Texting While Driving ~

[Pharaoh]

"

[KT2000]

1. No kidding

A 20-something woman was busy texting on I-5 during rush hour. She jumped the median and slammed head-on into my sister's friend. I really hope all those cell phone calls and texts while driving contain messages that are worth the lives of people.

I would like to see the last messages people post and say before a fatal accident printed in giant letters in the newspapers - print and internet.

[latebloomer]

2. My friend also died in a head-on collision

with a teen who was texting while driving. The teen died as well.

My friend was 40 years old, an amazing person, and the adored mother of a 6-year-old girl.

[KT2000]

11. Sorry to hear that

about your friend. My sister's friend was a mother too. It should really be illegal in all states.

[latebloomer]

29. Agreed!

[abumbyanyothername]

35. Illegal won't stop it

Products liability against the cell phone manufacturers and service providers will. They will figure out a way to lock out the phone while a person is driving.

Right now a life isn't worth it to them. But if there is a lawsuit that puts a monetary cost to them . . . .

Sad, isn't it?

[erasmia]

24. this should be forbitten and strict meausures should be taken

[latebloomer]

30. No doubt.

[Odin2005]

40. I'm so sorry!

:hug:

[latebloomer]

51. Thanks

It was a horrible tragedy.

[proteus_lives]

3. Right on the nose.

People shouldn't text while driving. It's fucking stupid.

[Naturyl]

4. Studies show it's as dangerous as drunk driving.

But little or nothing is done because everyone knows that drunk drivers tend to be "low class" people who it's okay to throw the book at, while cell phone addicts are middle class and upscale.

[paulsby]

10. what utter rubbish

there are few crimes that are more demographically diverse (race, income, gender, etc.) than drunk driving. i have made over 300 drunk driving arrests, and i also know the NHTSA statistics. drunk drivers do not tend to be "low class" people. that's absurd. i see no evidence whatsoever to support that.

in fact, one of the reasons many cops i know loathe DUI arrests so much is that the lawyers for DUI are often very very good at nitpicking and technicalities and novel theories. why? because they have had so much practice with VERY wealthy clients and have thus developed much better defenses than say those for burglary (which DOES tend to have a greater %age of "low class" offenders).

i have arrested drunk drivers in porsches, bmws, hummers, etc. i have arrested very wealthy lawyers, investment bankers, business owners, etc.

it is simply astoundingly ignorant of statistics about DUI to claim that drunk drivers tend to be "low class people".

in fact, in the past, in the bad ole days when DUI was excused as a big joke (look at the old road films where the heros would swill martinis while driving), you could argue it wasn't prosecuted as heavily because so many of the perpetrators were rich white guys, NOT "low class people", and the cops would simply drive them home. MADD did a lot to change the perception about DUI and make the laws stricter.

the idea that cops and prosecutors only throw the book at "low class" DUI defendants is offensive and simply ridiculous. feel free to ask any dui attorney if you disagree with me. there are some DUI attorneys who charge well in excess of 15k to defend a DUI and they get plenty of very wealthy clients who readily pay it.

[Naturyl]

13. I didn't say that was my view. It's the public perception, though.

I know drunk drivers come from all backgrounds. However, many people do picture them as mostly poor rednecks.

Similarly, I didn't say cops and prosecutors throw the book at DUI defendants. I said that in the public mind, the sort of people they imagine to be drunk drivers are the sort of people it would be okay to throw the book at.

Cell-phone drivers, on the other hand, are thought of as suburban "everyday people," and it's not so easy to dehumanize people who actually count (in the public mind).

[paulsby]

32. ok, that's a different point

and i apologize for ranting ,when i wasn;'t really responding to your claim. your claim is that people PERCEIVE drunk drivers as low class, not that they ARE disproportionately low class.

i don't agree with your statement, from a factual basis, but i concede it is a different argument and i should have read more carefully.

personally, i think enough middle class and rich people know people themselves, in their circles who have gotten DUI's that they do NOT believe DUI is a low class crime.

i think the vast majority of people view DUI as a crime that is committed by every economic, social, racial, and gender group.

but we can agree to disagree on that.

