Over the last 12 months. where I live, deaths from distracted driving (mostly texting) now EXCEED those from drunk driving. Some jurisdictions have now raised the fine to $1200 for a second offence.
When my Toyota got totalled, it was by me taking my eyes off the road for a split second- and NOT to look at a text- I can’t even tell you why because it all happened so fast and yah-I lived but the car didn’t.
Never have texted while driving but knew girls who did and could never figure it out. I perfer direct communication and never understood why a person would spend three times the amount of time typing a text to say what could be spoken in five minutes.
The same people who are wandering around on foot at the mall or a department store and running into people, displays, shopping carts, etc are no doubt continuing the practice after getting behind the wheel of their cars. The former has become an epidemic so…
Just a couple of years ago 2 young girls (15 or so ) were both texting and stepped out from behind a shrub into the street at a dark intersection with no street lighting. At the last second I saw a glow from the phones and slammed on the brakes. The car stopped maybe 5 feet from them and it didn’t even phase them. They barely glanced up and continued on with what they were doing; marching along texting and oblivious to the world.
The state of OK just passed legislation allowing law officers to pull someone over and cite them for cell phone use while driving. This takes effect in November of 2015 and the bill was named for 2 OK state troopers who were run down while investigating a truck rollover.
Some rubbernecking fool in his SUV apparently wanted to use social media to blab about the wreck and struck 2 troopers while doing so. One went to the hospital with serious injuries and the other went straight to the morgue; leaving a wife and 2 small children behind.
No doubt it is dangerous. Phoning is problematic enough, being distraced by a huge display is obviously even worse…
.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.
Methinks you assume a LOT of competency W/R/T one’s passengers that is not necessarily warranted, PLUS the fact that certain self-important types simply don’t care–not wrecking is YOUR job, not theirs. Your assumption is likely only valid if we assume the passenger is 1) ethical and 2) a licensed driver.
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.
Which is why you simply toss the phone on the passenger seat! Drive the car; worry about “hurt feelings” later.
You also, subconsciously will try to be polite while in conversation on the phone,Oh, no, I won't! (You don't really know me very well, do you?) :wink:
You can fly–no, LAND–a plane while conducting 2-way radio communications with tower; pretty sure I can pull off the same feat involving one less dimension. It just requires strict exercise of discretion and prioritization. My problem with phone use while driving is not strictly use, per se, it’s that SO MANY cannot properly prioritize tasks. That is a skill; it can be learned, as can judgement to a certain extent.
People have been having conversations while driving a car for over 100 years. When cell phones were introduced there was a noticeable increase in accidents…and the accident increase curve followed cell phone use exactly. And the same thing happened with texting…the more people were texting while driving…the more accidents the police were seeing…only this was a much steeper curve.
Just a funny story about texting and driving that I saw this afternoon while driving by the country club golf course on the way home; something I do quite often.
I saw some older guy (probably 60) by himself in a cart and noted that he was texting with one hand and driving the cart with the other. There were trees on one side and a sand trap on the other so I slowed down to see if he was actually going to drive into the bunker. Yep.
He went right off the edge and buried it at about a 45 degree angle. He didn’t appear to be hurt but he was going to need a crew to wrestle that cart back out onto the grass. I can just picture him at the bar later lying about why it happened. “The sun was in my eyes…”.
Guess he could have brought a new meaning to the term “playing through” while running over someone lining up a 6 foot putt… 
Last weekend I witnessed another tragic story of an SUV driven by a woman leaving the pavement on a bright sunny day and a straight mountain road going into a gully and getting herself killed and severely injuring 2 passengers.
The accident saw 5 cruisers, 3 ambulances and a fire truck at the scene. The highway had a paved shoulder, so a tire failure would have enabled her to pull over safely.
The reports normally say the driver “lost control” of the vehicle. The police usually find the cell phone ON when they investigate such accidents, which now outnumber drunk driving fatalities!
ok4450 The texting girls you almost hit were probably texting each other. I am not joking. An associate at work told me about his 15 y/o Daughter and 2 of her friends (Do I see a trend here?) sitting together on the couch watching a movie. Of course all 3 were tapping on their phones. As he walked by he realized they were texting each other!
I can believe that sgtrock21. Human interaction with normal speech seems to be fading fast.
When I am approaching an oncoming car that is wandering from the center line to the shoulder they are fiddling with their cell phone. When stopped at a red light on a 4 lane city street more often than not several of the drivers around me will be fiddling with their phones and often not paying attention to the light changing.
I just don’t understand some people’s need for constantly being in contact with someone else. I have been in rest rooms and heard men talking on their cell phones while taking a dump. Talk about insecure.
@"Rod Knox"
Remember the days when listening to the radio was enough. Many cell phones will text by voice…for some reason, they don’t use it.
“The reports normally say the driver “lost control” of the VEHICLE. The police usually find the CELL PHONEON when they investigate such accidents, which now outnumber drunk driving fatalities!”
Well, in all fairness, who de-powers their phone to go for a drive? Even if you’re not actually using it…
So there I was, light turns green walk signal goes on, as I taught my daughter look both ways, looked good start a street cross, 3 ft into the crosswalk some lady with kids in the van on a cellphone does not even slow down for a right turn on red, lucky I jumped back, but bet she wonders where the dent in her fender from my sidekick came from. She never even heard it or slowed down.
Would roads be safer if young drivers drove 5 speed rickshaws? Could a false aura of safety be seen by drivers, especially young drivers, as they sit behind the wheel and look over the hood from their seemingly impervious position? Possibly today many young people grow up feeling impervious altogether,driving or otherwise. Why should they forego enjoying chatting (or texting) with their bff while they are bored as they drive along.
I feel that like many problems this one will continue to worsen until it becomes so egregious that the efforts to solve it will be outrageous yet not quite adequate. The war on drugs-war on poverty-now a war on distracted driving.
I like Barkydog’s method. That should be the normal response. Maybe at some point enough dents would put some common sense back into their driving.
I dented a pickup once but it wasn’t due to cell use. I was on the interstate on my BMW motorcycle in the fast lane on the way home from work and some dolt in a pickup on my right chose to hang out right beside me for 3 miles. I’d speed up, so would he. Slow down, so would he. At one point he wanders over the centerline on me and I instinctively kicked out my right boot as I veered left to keep from getting flattened.
When he exited a few miles up I did also, pulled up beside him, and asked if he was xxxxxxx blind or what? He apologized but he may have regretted it later at home after seeing the dent in the door. During the excitement sheet metal damage may not have crossed his mind.
I will be completely honest.
In the past 14 months, I’ve been in four animal collisions (deer, specifically, $2000 in deductibles). Of those four, three could have been potentially avoided if I were paying more attention to the road than my phone. I don’t consistently stare at the screen while driving, but no one does.
If you’re that inattentive that you’ve hit 4 animals…how safe do you think people (especially small children) are when you;re driving.
All too often I find myself moving toward the curb to avoid an oncoming driver who is occupied with a cell phone. Many times they don’t look up until they have past me so they don’t realize how close they were to having a wreck. Luckily they have all been close calls so far. I wonder just how bad the situation will become before the public outcry demands a solution and of course the solution will be over the top.
I wonder just how bad the situation will become before the public outcry demands a solution and of course the solution will be over the top.
I don’t know of much punishment that would be over-the-top. It should be the same as reckless driving which in some states is a misdemeanor (punishable up to 1 year in prison).