We all see it. Many of us do it. No, I'm not talking about drunk driving. I'm talking about cell phones in cars. I saw this on the news the other day. I also saw another piece on the news where cops were dressed in street clothes holding signs saying 'we're not homeless, we're cops and ticketing for cell phone violations' (paraphrasing). Yet, people were still not paying attention and texting. About a year ago, my wife's former coworker's daughter was killed while running because of a kid texting while driving. Yesterday, I was walking to a job, looked in front of me and there's a woman texting while driving with a baby in the back seat. Focus: We all know drunk driving is dangerous. Cell phone use during driving is just as bad. What can be done to stop it? Should it be stopped? Focus Two: Do you have any routine you follow with your cell phone in the car? For instance, I get in the car, my cell phone is clicked to silent (not vibrate) - and put into my left pocket. I never look at my cell phone when driving. Do you? When? If so, what would make you stop?
I don't buy that talking on a cell phone is just as bad as being drunk. There's no way thats true. How could that even be measured? I agree that it's dangerous, but no way nearly as dangerous as being drunk. That being said I read email while driving. And not even in traffic, going 60 MPH on I95. It's terrible and I shouldn't do it. My cell usually goes on the passenger seat plugging into my charger and the auxiliary port so I can listen to podcasts.
I saw this. Talking alone doesn't appear to be as dangerous as drunk driving, but texting and emailing - to the degree it can be measured, are more dangerous. It's hard to find solid numbers, but it appears that 25% of all accidents involve cell phone use. That's pretty scary, if true.
I am adamant about not using my phone while driving. I have, I can pull over if it's important or use wireless. Being distracted only takes a split second to kill you behind the wheel, and it CAN happen to you. I've been hit from behind twice by people texting in the last two years, as somebody who has survived a fatal drunk driving accident I'll honestly say people on their phones make me much more nervous than drunks based purely on their sheer volume. Texters are everywhere and doing it all the time regardless of traffic, location or time of day. And virtually all of them are under the impression that they're incapable of causing an accident. That's dangerous thinking.
Now that I will definitely believe. I can glance at an email because they show up as alerts without me having to unlock my phone, but Im not actively writing them. Saw this a few years ago (Crown and for anyone else who may have survived something similar, Trigger Warning):
I've had two people hit me in my car because they were texting. Side effect of working around teenagers. At most I'll glance at my phone to change a song or put on a new podcast, but if someone texts me I automatically hit the call button on the Bluetooth in my car and call them. If its that important I can call and keep both hands on the wheel.
I think that's what I don't get, people could just pull over if they needed to text or email. Plus, what the hell is so important that a response is required at that moment? I was tempted to try an experiment (instead I did this thread) and see how long people could go without looking at their cell phones. They have totally changed the definition of 'emergency' - for instance, yesterday I received a text from my boss around 2 p.m. about something I said I was available for this weekend. I didn't respond and got another text 2 hours later. When I go out with friends, the amount of time people spend looking at their phones is amazing to me. It seems that most people just carry that habit right into the car and are constantly looking at their phones. I was driving back from Manyunk the other day and the traffic was bumper to bumper. The amount of times I had to honk at the people in front of me because they were looking at their phones was startling. I probably - without exaggeration - honked 7 or 8 times - and I was only on 676 for about twenty minutes.
Simply talking on the phone and driving isn't any more distractingly dangerous than talking with a passenger, adjusting the radio, remembering to use your turn signal, or having a 1 year old screaming in the back seat. If you can't do both without making becoming a hazard to other motorists / pedestrians / yourself, you probably shouldn't be operating a 4000 pound weapon at high speeds anyway. Trying to text and drive or email and drive? It is dangerous. There are some people that can use caution and do both safely and some who can't. Georgia decided to not try and sort out those differences and just made it illegal for everyone. (It's against the law, so of course I never do it; much like speeding is against the law, so I never do that.) I have some friends that live in LA, and it's illegal to talk on a cell phone and drive there, unless you have a hands free device.
I don't text while driving anymore. But I used to. Doing 120 (kph) on the highway, driving stick, drinking coffee, texting on a tactile keyboard. My smartphone made that a lot harder since I had to look at the keyboard to see what I was typing. And then I had a friend whose car was written off because they were sharing photos on Facebook while speeding through suburbia, ramped a curb and hit a streetlight. I stopped cold turkey. That guy could have killed someone. To put things into slight perspective, everyone knows this is a rampant problem. So what do the car companies do? Cars now come with WiFi. What do the cops do? Create apps for reporting bad drivers. I'm not saying these folks are responsible for ensuring that people don't text and drive, but they certainly put the tools in your hand to make some very poor decisions.
