Teens Texting and Driving: Bad Combination

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
Joined
May 9, 2000
Messages
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Texting while driving is not the best of combinations for safety, but convincing the multitudes who do is a tough sell. An advocacy group in Belgium made a video of drivers texting while driving, making them believe it will soon be a new law and on the driver’s test. The resulting reactions from the drivers are pretty much what you would expect and tends to drive home the group’s no texting while driving sentiment.
 
No duh, anyone texting while driving is a moron. Especially the, "I am a great driver, I am the exception" morons. Teens doing it only compounds a bad situation. Teens being allowed behind the wheel without a comprehensive training course, and adequate supervised practice scares me just as badly, if not more so.
 
I just posted this reply using voice to text. I don't see what the big deal with texting while driving is, just don't actually type on your phone...

I didn't post it while driving mind you, I'm just using my phone. having to speak your punctuation though does get a little bit weird.
 
Maybe they should bring back the old school drivers ed where you have to watch movies of accident scenes were people died because of some jerk that was texting. Nah, probably wouldn't work. Nobody thinks it could happen to them.
 
^this couldn't have said it better.

Loved the video.

I commute to and fro via bike for work and in one year I clipped three times by car mirrors, one the driver kept on driving, one was a customer of mine who drove a F-350 and took me down, the last was a kid in his later teens who stopped a few hundred yards down the road which I guess was using his phone. Lucky for me I destroyed all their mirrors w/o any long term harm to me. :)
 
Kueller said:
I just posted this reply using voice to text. I don't see what the big deal with texting while driving is, just don't actually type on your phone...

I didn't post it while driving mind you, I'm just using my phone. having to speak your punctuation though does get a little bit weird.
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If i have to respond to something I will do voice to text only. Doing anything else is absolutely retarded.

What I don't get is how most people who are texting while driving won't use this feature.
 
I've always been very stern with talking/texting while driving. How do I personally solve this problem? Well, its quite simple! I NEVER USE MY PHONE AS I DRIVE! THAT SIMPLE!

If I'm riding with some one on their phone while they're driving I politely yet sternly tell them to please not use it while they drive. I don't like putting myself in possible death type situations. I don't care if its your car and you're driving...I don't do it.

I have to say though I find it funny when older people like in their 40's+ (I'm 25) talk on their phones while driving as if its:

A. Even necessary
B. At all responsible
C. They NEED to talk while driving, like they didn't go without cellphones for years of their lives. You drove for 20+ years without one...you didn't need it then, you DON'T need it now!
 
Belgium drives on the proper side of the car? :D


Also found it a bit ironic that the subtitles said "look at how you spelled scool"
 
Anyone notice at 1:35 the guys head hits the dash while he's wearing a seatbelt? That car is dangerous.
 
JoeUser said:
I've always been very stern with talking/texting while driving. How do I personally solve this problem? Well, its quite simple! I NEVER USE MY PHONE AS I DRIVE! THAT SIMPLE!

If I'm riding with some one on their phone while they're driving I politely yet sternly tell them to please not use it while they drive. I don't like putting myself in possible death type situations. I don't care if its your car and you're driving...I don't do it.

I have to say though I find it funny when older people like in their 40's+ (I'm 25) talk on their phones while driving as if its:

A. Even necessary
B. At all responsible
C. They NEED to talk while driving, like they didn't go without cellphones for years of their lives. You drove for 20+ years without one...you didn't need it then, you DON'T need it now!
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I am not polite about it. I had a friend pull out a phone to check texts while she was driving and I yelled at her "what the fuck are you doing?" That got the message across.

The only answer for why people check messages and calls while driving is that they're narcissists. "Oh my god, someone contacted me? It must be urgent!" Voice mail exists and many people don't reply to texts for hours anyway, FFS. Answer stuff when your engine is off. No one is calling to ask if we should launch the nukes.
 
