Cell phone use cited in crash that killed 11

[RamboLiberal]

Source: MSNBC/AP

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - An Alabama truck driver was on his cell phone sending and receiving calls leading up to a crash that killed him and 10 other people in Kentucky in March, Kentucky State Police said in a report on the wreck.

The 28-page report also says that 45-year-old Kenneth Laymon of Jasper, Ala., was driving in excess of the 70 mph speed limit and did not have his tractor-trailer under control when he crossed the median on March 26 and struck a van carrying Mennonites to a wedding in Iowa.

The report said Laymon tried braking 96 feet after entering the median, and a witness said Laymon may have been traveling 80 mph when the accident happened near Munfordville. The van showed no signs of trying to avoid Laymon's truck at that point, state police said.

The report cites cell phone use and distraction on Laymon's part as "human factors" related to the wreck. Trooper Charles Swiney, a spokesman for the state police post investigating the wreck, declined to say who Laymon was on the phone with or whether he was on the phone at the moment of the crash.

Peter Knudson, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, told The Associated Press the agency is aware Laymon may have been on a cell phone leading up to the wreck, and is working to verify the information.



Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36988660/ns/us_news/

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Shut up and drive. I'm not totally for laws banning cell phone use while driving but I've been seeing too damn many distracted drivers lately drifting over the lines or otherwise oblivious while driving yacking on their damn phones.

[LakeSamish706]

1. But here's the question that I have with Big Rigs like this. What if he

was on his "CB" instead of his cell phone, could not the same thing have happened?

Actually you can take this further and say about regular drivers, what if she is putting on makeup while driving? That would be just as much of a distraction (or greater) than talking on a cell phone.

Just saying!

[RamboLiberal]

4. I had a CB in its day - far less distraction talking on it

than a cell phone with dialing, texting, if handheld holding to ear, etc.

[DrDan]

2. why not ban them - their use puts other's lives at risk

[LakeSamish706]

3. In the Province of BC as of April 1st. cell phone use while driving was made illegal.

Edit to correct: You can use a cell phone as long as you have the required hands free device with it.

[DrDan]

5. good for BC - one of my favorite places

lucky enough to vacation there twice last year - and several times previous to that.

[LakeSamish706]

6. The only thing that I wonder is how the hell do you police this? Going to be very

difficult to actually catch drivers using a cell phone while driving.

[DrDan]

9. like seat belts - the law makes sense, but enforcement is difficult

but . . . a law tough to enforce does not make it any less sensible

[sinkingfeeling]

10. They could just sit near a stop sign by my building. I work in the same building as the

University Police and the Parking Office. I have stood here as hundreds of students come in to get a permit first days of each semester and to pay their parking fines at the close of it. I did a short study one year and found 12% of those driving out of the parking lot used their seat belts while 78% were on a cell phone. (Study done fall semester 2007)

[activa8tr]

7. Great! n/t

[Tripper11]

19. in Washington state, the same law starts in June.

I use a hands free device. One touch to answer, one touch to call(voice recognition software). I can keep both hands on the wheel. And I never text, never, it's absolutely ludicrous to try that and drive.
If I need to tell someone something I call them, and 99% of the time, it can wait!
I see so many people, talking on their phones, not using hands free devices, leaning like they are sitting on the couch or something, not looking around them....it's brutal.

[Jennicut]

23. You have to use hands free here in CT too.

But I still see tons of people on cell phones...I even yelled at my own husband to get off the phone. He was even texting. I told him to never ever do that when our kids are in the car with him.

[polly7]

22. It was banned here in Saskatchewan too in Jan of this year.

One study said the province estimated cellphone usage while driving accounted for 25% of all reported vehicle crashes.

"The penalty for an offence associated with this law will be $280, which includes a victims' surcharge of $60, and four demerit points under the Safe Driver Recognition and Driver Improvement programs."

http://www.gov.sk.ca/news?newsId=2fb0a99b-4e33-4b12-ab8e-ad6d32a11958

[Teka]

24. Which is a fool's panacea

Driving with a hands-free device is no safer than with a handheld.

Our foolish sheep in the legislatures are voting for something that does no good, and may do more harm, by giving drivers a false sense of security

[KansDem]

8. Because they're a tool for business and a toy for the affluent...

[DrDan]

11. if you want to use one - pull over and have at it

otherwise - concentrate on your driving

[KansDem]

12. You'll get no argument out of me.

I was merely pointing out that little or no legislation is forthcoming because two "important" groups would oppose it...

[Ikonoklast]

13. This article is misleading, a little.

Was the driver on the phone at the moment of the crash, or just using it previous to the crash?

Was he using a hands-free device?


I see excessive speed to be the first factor in this crash, and talking on the phone as secondary.

Guy is going to serve time, either way.

[Teka]

15. He's dead

Only time he will be serving is in the ground

[Ikonoklast]

20. Guess he won't be speeding much now.

Unfortunate and avoidable, all the way around.

[kestrel91316]

14. What's so horribly difficult about keeping both hands on the steering wheel,

both eyes on the road, both ears tuned to what's going on around the vehicle, and your entire brain on your primary job of driving safely??

[kimmerspixelated]

18. Yer right!

SO many people are complete droids these days. Plus, they could've been hyped up on prescriptions drugs or had a lunchtime cocktail(s). Endless possibilites, but no excuses.

[denverbill]

16. Why should he be treated less harshly than a drunk driver?

They ought to be treated about the same.

[badgerpup]

17. Query-

:hi:

And I am NOT being sarcastic, OK? I really am curious.

How is using a hands-free* phone different from talking to somebody else in the car?

In self-defense: I pull over to use my cell...I KNOW it's too much distraction for me to talk on the phone and drive.
I have no trouble however with conversing with the person in the passenger or back seat and paying attention to the road conditions.


*I'm assuming these are the phones you can TELL them "Call so-and-so" and "Off", so they are totally hands-free. :shrug:

[louis-t]

21. Even when people aren't distracted, they still drive like

idiots. Especially in construction zones-which is pretty much everywhere right now. Jerking the wheel and cutting people off to save, what, seconds? Pulling out into traffic with microseconds to spare...