According to the new laws (last year or so) texting in a commercial vehicle can result in fines up to $1500 for the driver and $11,000 for the company so you can bet your ass I make sure we have blue tooth or a hands free device in all of our trucks. I don't think I could live without blue tooth anymore now that I'm used to it. My truck will even read my texts to me and while I can't reply I can call back. I drive a 7000 pound tank and I do my best not to text or email while I'm driving, not just because it's illegal and carries a massive fine but because I know I'm a shitty driver when I'm texting. Focus: Fine the shit out of people until they stop. It's not drunk driving but none of us are good drivers when we aren't paying attention. I'm not saying I'm not guilty from time to time but there is no need for it. Focus 2: I have a compartment in the middle of my dash where I can plug in to the sync system in my truck and that is where I try to remember to put my phone so that I'm not tempted to pick it up.
I will generally have my phone face up on the middle seat/center console so I can see who is texting me, if I want to pull over and read it. With it in the center console I can generally see who is texting me out of my peripheral vision or a very very quick glance at the screen.
In my unprofessional, unsolicited, bullshit opinion texting is worse than drunk driving. I tried sending "on my way" while driving and was so disoriented it scared the shit out of me. Felt almost like vertigo, it was insane, just trying to text felt like I was completely stinkin' drunk. Wait until a red light. Because I'm not worried about someone crashing; I am worried about someone crashing into me while typing "LOL BECKI, MIMOSA BRUNCH" Driving down the highway, the same one that was a death trap a few years ago, you see people texting on smart phones all the time. Blows my mind.
As an insurance agent I can tell you the amount of just dip shit driving compared to the dip shits that are actively doing something with their phone and cause a hazard or accident is astounding. There is nothing that important. Also, as someone that remembers what life was like before cell phones, you will survive waiting to respond. I'm not a big fan of hands free as the alternative either. It's still a distraction. Yes, it's the same as having a conversation with a passenger but at least that passenger is an extra set of eyes and can let you know that you're about to kiss the Acura in front of you.
I feel the same. If I really have to, I'll call someone while I'm driving. Otherwise it will wait. Plus what the hell is with people always setting their phone out in front of them when you're out someplace? Cell phones can be as annoying as they are useful.
I like to wait until I'm at a red light to text just to piss katokoch off. I used to tell people texting isn't distracting. You know what's distracting? Screaming babies/kids in the back. Hell, I got a speeding ticket one time because I was arguing with one of my kids about how there was no way in hell I was going to Walmart to get milk just because they were the only store to also carry S'Mores cereal. I'm so glad I'm beyond that stage. Now I just have one that makes me catch my breath as she's driving BECAUSE SHE'S GOING TO DRIVE OFF THE FUCKING ROAD. And how can she NOT remember the way home after going that way multiple times? We must have taken a corner about 40 because she didn't remember. Holy hell, she's bad.
It must be a Pennsylvania thing. I took one of my exes home after we broke up and we were within 3 miles of the house she spent her whole life in and we came to a T intersection. I asked her which way I should turn and she had no idea. As far as cell phones? Fuck them. I look at my phone about once a week, if that. I've always hated phones, I didn't get a landline in my house until I was 30. I always figured if someone wanted to talk to me they could come over. Nothing pisses me off more then someone that can't go 2 minutes without looking at their phone. If your actual life is that boring, you're doing it wrong. Part of my job requires me talking to my clients on the phone and at least a couple times a week I'll get yelled at because "I'm driving!", "I'm in a meeting!" or "I'm getting my hair done!" Then why did you answer your phone? And why are you yelling at me? You knew you were pre-occupied, I didn't. I just write them off and they can go fuck themselves. As far as driving and using a phone in any way shape or form? Most folks can't drive worth a shit when they're not distracted. They don't know how to merge (That means I'm supposed to speed up and get ahead of you right?), stay in one lane (Whichever lane my car is mostly in is mine, unless I want in the other one. Then that one is mine), who has the right of way (ME), understand common courtesy towards other drivers (Fuck you. 15 MPH below the speed limit is fast enough). Put a phone within their reach that they have to look at every minute or so? Yeah, great idea.
The idiot girl in the back seat of the car probably would've lived if she would've been wearing her seat belt, just saying... When I got a touch screen phone this became an issue for me for reasons I don't even fully understand; I never texted or even really talked on my phone while driving when I had a flip phone. Shortly after I got my touch screen phone I thought I could pull off texting while at red lights until the time I mistook a green arrow for a green light - because I wasn't paying full attention to the road - and got halfway into the intersection before I realized I still had a red. I was damn lucky none of the crossing lights were green and no one else was in the intersection. After that I make it a point to keep the phone in my pocket whenever I'm driving; if I feel I have to text/call I'll pull over. Most of the time though I don't even notice that I receive texts because the text alert is quiet and I can't hear it over my music.
^^^ THIS RIGHT THERE. A point I've often argued when challenged about my criminal history is that a car "driven" by a texter will kill you just as dead as a car driven by a "drunk" driver. But the legislation against texters isn't as harsh. Texters face fines in some jurisdictions, but DUI offenders can become felons, even when no one was hurt, and there was no property damage suffered by anyone. I'd be willing to argue (and bet green money) that I could out-drive a person on a road-course who was texting, versus me sporting a .12 BAC. For the record, I need both of my hands while driving, because my car has a manual transmission.