Well the point is the safety of others and not yourself, same as how transfer trucks are only aloud in the right lanes because they would cause much more damage if they were to cross the divider.

Do people really need another reason to be distracted while driving?

I am new here but I have strong feelings about texting and driving having been hit by a woman while on my motorcycle. I see an increasing number of people sitting at stop lights finishing off a text while the nice people behind them have to sit through another cycle of the red light because they were too polite to honk their horns. I have been on the bike and watched people try to text and drive as they slowly crossed into my lane while trying to finish off their very important message. I read somewhere that driving under the influence might be safer than texting. I am a private pilot with an instrument rating they always told me to fly the plane first and deal with the other stuff after, talking was always the last. I could go on and on but you get the point. Don't text or talk while you're on the road!

Unfortunately or fortunately the only thing that doesn't work on my new to me 2000 base is the horn.

Driving while making text or vice versa, I don't do as much as possible. This is to prevent accident. So when someone call or text me and I didn't answer, they know it already.

This poll should include texting at stop lights to be the same as texting while driving. Since err.. you are legally driving a car. Which would explain why there are only 2 people voting yes.
Unless you're using speech activated texting where your eyes never leave the road ahead, any texting done while the car is in traffic is texting while driving.

This weekend I had a two hour hike to the beach house. The missus sent several texts and called several times. I ignored all until I pulled into a parking lot to advise that there was heavy traffic. Me: "what is the emergency". Her: "I called you". Me: "because there's an emergency right? or have you forgotten I don't answer the phone or text while I drive".
Her: "when are you getting here?".... women.

This is a topic of debate for sure. What defines a better handling car ? What about the weekend warrior who set up his ford focus with better suspension and brakes to run autox? His car would be considered suitable NOW correct ? Or how about that neglected 20 year old BMW, probably considered "better" at glance, but what happens when the exhaust falls off or the suspension breaks? I agree with increasing speed limits, or setting up separate lanes with different speeds. But distinguishing cars that are "better" would be hard. I can already see it now, that getting your vehicle registered would be a nightmare to classify better or not, then you cant forget insurance! Dang, my car is "better" so it must be worth more, hence the reason I have to pay a bigger premium just to drive it.

Increase the highway speeds, enforce the minimum speed, trucks to the right lanes (which they mostly do anyway), and enforce RECKLESS driving more than just speeding.

Basically the same in California. under 18- first year driving NO phone use, hands free or otherwise. After that hands free only



The human brain does not multi-task, it switches from task to task quickly(sometimes). That being said, the typical time it takes to look at a phone, grasp what it says and eyes back to the road is 6 seconds! At 65 mph, you cover ~ 95 feet per second, 6 seconds = ~575 feet or almost 2 football fields


How many times have you been driving and then all of a sudden you don't remember how you got where you were? I'm not talking about a long trip, but just a few seconds of distraction

I don't understand the urgency with cell phones. Phones are designed to queue things so you can get to them later. Answering machine for voice, texts queue, emails etc.

That's how I use mine. I only occasionally answer phone calls directly and leave them to the answering machine and texts for later retrieval at my leisure. Seems to be making me more of a commodity since I am not available to everyone, all the time, when ever THEY want. :p

If the world loses contact with people for an hour or 3 it will not come to a grinding halt, unless your in active duty combat.

As a matter of fact if most of us mysteriously disappear forever it would merely be an uncomfortable feeling for the rest, which would soon pass. :eek:

Based on some stats others posted, calling someone in their car could be a good way to kill them without ever being investigated for homocide. Time to start calling the EX more often. ;)

Rant complete, thanks for reading and planning your counter argument! :D

customers want contact immediately, that's why I installed Bluetooth so that when I am driving between locations they can contact me, if they can't then I lose business...it's that simple.

customers are impatient & will use another company as first contact is everything ;)

Texting while driving is arguably more dangerous and more heinous behavior than drunk driving. Even reading a text while driving is dangerous.

Anybody, ANYBODY who texts while driving is either too stupid or too selfish to be driving at all.

