Distracted Driving

[BigBadLou]

Unfortunately, texting while driving is just a symptom of a society whose members have become so self-absorbed that they honestly don't grasp that life will go on without them if they're off the information grid for an hour or so.

Rich

^^^ THAT ^^^

I don't see normal people (our age) texting and driving.
It is always the idiot pipsqueaks in their teens and twenties who just must post on FecesBook or Tw@tter to tell the whole world what the f*** they're doing right now.
If they were at least posting something real, such as "Rear-ending an innocent driver" or "Trying to kill a pedestrian that I cannot see", it might be considered relevant.

In Texas, we now have a new law of no texting, calling or handling a cellphone or mobile device while in motion. You can imagine how that f***ed up traffic even worse:
1) Retards now post to FecesBook with the cell-phone hidden deep in their lap, thus head down and less fwd visibility.
2) More retards now text at red lights, failing to launch on green.
3) Idiots reading InstaTw@ts at night with their cell-phone illuminating their face and the whole car interior with bright white light, destroying their night vision.

Several times every day, I see a dumbsh*t driv.... errr ... wheel operator ... swerving in lanes nearly sideswiping other vehicles. I'd like to call it in but I don't because my cellphone is securely in my pocket, where it belongs. I don't have an extra hand or pair of eyes to operate a mobile device with left hand on the steering wheel, right hand on the stick and both feet on the pedals (juggling 3 of them with just 2 feet). That's the fun way to drive.

Now get off my lawn, dang kids!!
</rant>

 

[EdFred]

The speed could be set at over 10 mph, which would take care of walking, but busses, trains, passengers texting would all be a casualty of morons texting while driving. And yes, if you text while you drive, you are a moron.

Well then we can't have your iPads or iPhones running FF while in the plane either. Are you sure you want to have all motion to disable mobile devices?

 

[gkainz]

This is why I'm adding air horns to my truck.

 

[Maverick]

This is why I'm adding air horns to my truck.

I need those on my Ford Edge too.

 

[Acrodustertoo]

Even in this thread we have several who can only think of the greatness of their phone apps that they will argue in favor of allowing morons to continue to endangfer everyone around them while driving. There is no reason that certain functions like FF and GPS would not be allowed but to allocate for all functions to be allowed to save the few who ride a bus or a train is just a symptom of the "me, me, me" society we have now.
I agree, anyone who is searching the web or texting while driving is nothing more than a moron.

 

[PaulS]

Well then we can't have your iPads or iPhones running FF while in the plane either. Are you sure you want to have all motion to disable mobile devices?

Not sure what FF is, but you could set the texting and internet to turn back on over let's say 95 mph. GPS apps could be allowed to function. That's the nice thing about software, you can program it to do just about anything.

 

[EdFred]

Even in this thread we have several who can only think of the greatness of their phone apps that they will argue in favor of allowing morons to continue to endangfer everyone around them while driving. There is no reason that certain functions like FF and GPS would not be allowed but to allocate for all functions to be allowed to save the few who ride a bus or a train is just a symptom of the "me, me, me" society we have now.
I agree, anyone who is searching the web or texting while driving is nothing more than a moron.

The few that ride the trains? Chicago? NYC? DC? More ride the trains, busses, and take cabs there than the entire Mountain time zone combined.

 

[RJM62]

Not sure what FF is, but you could set the texting and internet to turn back on over let's say 95 mph. GPS apps could be allowed to function. That's the nice thing about software, you can program it to do just about anything.

Or maybe we can just try to dispel the delusion that we can achieve a perfect world if we just enact enough laws.

The only thing that will put a dent in the idiocy of texting while driving is when enough people die of it that their friends and loved ones start getting the message. Otherwise, they're simply too stupid and self-absorbed to comprehend that their parents lied to them: They're not really special, after all. When they keep doing stupid ****, eventually the odds will catch up with them, and they will die. They are not exempt from the laws of cause and effect.

Texting while driving has to become socially unacceptable. That's when it will stop. It's like the teen DWI rates: They've gone down in most parts of the country because it's become socially unacceptable within that age group. It's a turn-off now, not something to brag about. Teens who drive drunk lose the respect of their peers. But that only started happening when DWI became socially unacceptable among teens, and it only became socially unacceptable when enough of them died.

The same is true of texting while driving. If you pass laws against it, the idiots will just hide the phones in their laps and look down, making the act even more dangerous. If you enact laws to disable the capability with software, hacks will be available for download within minutes. If you enact laws to disable it with hardware, people will buy GSM phones from overseas that don't have that restriction.

The problem is not too few laws. It's too many idiots. And you can't outlaw stupidity.

Rich

 

[PaulS]

Or maybe we can just try to dispel the delusion that we can achieve a perfect world if we just enact enough laws.