[ProfessorGAC]

14. I Think You Misunderstood

The way i read that poster is the law is enforced more vigorously, although texting is extremely dangerous too, because pols and their followers have convinced people that drunk drivers are "losers", while texters are just "people".

I understand your point. But, i think the poster was right. It's much easier and more convenient to demonize drunk driving by peronsalizing it to slimy perpetrators than it is to make texting seem evil.
GAC

[paulsby]

33. yes, i apologized in my other post

i didn't really grok the OP's point. iow, while my rant was entertaining, it did not really address the argument i THOUGHT i was addressing,. my bad

[Serial Mom]

41. WORSE than impaired/drunk driving for reaction times...

Look at the graphs and then read how the test was conducted! Very informative!

see http://editorial.autos.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=1076338


In our test, neither subject had any idea that using his phone would slow down his reaction time so much. Like most folks, they think they're pretty good drivers. Our results prove otherwise, at both city and highway speeds. The key element to driving safely is keeping your eyes and your mind on the road. Text messaging distracts any driver from that primary task. So the next time you're tempted to text, tweet, e-mail, or otherwise type while driving, either ignore the urge or pull over. We don't want you rear-ending us.


Now this is only one small test of reaction distrance traveled, but it appears it is worse than an impaired (drunk) driving.

[Silent3]

45. Not at all trying to defend texting and driving (which is insanity)...

...but there is one key difference between texting and driving drunk: Unless you're in a long texting conversation, being drunk lasts longer, it's an ongoing effect. Reading or sending a single text can be over in less that a minute, with a very high risk during that short span that ends when the phone is put away.

[Serial Mom]

57. And clearly the test was only braking response distance...

not if they swerved into another lane or even knew if they were going the correct direction on a ramp or road like a drunk may do.

But the time a person is looking away from the windshield before hitting the brakes while texting is a lot longer than the time a drunk reacts to hit the brakes. The subjects did not glance up often enough because they thought they were good drivers.

Drunk driving is insane, and texting while driving is not far behind that!

[Wilms]

5. U.S. Withheld Data on Risks of Distracted Driving

U.S. Withheld Data on Risks of Distracted Driving

By MATT RICHTEL
Published: July 20, 2009

In 2003, researchers at a federal agency proposed a long-term study of 10,000 drivers to assess the safety risk posed by cellphone use behind the wheel.

snip

The former head of the highway safety agency said he was urged to withhold the research to avoid antagonizing members of Congress who had warned the agency to stick to its mission of gathering safety data but not to lobby states.

snip

“We’re looking at a problem that could be as bad as drunk driving, and the government has covered it up,” said Clarence Ditlow, director of the Center for Auto Safety.

snip

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/21/technology/21distracted.html?hp

[CoffeeCat]

6. The other day...

...my husband was driving and I was in the passenger seat. We were in the left lane and we were just about
to pass a car in the right lane when we noticed that the car had a ton of dents. The car was relatively new, but
it looked like a crumpled piece of tin foil!

My husband and I were laughing at the car, until we passed the driver's window and saw a teenager inside
texting and rarely looking at the road.

Gee, I wonder where all of those dents came from?

I can't believe that texting while driving isn't against the law. It seems like a no brainer to me.

[whistler162]

27. Illegal in NY state...

finally!

[Sirveri]

7. It's illegal in CA. But people do it because calling is illegal too.

It's a lot easier to hide the fact that you're texting than it is to hide that you're holding a phone up to your head. Thank you for those wonderous unintended consequences.

[saltpoint]

8. It seems like a bad idea. I hope as few people do it as possible.

[jobycom]

9. I watched a guy texting while cycling the other day.

No hands on the bars, just peddling and texting. He was damn good at it, too. The bike never waivered. He should have taught a course on it.

[1]

12. i do it all the time. i know what i am doing. relax...

[ProfessorGAC]

15. Well, All Right Then

That settles it. Since you obviously are omnipotent.
GAC

[1]

16. i can walk and chew gum too. are you people really that single-focused?

