Text Messaging and Driving

[SEEGERMANY]

No longer do people expect me to be available at every minute of the day.

Isn't it refreshing? When I go out, I look around and the vast majority of men and women have a fucking cell phone glued to their heads. It's as if they are tethered to some invisible being. They can't be enjoying the band or for that matter, their friends, because they are constantly yapping and thumbing (that sounds nasty ) God knows who.

Something that really aggravates me is when you make plans for the evening, you reserve seats, you go a little early to make sure everything is setup, then no one fucking shows or they show up late. Then you get "well, we decided to stop at Bob's Bar for a couple of drinks. We tried to reach you, but you don't have a cell phone." Well cockbite, prior to cell phones, WE kept our plans and any changes made were done as a group. It was called consideration.

As for the phones on the road, if you think they are not a distraction, you're fooling yourself. As many hours as I spend on the road, I see people with the phone glued to their head while their other hand/arm is flailing in the air. They're laughing, crying, screaming, and doing everything but concentrating on the road. Yea, you might think it's a violation of your rights to be pulled over for yapping on the phone, but I have the right not to be killed by your goofy ass!

P.S. My lap dog has her own car seat and is not allowed to talk on her phone!

[Spivonious]

There was a Doctor Who episode that had Bluetooth headsets controlling peoples' minds.

[thetroy]

AK47 is right that it could easily be abused by police but, quite frankly, they have enough power that they can already get away with a lot of shit if they feel so inclined.

I really doubt this would turn any good cops bad - or make any bad cops worse.

Also, studies have shown that handsfree vs. holding the phone does not make a difference. The only thing that matters is how people prioritize their tasks while multitasking. Some people place driving at #1, while others place talking at #1. The latter group is going to be a problem whether they have bluetooth or tin cans on strings.

[SEEGERMANY]

^ Good post.

[Ben...]

Ah, finally my time to shine!

I HATE cell phones. Every kid, their dog and their grandmother seems to have one where I live. Probably 9.5 out of 10 people at my school have them (Oh, the .5 comes from stupid kids my history teacher has "dealt" with). It was so bad last year that they had to implement a whole new set of rules just for cell phones. Many times I've been late for class because some stupid ditz is texting her friends while walking down the hallway.

Actually that happened today too. This stupid girl was texting and holding up the whole hallway so the guy I was with yelled "Hurry the hell up!" in her ear and knocked her phone out of her hands. Here's the kicker, a few teachers saw him do that and they not only didn't do anything, one of them laughed and the others were smiling. That's how fed up with this stuff some people at my school are.

My aforementioned history teacher loves to scare people into not using them. He takes peoples' phones and sets them on the top lip of the white board then smacks the board with a ruler until the phone falls. He then catches it at the last possible second then throws it on his desk. It's always a fun history class. Today he spent about 20 minutes imitating a stereotypical rich British guy sipping Cognac and smoking a cigar while talking about how England is "the bee's knees".

[CharvelRocker]

Also, studies have shown that handsfree vs. holding the phone does not make a difference. The only thing that matters is how people prioritize their tasks while multitasking. Some people place driving at #1, while others place talking at #1. The latter group is going to be a problem whether they have bluetooth or tin cans on strings.

When you have to hold the phone, you have to think about holding it up to your ear, and drive with one distracted hand on the wheel. Not to mention the obvious distraction this makes, it's something else to think about. There is nothing to hold when using a handsfree set, and thus one less thing your brain needs to process.

[toejam]

When you have to hold the phone, you have to think about holding it up to your ear, and drive with one distracted hand on the wheel. Not to mention the obvious distraction this makes, it's something else to think about. There is nothing to hold when using a handsfree set, and thus one less thing your brain needs to process.

Exactly.

[AK47]

AK47, are you saying you don't think there should be laws against texting while driving or using a handheld phone in a moving vehicle? If so, that is fine. It is your opinion. To me it seems dangerous and distracting.

A while back I was sitting at a red light at a moderately busy intersection. When my light turned green, I started moving forward. A woman, on a cell phone, coming from my right, ran HER red light and made a left in front of me. When I stopped and tooted the horn, she just looked at me like I was effin crazy and went about her business.

Now, had I not have been as alert a driver as I am, or if I was one of these jokers that hits the gas hard as soon as a light turns green, this could have resulted in me broadsiding her and then it would have come down to my word against hers with the police. You cannot count on witnesses to stop and wait for the police all the time. I have seen people drive right by serious accidents before the police got there like they didn't exist.

