Do You Text While Driving?

  • Thread starter Thread starter KennyFlys
  • Start date Start date
I'm all for banning the use of hands on devices (cell phones or text devices) while behind the wheel. A $500 fine and several points against the driver's license ought to be a good incentive against it.

I know everyone thinks "I drive OK reading, texting, talking, etc., but that other guy is awful" but you're (we're) wrong. Distracted drivers are BAD drivers.
 
kyleb said:
I'm all for banning the use of hands on devices (cell phones or text devices) while behind the wheel. A $500 fine and several points against the driver's license ought to be a good incentive against it.

I know everyone thinks "I drive OK reading, texting, talking, etc., but that other guy is awful" but you're (we're) wrong. Distracted drivers are BAD drivers.
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As long as we then also ban drinking coffee, eating a bagel or other food, car radios, GPS that have to be worked by touching them, environmental controls, etc.

Cars are filled with distractions. I think it far better to do a better job teaching some driving management and stop issuing licenses to people just because they have a pulse!
 
I used to think the to-doo about cell phone use in cars was BS, then I noticed that use of the cell phone (hand-held) resulted in DWHUA.

Texting? You gotta be kidding!
 
SCCutler said:
I used to think the to-doo about cell phone use in cars was BS, then I noticed that use of the cell phone (hand-held) resulted in DWHUA.

Texting? You gotta be kidding!
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There are actually a bunch stuff, not on the drawing board but actually being tested on roads, to add intelligence to the vehicle as it would seem being able to add it to the driver is not going to happen. Things such as the car detecting when you are at an unsafe closing speed to the car in front of you, the car will slow down regardless of what you want it to do and a warning will be given to the driver. There are also senors around the vehicle to detect when you are changing lanes in an unsafe manner. Some cools stuff. We are getting closer to pods we just get in and tell them to go.

There is also a big effort by the feds and state DOTs to create inteligent roadways. These roads would be set up to get info to cars to have them adjsut speeds such that back ups are avoided or when a route is blocked to automatically reroute traffic.
 
KennyFlys said:
:confused:
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Driving With
headupyourasska1.jpg
 
I won't use a cell while driving, & I don't text. I have never seen a person driving W/cell , or as SCCutler says DWHUA, that drove well. Every time they miss something;A signal, stop, yeilding right of way. And most are oblivious to what is around them. DaveR
 
smigaldi said:
There are actually a bunch stuff, not on the drawing board but actually being tested on roads, to add intelligence to the vehicle as it would seem being able to add it to the driver is not going to happen. Things such as the car detecting when you are at an unsafe closing speed to the car in front of you, the car will slow down regardless of what you want it to do and a warning will be given to the driver. There are also senors around the vehicle to detect when you are changing lanes in an unsafe manner. Some cools stuff. We are getting closer to pods we just get in and tell them to go.

There is also a big effort by the feds and state DOTs to create inteligent roadways. These roads would be set up to get info to cars to have them adjsut speeds such that back ups are avoided or when a route is blocked to automatically reroute traffic.
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Collision Warning wth Autobrake
http://www.volvocars.com/us/models/xc60/which/Pages/default.aspx
 
I'm against legislating behaviour. I think you should punish bad outcomes instead.

Let the bananaheads shave, lift weights, brush teeth, apply mascara, text, phone, juggle, or join the foot-high club's solo-aviator wing. I don't care. Really. They're having more fun or more productivity than me, good on them. I sat like a babboon and drooled and tried to figure out what the custom license plate "H8VARRA" means, and the nature of the mookslice who is paying $35/yr to send me that message off of his car's ass.

Who is the one we should be encouraging here?

WHEN they crash, however, let the points and penalties flow like spring wine. Put them in gitmo. Put ME in gitmo if I crash while texting. But don't interrupt my AIM conversation on my Sidekick so an officer can collect the state's rent in a $50 increment. That's annoying, and leaves no room for those of us who manage to do things in our cars aside from "sitting there and taking it" There are variable skill levels, especially on my freeways. I'm not the problem.

It's a losing game -- the people who are doing bad things today will do different bad things tomorrow. You can't legislate smart behaviour, why even try? You certainly can't outlaw all of the stupid things that people will do.

/Los Angelino.
/Probably a very different perspective than some have
/I fly to work anyway, I dunno where this rant came from :D
 
Funny, I think I got this bad habit of trying to read maps while driving from my experience flying...
 
Text while driving is a bad idea. However, I have sent some texts while flying. Often this will work even when you can't get a voice connection. Auto pilot on, of course.
 
On a side note how many of you read/post on POA while driving/flying??? :D
 
I've never sent a text message, nor do I know how.
I have seen the aftermath of a texting locomotive engineer. 26 dead.....

Also, there have been a surprising number of pedestrian fatalities where the "victim" walked into the path of an oncoming train while texting. One we are working on involved a young lady who walked around the gates into the side of a train, so involved in texting, she didn't see or hear a train that was already there, not approaching.

Guess how i know of these instances of sheer stupidity..... yup, their surviving families are suing the railroads for LARGE $um$ of money.

You cannot legislate stupidity. Punish those who cause injury or loss to others, maybe. But, when a texting driver crosses the centerline and kills some family of missionaries, what punishment is appropriate. Nothing will return the dead to life.
 
>You cannot legislate stupidity.

there is no need. :-/
 
Over the years with the huge increased usage of cellphones why wasn't there an increase in the accident rate?
 
smigaldi said:
You SURE CAN!

I think you meant you can't legislate smart. That is more elusive.
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What I always think is interesting is that the intersection cams actually do cut down on runners of red lights.

Apparently a ~200 dollar fine is more scary than a fatal collision.
 
I want to know if anyone's done a study on the effects of arguing, battling kids in the back seat. More or less distracting than a cell phone conversation?
 
Most pilots are taught to do a dozen things at once. Drivers are not. We, pilots can be distracted to disaster. The good news is it's a big sky out there and we're usually not next to cars, people, trees and poles.
AVIATE/DRIVE, NAVIGATE, COMMUNICATE. Same principle. A good test for distraction is if you can't remember the trip, you've probably been distracted.
 
Assuming you were intending to reply to my message, I understand the logic of increased risk. However, that increased risk isn't translating into increased accidents when you look at stats (available http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/) for the nation. In the past 20+ years there has been a huge increase in the number of people using cellphones while driving yet the overall accident rate is roughly flat (or slightly down).

It's almost as if the same group of people who talk and drive on phone and get into accidents would have had an accident anyway because of other distractions.
 
smigaldi said:
There are actually a bunch stuff but actually being tested on roads, to add intelligence to the vehicle
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Scott: Too bad they can't add that to the driver.

OMO, control of vehicles will become more the province of engineers because of things like this, inefficiencies and the number of accidents and fatalities we've come to accept.

Best,

Dave
 
Yesterday while on the highway I passed a woman in a Chevy Suburban. She had her head down and was texting. She wasn't looking up occassionally then looking back down. Just head down for who knows how long. This is why I don't ride motorcycles anymore. Sigh.



:mad3:
 
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