The only thing that will put a dent in the idiocy of texting while driving is when enough people die of it that their friends and loved ones start getting the message. Otherwise, they're simply too stupid and self-absorbed to comprehend that their parents lied to them: They're not really special, after all. When they keep doing stupid ****, eventually the odds will catch up with them, and they will die. They are not exempt from the laws of cause and effect.

Texting while driving has to become socially unacceptable. That's when it will stop. It's like the teen DWI rates: They've gone down in most parts of the country because it's become socially unacceptable within that age group. It's a turn-off now, not something to brag about. Teens who drive drunk lose the respect of their peers. But that only started happening when DWI became socially unacceptable among teens, and it only became socially unacceptable when enough of them died.

The same is true of texting while driving. If you pass laws against it, the idiots will just hide the phones in their laps and look down, making the act even more dangerous. If you enact laws to disable the capability with software, hacks will be available for download within minutes. If you enact laws to disable it with hardware, people will buy GSM phones from overseas that don't have that restriction.

The problem is not too few laws. It's too many idiots. And you can't outlaw stupidity.

Rich

I don't think it would be too hard to implement, most would not be bright enough to bypass it. Normally I don't like suggesting things like this, but I truly believe this is a big problem that sooner or later will cause a spectacular problem. We've already had an issue in Boston with a train driver texting instead of driving causing an accident. Every time I see a car swerving in the road it is because of someone screwing with a cell phone. Build the functionality into the network instead of the phone, we get traced from place to place anyway, make some good come out of it.

 

[Maxmosbey]

The most dangerous thing in my Ford Escape is the Sync, especially the hands free Bluetooth. I won't connect to it anymore. I don't know how many times I've come close to getting into an accident because I'm dong seventy miles an hour trying to figure out why the Sync isn't working.

 

[Maverick]

The most dangerous thing in my Ford Escape is the Sync, especially the hands free Bluetooth. I won't connect to it anymore. I don't know how many times I've come close to getting into an accident because I'm dong seventy miles an hour trying to figure out why the Sync isn't working.

The Sync in my Edge works just fine.

 

[PaulS]

The most dangerous thing in my Ford Escape is the Sync, especially the hands free Bluetooth. I won't connect to it anymore. I don't know how many times I've come close to getting into an accident because I'm dong seventy miles an hour trying to figure out why the Sync isn't working.

My Jeep reads the text message to me, then you can verbally respond and it will text it back out, all hands free, I'd give that up if I thought it would stop some 28 yo mom from rear ending me at 40 mph because she is text her friend about a play date.

 

[RJM62]

I just turn the phone off when I'm driving. Probably more than half the time I'm in dead zones anyway.

My habit of switching my phone off really annoys some of my younger friends and family members. They tell me I should leave it on so I can catch up on my missed messages and calls when the phone does pick up a signal. Sometimes I do turn it on if I happen to be stopping someplace and it crosses my mind, but most times I don't bother. I'm not that important. No one dies if I miss a call or message.

Rich

 

[PaulS]

I just turn the phone off when I'm driving. Probably more than half the time I'm in dead zones anyway.

My habit of switching my phone off really annoys some of my younger friends and family members. They tell me I should leave it on so I can catch up on my missed messages and calls when the phone does pick up a signal. Sometimes I do turn it on if I happen to be stopping someplace and it crosses my mind, but most times I don't bother. I'm not that important. No one dies if I miss a call or message.

Rich

I really miss the days when they didn't exist. I use one, but I could easily do without it.

 

[silver-eagle]

Have you ever noticed... almost no one can ignore a ringing phone? Like Pavlov's dogs, it must be answered. I have had people I was talking with say "you gonna get that?" while I continue to ignore it. And with smartphones, it has just gotten worse. Now they are checking facebook, text, emails, and phonecalls.

 

[PaulS]

Have you ever noticed... almost no one can ignore a ringing phone? Like Pavlov's dogs, it must be answered. I have had people I was talking with say "you gonna get that?" while I continue to ignore it. And with smartphones, it has just gotten worse. Now they are checking facebook, text, emails, and phonecalls.

I have no mo robo for my land line, so I now don't respond until the second ring. And that is a good thing.

 

[Everskyward]

I finally broke down and got caller ID on my landline. It doesn't show the ID until the second or third ring. I don't answer if it is an 8xx number, "unknown caller" or any organization I don't support (all of them that call me on the phone).

 

[Maverick]

Have you ever noticed... almost no one can ignore a ringing phone? Like Pavlov's dogs, it must be answered. I have had people I was talking with say "you gonna get that?" while I continue to ignore it. And with smartphones, it has just gotten worse. Now they are checking facebook, text, emails, and phonecalls.