I think texting and driving is dangerous but we all got insurance and if you wreck you get a point against your record.

This is were people lose me alot of times because they think they have nothing to hide or they have never been subject to a illegal search.

We think passing laws is going to stop the behavior i.e. "Gun Free Zones"

All it does is invites the man into your life because of such a law a you are open to the perception of a police officer as to wether you were using a phone or not. Thus they can make a stop and dig deeper.

No regarding the argument "Well I have nothing to hide" that I always hear. It is not a matter of if you are hiding anything, if you do not exercise or know your rights you will lose said right.

[CharvelRocker]

I think texting and driving is dangerous but we all got insurance and if you wreck you get a point against your record.

Right, I bet you wouldn't say that about drinking and driving. Yeah, you get a point and a bumped insurance rate if you wreck there. Because no one ever gets hurt or has the possibility to get hurt when driving your car. Now, I think the phone should work like PA seatbelt laws; they can't stop you just for that, but if they pull you over for something else, you get hit with it.

[thetroy]

When you have to hold the phone, you have to think about holding it up to your ear, and drive with one distracted hand on the wheel. Not to mention the obvious distraction this makes, it's something else to think about. There is nothing to hold when using a handsfree set, and thus one less thing your brain needs to process.

I understand that reasoning, but it didn't hold up in the studies I've read. My guess is it's because people who are going to screw up driving while on the phone are going to do it regardless of their hands and people who aren't are more likely to drop the phone than rear-end someone.

It's just a question of priorities and, unfortunately, we can't really legislate those.

What we could do, in theory, is make it much tougher to get and keep a license and also make the changes in insurance premiums due to at-fault accidents be INSANE. As in along the lines of:

If you are determined to be at fault in an accident, your insurance rate triples. Have this occur for each and every accident and bad drivers will quickly have to be very rich to stay on the road.

[AK47]

Right, I bet you wouldn't say that about drinking and driving. Yeah, you get a point and a bumped insurance rate if you wreck there. Because no one ever gets hurt or has the possibility to get hurt when driving your car. Now, I think the phone should work like PA seatbelt laws; they can't stop you just for that, but if they pull you over for something else, you get hit with it.

With driving while intoxicated that is what it is. You drive around swerving you get pulled over because you were driving poorly thus causing a DUI arrest not some cop "Saw you look drunk".

Same goes for texting and driving you start swerving you get ticketed for crossing the solid lines or running a light not for the actual act of what the cop thought he saw you do in your car.

I think alot of the DUI laws are getting out of hand as well with the BAC so low to get one anyone can now a days. Thanks MADD. I am not against DUI laws but I think they are way to strict and it is becoming once again a source of revenue. Its no longer in the intrest of public safety just the bottom line.

For the record I do not drive impaired or texting and have no DUIs on my record or tickets or accidents. I do drive and talk on my cell phone if it is really important. I do not BS on my cell phone while driving.

[guitarsjb]

I think texting and driving is dangerous but we all got insurance and if you wreck you get a point against your record.

Uhm...no, we don't all have insurance. That's why I have (choose) to add "uninsured motorist" to my insurance premium, at an additional cost to me, because I can't be sure the idiot on the cell phone has any insurance.

[AK47]

Uhm...no, we don't all have insurance. That's why I have (choose) to add "uninsured motorist" to my insurance premium, at an additional cost to me, because I can't be sure the idiot on the cell phone has any insurance.

In California you lose your liscence for a year if you dont have insurance and you wreck. Then you can wind up in jail.

There are plenty of laws out already that protect us from idiots and ourselves. I dont like the idea of more laws.

In California every year they pass 1500 laws that protect us from ourselves. This is what we call a "Nanny State" and I cant stand it. People that grow up in Cali,MA,IL, NY and NJ are used to living in a police/nanny state and have been brainwashed into the lets "Ban Everything" and pass more laws mentality. Then our states are going broke with the jails over filled. Its a mean cycle.

[thetroy]

I really don't think that many people are in prison because of laws that are unique to any particular state.

Aren't more people in jail for drugs than anything else, anyway?

[m2pmd70]

I agree that it's a stupid thing to do.... but I do it. I guess I agree that the only really safe way to use a phone in the car is handsfree.

What I like about texting (which I should only do when not driving) is that the other person doesn't have to be available to talk just then. Flip the phone open when convenient, glance at the msg and reply when you "git a chaince" as they say around these parts.