I had to swerve off the road at a.curve near my house when a female driver came aroind on my side and was texting. I did blast the horn, but it didn’t have any effect.
It’s even dangerous walking on a college campus with the Crudneys and Little Iodines texting each other.
If I see somebody walking towards me on the street and if they are so occupied with their phones that they will not even bother to look up, I wait till they cone close to me and just loudly tell them BOOOOO. They have a tendency to jump quite high.
Texting and walking is a danger also, felt so bad for a guy who walked straight in front of me while on my bicycle, I stopped but he was surprised, and the smartphone jumped out of his hand was a shattered glass piece of the past.
Yeah, I agree that texters tend to be pretty annoying. I had several others where they sat through a green light and went on the yellow or ran the red, leaving me to sit another cycle. I also had to wait on several who were sitting on equipment at the gym while texting. I kept thinking they would use the equipment but they never did. I no longer wait and just ask to use it. One guy acted like he was about to start but was texting and moved aside. I told him I wouldn’t be very long and he moved somewhere else to sit and text. He was still texting 5 minutes later when I came back for my next set and didn’t even notice I was there.
I know others who say it is a more polite form of conversation because you can talk in a crowded room or library without disturbing others. I guess this is true but I usually see texters being annoying.
I don’t know about other states but Missouri has been putting a rumble strip on the sides of roads or the center line to keep people from going off the road. This is just basically divots/grooves in the pavement that make an obnoxious noise when you hit them. I have been in other states where they have hard plastic domes on the lines that do the same thing. Anyway, I have seen texters weave from one rumble strip to the other and just keep right at it. If it wasn’t for that strip, they would probably just run off the road. Sometimes they put gaps in these strips where a driveway or roadway intersects so you don’t hear it all the time. I am sure some of these people have gone over one of these gaps and not realized until it was too late.
Unfortunately that video of the woman driving the silver car is what I commonly see. The filmer says “I need to get a mount for my iPod. I see this everyday.” That is not good but is the truth.
Texting while attemptin to do business at any counter ?
’'NEXT IN LINE !! ‘’
Yeah, waiting in line is another issue. I have been waiting at the bank and there is someone up at the teller but texting before banking. It is a pain and I see some of the government offices and DMV here have signs about how people in line using cell phones will be skipped. This is a good policy.
Not only cell phones. Years ago I was waiting in line at a 7 eleven. The customer ahead of me purchased a few scratch off lottery tickets. They scratched all of them and won a couple more tickets. They then won a couple more tickets. At this point I asked the clerk if “this was a store or a casino”? They suddenly woke up and asked the gambler to move to a nearby table. ARRRRRRRRRRR!
Gotta love convenience stores!!! Cigarettes, booze, and lottery tickets. What else does a man need? I had one of these where I guy bought a bunch of junk food with food stamps and then immediately returned it for cash with which he bought cigarettes and beer. He delayed the line like 10 minutes and they knew exactly what was happening and just let it go on. All while I wait to pay for gas I just pumped.
lottery tickets
Tax for the mathematically challenged.
Consider this one…
It’s being reported tonight on the local news that the driver of the vehicle that struck the troopers was texting on social media while veering around the crash site.
Probably one of those “OMG! A tippy truck! LOL!” type messages…
I use this for my son. Not perfect but it helps.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.XpatrickMotoX.safetyzone&hl=en
For the record, the University of Utah (and others) have studied this extensively. Texting and driving is MORE dangerous than driving drunk. In addition, and I know many won’t agree, simply talking on your phone while driving is very dangerous. No one can multitask, the research on the brain is very clear. The problem is twofold, denial by the general public and our elected leaders have the backbones of jellyfish…they simply are afraid to pass unpopular laws… My two cents.
“Any real Stat’s”
What do you need stats for.
You are driving a 4000 pound mass of steel down the road at 50mph or even faster…with sudden objects weighing 4000 pounds moving in and out of your path. Some approaching objects weighing 4000 pounds and traveling also at 50mph could simulate a crash into a concrete wall at 100mph.
Then there is the possibility that a 40 pound moving object (child) may dart out in front of your vehicle. What could be worse
I’ve had two close calls with youngsters running into the road, and I’d never take the chance of being on the phone when the next close call finds me.
One little guy was even holding his grandpa’s hand, but something in the way the little guy was distracted made me take my foot off the gas and over the brake. Just as my foot was over the brake the little guy darted into the street after something blown by the wind. Had my reaction time been from when my foot was still on the gas…I would have run the little guy over and probably his grandpa too, because grandpa was right after him in a heart beat.
The most I do with my phone…is glance to see who is calling. If it’s someone important, I’ll pull over and answer the phone. I’ll admit, sometimes I’m still not to a complete stop when I answer.
If the caller is not that important, they can wait until I’m stopped somewhere to return their call.
Yosemite
Around here most of our roads are arrow straight with little traffic. The only times I’ve used a phone while driving (and it can be counted on one hand) is when I’m out in the sticks with no one around and even then it’s a take care of business in less than a minute and get off call.
Most of the time even out on a straight deserted highway I find it near impossible to concentrate fully on a phone call or driving so I just pull over, make or answer the call, and get it over with while stationary. That removes any and all risk.
My car has blue tooth so I don’t have to pick up the phone; the number pops up on an easily seen screen in the car. The buttons for the phone are on my steering wheel and I can answer or decline with my thumb
You still can’t concentrate on driving while talking. I know what the next point is…how is it different talking to someone in the car verses talking with someone on the phone? It is very different. People in the car see your situation, traffic, dangers, your facial expressions, etc. They won’t talk to you when you need to give 100% full attention to driving. On the phone they have no idea what your driving situation is. They can’t see your are under duress or a semi is crowding you, etc. You also, subconsciously will try to be polite while in conversation on the phone, thus underestimating your needed attention to driving (so you don’t sacrifice the conversation). Furthermore, the dynamics of a phone conversation will automatically divert your attention much more than a conversation with someone is a car.
Please, go to the University of Utah’s research. Think rationally. Driving while on a phone is dangerous, puts you and the general public at risk and is injuring and killing people needlessly across this country. I implore all those who read this, driving is not a right, it is a privilege that comes with great responsibility. Please stop using your phone is ANY way shape or form while on the road!
Driving becomes second nature; much like breathing. Even with a hands off system the brain is often more focused on the conversation than the road ahead.
I seem to remember Duke University doing a study on this some years back and arriving at the same conclusion.
There’s no way to figure the cost of distracted driving. We can’t determine what a life is worth. Or crippled for life.
Pulling over or into a parking lot to text or talk is great. Some people are in such a hurry that they are blocking an intersection or sitting at the entrance to a convenience store so you have to drive around them on the wrong side of the road. I have had this happen many times. The bad part is they are still sitting there when you leave 10 minutes later.