[ProfessorGAC]

17. Which People?

The data clearly shows that it is very dangerous. I would suggest, given what many behavioral studies show, that everydody that does it thinks they are doing it safely and wisely.

Yet, the evidence is clear.

So, either you are incapable of making a dispassionate call on this, or you must be omnipotent and never capable of being wrong.

I know which direction i'm leaning.
GAC

[1]

18. the people in this thread. who else am i talking with? and yes, my potents is of the omni variety.

don't like texting while driving? don't do it...

[michreject]

19. Flame bait

and you know it.

[1]

20. yeah? and you are an anti-text-ite. and you know it.

[michreject]

43. You are correct

I ride a bike. I see way too many idiots texting while they think that they are driving safe.

[latebloomer]

31. Tell that to my friend's daughter

who lost her mommy.

[Silent3]

47. Okay, I HAD been willing to give you the benefit of the doubt...

...until I saw this post. Now you're just sounding more like an asshole.

[Mnemosyne]

58. Are you truly that stupid? Never mind. n/t

[Hissyspit]

21. Famous Last Words.

Or should I say: Fms Lst Wrds

[BulletproofLandshark]

25. Then you're part of the problem. n/t

[KT2000]

34. Is this sarcasm?

Take a look at the research that shows what areas of the brain are involved in cell phones and texting.

[SeattleGirl]

36. I doubt it. This poster seems to think he/she is so much better than

anyone else, and omnipotent to boot.

Not the first time they've spewed this kind of crap.

[Odin2005]

42. Yr a mrn.

[Silent3]

46. Not too many people are giving you the benefit of the doubt...

...but I'm guessing that "relax" comment shows you're just being sarcastic.

[Posteritatis]

49. No you don't. (nt)

[erasmia]

22. it's much more better to take a phone call in the loudspeaker!

[malaise]

23. Perfect

K & R

[Wednesdays]

26. K&R

:kick:

[Liberal_in_LA]

28. funny

[Odin2005]

37. I see SOOO many of my generation doing that. It's INSANE!!!

:banghead:

[bridgit]

38. You got it! We do allot of driving and see this all the fucking time...

Cali has this bullshit 'no cell ph w/driving' law that could balance the budget if they'd only enforce it. There's 1,000's of people cell'ing, txt'ing, txt'ing while drinking a Starbucks, cell'ing/txt'ing while writing into day planners and onto maps spread across their steering wheel and all at 70+mph it's fucking amazing there isn't a vehicular wreck of some every couple blocks

[SeattleGirl]

39. Same here. The idiotic things that people do while they are driving

really piss me off.

[bridgit]

48. Heh, I just had a vision of Malcolm In The Middle's Mom shaving her legs w/driving...

:wow: :rofl: :hi:

[SeattleGirl]

53. LOL

:rofl:

[latebloomer]

52. Yeah, they don't enforce it here either

With all the budget problems, it makes no sense. :shrug:

[HOLOS]

44. k&R

[Posteritatis]

50. I almost got cremed once by an SUV whose driver was talking or texting on two cell phones at once

The driver personified the city's trust-fund-baby cliche too, which really helped things. Had to actually dive for the sidewalk to avoid getting hit, and she never gave any impression she noticed me, doing highway speeds in a residential area without paying attention to anything.

The line of sight on the otherwise-empty street was a good half-kilometer in both directions, too, so it wasn't ilke it was a blind turn.

[SeattleGirl]

54. Good gawd! One is bad enough, but two??

:wow:

[Posteritatis]

55. Made me wonder if there weren't additional ones out of sight

I know several people with multiple cell phones or equivalents, but it's usually for professional/etc reasons, and I've never seen them using more than one while driving. Ugh.

[Retired AF Dem]

56. Anybody Texting While Driving

Deserves to die. Hopefully they don't take anybody else out.

[IDemo]

59. I'll add a few other equally idiotic distractions that I have seen

Applying make-up, shaving, and reading a paperback (this was on the freeway).