For those who answered "Yes" or even "On rare occasions", if you can't get by without your face planted in your phone, ride the bus. You'll save a life, and it may be your own.

I've given up on hoping people won't talk on the phone while driving. Studies have shown that even talking on the phone is more distracting than talking to a passenger.

I guess that's one benefit to driving top-down: it's pointless to have a phone conversation because there's too much noise (for me at least) to hear what the other party is saying, and it washes out what I'm trying to say into the hands-free mic.

DBear

I wonder if things like Apple Carplay or whatever it's called will just make things worse.
People DO get ingress with a mere phone call. Some people are good an pull over before picking up there phone to answer. But you can sometimes see they are in a panic "MUST ANSWER NOW" and barely pull over. just stock their car almost in the lane.

With social media popping up on a console screen, people will be on their reading their Facebook

no matter how good some of the drivers here THINK they are, if your eyes are off the road for just a split second, then it could already be too late.
You can take the risk, most likely you'll be OK, but you could be the one that ploughs through a mother and child

I think phone makers should be forced to install chips that block the ability to text if the accelerometer in the phone senses you are traveling over 10 mph. If you are a passenger you would have to enter a code that would be texted to the phone company and record that you intentionally removed the block. Should there be an accident and it was shown that you removed the text block as the driver, well you assume 100% liability and not your insurance. The insurance company is covering you as a driver, not as a text monkey. It's criminal that people are dying because someone had to text a driver that there's no chicken in the fridge or some other non-emergency.

Sounds like a pain, but I really like the liability thing, that would make roads much safer.

there are apps, at least for the iPhone that do just that. They are initially for teen drivers, but there is no reason an old fart could not use it as well

While I answered yes to the question, I did so only because I am very honest. I do not regularly do so, and almost the only time is when I am at a stoplight/sign. Even then it is only a couple words to acknowledge that I recieved the text, ie. "K", or "OMW" which my phone spells out as on my way.

As for talking on the phone, that is why I have a hands free system. I do not feel that it is any more dangerous than talking to someone in the passenger seat. Maybe even less so, since I don't feel the need to take my eyes off the road to see the person I am talking to.

To others on here that are getting so self righteous about it, make sure your homes are in order. Any of you eat while driving? Anyone drink (non-alcoholic) while driving, then look for the cup holder? Anyone have a GPS that they are reading/entering an address? Anyone get too close to the car in front of you to read a bumper sticker, or figure out a personalized plate? Anyone ever look at a map while driving? Anyone ever look too long at that pretty girl walking down the sidewalk?

There are tons of things to distract us while driving, and it is our responsibility to limit those whenever possible. I try to be as good and safe as possible, but I won't get so high and mighty as to say I have never done something stupid or dangerous while driving my car.

Sorry, off my soapbox.

:DA few years ago you could buy Cell Phone Jammers from China, but I missed the boat and the US banned imports of them just as I was about to order.

It will disconnect all cell phone communication within 100' of your location.

That would surely make your driving vicinity a lot safer and shut down those annoying chic calls at the gym where the girl simply is stationary on the equipment while chatting and pissing off all the other people that go to the gym to use the equipment.

We need a DIY for a home grown Jammer.

Cell phones kill almost as many people as guns? So lets ban cell phones too. Next make smoking illegal :D Freeeeeeedom!!!

all very good points and the sad truth

No. No. No. No. No. Uh, well, I'm almost a saint :D

it's more of a pain to enter an unlock code so that you can text, read text messages, answer text messages all while operating a running vehicle. And since you're not moving when parked or out of the car there would be no code to enter. This would also be great for people who try to text at stoplights, don't quiet finish the text but continue texting when the light turns green. I see this all the time.
I'm not sure what country this took place in but they have the right idea:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBRYBFacl1E




But as long as text-blocking while moving remains an app thing it will never work. Protecting the lives of others is not something the majority of text-addicted drivers have any real interest in if it means having to wait until they're out of the car.
This is a public safety issue, people are dying or losing their legs. You can't use a phone a plane something there's almost no evidence of it causing harm, yet you're allowed to text in a moving car? Huh??

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