I see driving while eating their favorite McDonald's, applying makeup, brushing hair, reading newspapers (yes I have seen this), programming GPS's, reading maps, singing, listening to music, and playing/talking/ disciplining kids in the back seat of their cars. People do a lot of things while driving and always have, so unless they make EVERYTHING but driving illegal they can go take a flying leap.

Those other people shouldn't be doing those things either, but lawmakers aren't obligated to make everything illegal if they make one thing illegal. The problem of texting and driving has risen to a level that required action.

wineplease

Sorry, but if you're doing anything else then you're not concentrating on driving. If you're not concentrating on driving then you shouldn't be on the road.

I'm totally agreeing with you, especially the "anything else". It's not limited to texting.

SwannySez

I don't know how effective they will be, but I like the step that AT&T has taken with this series of ads: http://itcanwait.com/

I think there are more along those lines. Seeing families who have lost loved ones juxtaposed with the text they were sending when they died is pretty jarring. It's not quite as good as the anti-smoking commercials which show people who are suffering the ffects of smoking, but short of showing the dead bodies of drivers and their victims...

Dragonwolf

I don't know how effective they will be, but I like the step that AT&T has taken with this series of ads: http://itcanwait.com/

I think there are more along those lines. Seeing families who have lost loved ones juxtaposed with the text they were sending when they died is pretty jarring. It's not quite as good as the anti-smoking commercials which show people who are suffering the ffects of smoking, but short of showing the dead bodies of drivers and their victims...

No more jarring than the pre-Prom mock accident most SADD groups put on, IMO. And not a bad idea, either, from what I've seen.

Glee did a small arc on texting while driving in their 3rd season, I think it was. One of the kids was texting and ran a stop sign because of it, and got t-boned by a pickup. It put her in a wheelchair for a good chunk of the remainder of the season. Not as jarring as someone dying, but still helps get the point across, I think.

All I can say is that a little research about multitasking might change some attitudes here.

This. Humans really aren't as good at multitasking as we think we are. It's a shame that Western culture encourages it, anyway.

spade117

I think texting&driving is way worse than drinking&driving.

wineplease

I think texting&driving is way worse than drinking&driving.

Because you don't have the excuse of impaired judgment?

Laces_0ut

im pretty good at texting and driving. and im certainly more in control doing that than a solo parent in a car dealing with kids. we should ban solo parents from having kids in the car.

lour441

im pretty good at drinking and driving. and im certainly more in control doing that than a solo parent in a car dealing with kids. we should ban solo parents from having kids in the car.

.... Sounds pretty ridiculous when you just change one word.

The reality is any activity that may impair you while driving is already illegal and covered under the careless and reckless statutes. This includes every example people have mentioned in order to justify that it is Ok for them to continue to text while driving. No matter how delusional you may be, if you are not paying 100% of your attention to driving you are taking unnecessary risks. Unfortunately, most people don't care until something permanent happens that they will regret the rest of their life.

Brunner26_2

im pretty good at drinking and driving. and im certainly more in control doing that than a solo parent in a car dealing with kids. we should ban solo parents from having kids in the car.

.... Sounds pretty ridiculous when you just change one word.

The reality is any activity that may impair you while driving is already illegal and covered under the careless and reckless statutes. This includes every example people have mentioned in order to justify that it is Ok for them to continue to text while driving. No matter how delusional you may be, if you are not paying 100% of your attention to driving you are taking unnecessary risks. Unfortunately, most people don't care until something permanent happens that they will regret the rest of their life.

Do careless and reckless driving just apply after something bad happens? Probably differs by area. IIRC, here in MD they just changed the texting law again. When they originally made it illegal, they couldn't pull you over for it. They could cite you for it if they pulled you over for something else too. Now they can pull you over for it.

Italian_Buju

Stupid!! Some people have no brains!

Azdak

Tell that to all the people I see driving while eating their favorite McDonald's, applying makeup, brushing hair, reading newspapers (yes I have seen this), programming GPS's, reading maps, singing, listening to music, and playing/talking/ disciplining kids in the back seat of their cars. People do a lot of things while driving and always have, so unless they make EVERYTHING but driving illegal they can go take a flying leap.

Every day there are 9 people killed in the USA by distracted drivers. Are you saying that's acceptable?

It is when someone thinks it's all about ME, ME, ME, ME, ME, ME, ME, ME, ME, ME, ME, ME, ME, ME, ME, ME, ME, ME, ME.

k8blujay2

im pretty good at drinking and driving. and im certainly more in control doing that than a solo parent in a car dealing with kids. we should ban solo parents from having kids in the car.

.... Sounds pretty ridiculous when you just change one word.

The reality is any activity that may impair you while driving is already illegal and covered under the careless and reckless statutes. This includes every example people have mentioned in order to justify that it is Ok for them to continue to text while driving. No matter how delusional you may be, if you are not paying 100% of your attention to driving you are taking unnecessary risks. Unfortunately, most people don't care until something permanent happens that they will regret the rest of their life.

Do careless and reckless driving just apply after something bad happens? Probably differs by area. IIRC, here in MD they just changed the texting law again. When they originally made it illegal, they couldn't pull you over for it. They could cite you for it if they pulled you over for something else too. Now they can pull you over for it.

In my City, they made texting and driving illegal and police can pull you over for it as well... but really, how is that any different than the police officers that use their computers while driving... they get into accidents as well as a result of being distracted... it's not much different... while I am blessed with a pretty decent toddler (who doesn't scream often while in the car), I do try to be as focused as possible.... which sometimes isn't possible with how my mind wanders... there have been times where I am not sure how I even got home because my thought process was so scattered... thankfully, I'm quite a bit of a habitual driver and stick to certian lanes at certian points.

Anyway, as long as people have the ability to daydream there will always be distracted driving.

auroranflash

Sad thing is, a lot of people need a wake-up call before they will even consider stopping. And I fear it will only get worse because we're all so desensitized to it.

I am guilty of doing this at stoplights or heavy traffic when we are at a dead stop, but then I realize that is also a stupid thing to do and set the phone down. It's so easy to get caught up in your own world and not realize it. I have answered and then ended calls while I was driving because I know it's not safe. We're so used to being so connected to society, we forget how distracted we can become.

My coworker used to scare the crap out of me because she would be on the phone every time she pulled up to work. I warned her several times to be careful, but she was a drama queen. She got in a massive car wreck and totaled her SUV (that her father bought her), had to switch to a Camry. She had two kids in the car and still thought it was okay to argue with her boyfriend while driving.

I am definitely mindful not to do it because Houston has a ton of motorcyclists and I realize how easy it is to miss them. I have known people and known of people whose lives were ended because some idiot wasn't paying attention, so I try very hard to limit my usage to the bare minimum when in the car. It's always in the back of my head how several people would be alive right now if not for distracted drivers.