I m so happy that we have caller ID at work now. I get so many junk phone calls during the day that I spent way too much time answering phone calls that were just an annoyance. Now that we have caller ID I never answer calls that I don't recognize, I just let them go to voice mail. They never leave a message so the calls are obviously not very important.

 

[cowman]

Have you ever noticed... almost no one can ignore a ringing phone? Like Pavlov's dogs, it must be answered. I have had people I was talking with say "you gonna get that?" while I continue to ignore it. And with smartphones, it has just gotten worse. Now they are checking facebook, text, emails, and phonecalls.

I can, unless I'm expecting an important call I just press the power or decline button and send it voicemail. The person I'm talking to has priority....also if I'm tired and just don't feel like talking to anyone or something like that. Hey, I have caller ID, I have voicemail... there's no need to pick up immediately anymore!

This is actually one of the best arguments for a text. If you can tell me what you needed to communicate in one sentence then I can glance at it quickly and get the message without interrupting what I'm doing. I can also reply at my leisure and even refer back to the information later. I actually try not to bother people with voice calls if I can avoid it these days.

 

[Everskyward]

This is actually one of the best arguments for a text. If you can tell me what you needed to communicate in one sentence then I can glance at it quickly and get the message without interrupting what I'm doing. I can also reply at my leisure and even refer back to the information later. I actually try not to bother people with voice calls if I can avoid it these days.

This...

I don't text when it requires a long "conversation" but it's good for short messages.

 

[BigBadLou]

This is why I'm adding air horns to my truck.

I need those on my Ford Edge too.

Way ahead of ya. Right after I got hit by a clueless b*tch and totaled her Saturn, I found a pair of air horns at a semi boneyard and installed it on the frame rail of my F350. Now most retards get out of my way. But those who are stupid enough to hit their brakes in front of an 8000-lb ’murcan steel truck towing 10,000 lbs, will get to reap the benefits of their airbags and ultimately insurance coverage. (I have a dashcam to prove what kind a of retard pulls a switch-n-squat)

 

[BigBadLou]

This...

I don't text when it requires a long "conversation" but it's good for short messages.

For a conversation longer that a text, it might behoove one to use the phone to ... get this .... phone the person and discuss.
Afterall, if I call them, the conversation is usually over before I can finish the text message on my flip phone.

 

[BigBadLou]

I finally broke down and got caller ID on my landline. It doesn't show the ID until the second or third ring. I don't answer if it is an 8xx number, "unknown caller" or any organization I don't support (all of them that call me on the phone).

FWIW, ditch the AT&T monopoly and get VoIP line. You will thank yourself later.
Free caller ID, free call blocking, free call fwding, free texting, free voicemail, free transcripts ... you name it.
When we finally told AT&T to f*** off and stopped paying the horrible blackmail rate, the first month paid for the VoIP box and each next month paid for an hour of AvGas. Now with the fuel prices so low, we can fly to the beach every month.

 

[BigBadLou]

... I'm dong seventy miles an hour trying to figure out why the Sync isn't working.

Do I hear the common (among pilots) phrase "what is it doing now?"

 

[Everskyward]

FWIW, ditch the AT&T monopoly and get VoIP line. You will thank yourself later.
Free caller ID, free call blocking, free call fwding, free texting, free voicemail, free transcripts ... you name it.
When we finally told AT&T to f*** off and stopped paying the horrible blackmail rate, the first month paid for the VoIP box and each next month paid for an hour of AvGas. Now with the fuel prices so low, we can fly to the beach every month.

I don't have a reliable enough internet connection, and my landline is not AT&T.

 

[Everskyward]

For a conversation longer that a text, it might behoove one to use the phone to ... get this .... phone the person and discuss.
Afterall, if I call them, the conversation is usually over before I can finish the text message on my flip phone.

On the other hand, if I text or email information they can read it at their leisure. That's the advantage I find with not calling.

 

[PaulS]

Way ahead of ya. Right after I got hit by a clueless b*tch and totaled her Saturn, I found a pair of air horns at a semi boneyard and installed it on the frame rail of my F350. Now most retards get out of my way. But those who are stupid enough to hit their brakes in front of an 8000-lb ’murcan steel truck towing 10,000 lbs, will get to reap the benefits of their airbags and ultimately insurance coverage. (I have a dashcam to prove what kind a of retard pulls a switch-n-squat)

Ahhh, that accident would be your fault and your dash cam would hang you in the civil suit.

 

[EdFred]

Ahhh, that accident would be your fault and your dash cam would hang you in the civil suit.

A switch n squat is changing lanes and slamming on the breaks. He would not be at fault.

 

[PaulS]

A switch n squat is changing lanes and slamming on the breaks. He would not be at fault.

Gotcha.