JoeUser said:
I have to say though I find it funny when older people like in their 40's+ (I'm 25) talk on their phones while driving as if its:

A. Even necessary
B. At all responsible
C. They NEED to talk while driving, like they didn't go without cellphones for years of their lives. You drove for 20+ years without one...you didn't need it then, you DON'T need it now!
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Agreed. When I worked at my previous job, I was riding with my boss to our new warehouse. He stopped for lunch. So we are going down the interstate, 75 mph, while he is eating a cheeseburger with one hand, talking on the cell phone with the other, and driving a Dodge Ram 1500 with his knees on the steering wheel. I thought we were going to die. I won't even answer my phone while driving.
 
xxEIEIOxx said:
Agreed. When I worked at my previous job, I was riding with my boss to our new warehouse. He stopped for lunch. So we are going down the interstate, 75 mph, while he is eating a cheeseburger with one hand, talking on the cell phone with the other, and driving a Dodge Ram 1500 with his knees on the steering wheel. I thought we were going to die. I won't even answer my phone while driving.
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Holy shit.

We need the cops to bust all these morons with ten thousand dollar tickets. Maybe that will wake them up.
 
Someone needs to invent a mobile phone jammer that only works while inside the car. Similar to the breathalyzer connected to the starter motor for people convicted of drink driving. That way teens, or whoever else would be obliged to get out fo the car when they wanted to use their mobile.
 
sfsuphysics said:
Belgium drives on the proper side of the car? :D


Also found it a bit ironic that the subtitles said "look at how you spelled scool"
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Contrary to popular belief more of the world drives on the same side of the road as the United states. Its about 77% right side of the road, 23% left side. Most of europe is the right side the road, the exception being the UK.
 
Despite the stupidity of texting while driving, many of these campaigns are misguided. The rate of traffic fatalities has been going down despite the influx of texting drivers. Texting is not the root problem.
 
Whatsisname said:
Despite the stupidity of texting while driving, many of these campaigns are misguided. The rate of traffic fatalities has been going down despite the influx of texting drivers. Texting is not the root problem.
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So what is the "root problem?"
 
blackhand1001 said:
Contrary to popular belief more of the world drives on the same side of the road as the United states. Its about 77% right side of the road, 23% left side. Most of europe is the right side the road, the exception being the UK.
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See there's something that blew my mind, popular film (even documentaries.. maybe because British made?) make me believe most steering wheels are on the right side of the car.
 
Whatsisname said:
Despite the stupidity of texting while driving, many of these campaigns are misguided. The rate of traffic fatalities has been going down despite the influx of texting drivers. Texting is not the root problem.
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True, but texting is; an identifiable, punishable, and most importantly, an acceptable revenue generating offense.

It is truly a treat to public safety, and worse, a threat to the insurance companies profit margins.:p
 
There always seem to be ppl like this who are in denial .... back in my days i used to drive with a beer in my hand and my kid on my lap and i never got into an accident.

If they are making campaigns to bring to the attention that texting and driving is bad , it's because with the increase of smart phone there is a noticeable increase in accidents in which texting was involved.

They can easily make statistics with police reports in this digital age.
 
I worked as a field service engineer for a medical company. I was required to answer 100+ emails a day, including responding to emergency repairs that literally had life/death consequences of left unfixed in a timely manner. My company had a zero-tolerance policy on cell phone use (not even hands free) while driving. During my 3 year period working for them, I texted/emailed/talked while driving constantly, out of necessity. "Just pulling over to answer/email" wasn't viable, as we were constantly understaffed and I personally sat at an average of 25% overtime for the entirety of my career there.

I was literally forced to do the wrong thing in order to not only keep my job, but also for the lives of hospital patients...but had I ever gotten in an accident related to the cellphone, I would be the bad person.

-----

As far as texting while driving to the general populous, please go ahead and ban it...but it won't really help. People will still do it, and people will still absolutely suck at driving. Out of my time "on the road", the biggest failure of drivers was not cellphone/texting, but the complete inability to use a turn indicator. Literally 75% of all drivers on the road either don't use it at all OR use it only while committing a lane change/movement.

Apparently, "signal your intentions" is not being taught to student drivers these days. Such as simple concept, completely lost to the vast majority.
 
JoeUser said:
I've always been very stern with talking/texting while driving. How do I personally solve this problem? Well, its quite simple! I NEVER USE MY PHONE AS I DRIVE! THAT SIMPLE!
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For your age, you are extraordinarily wise...;) Thinking about a car suddenly veering into my lane at 70mph just because the driver is looking down at his cell phone--scares the crap out of me. It's a scarier imaginary scene for me than even drunk drivers.

I read a story the other day (on [H]?) about North Carolina passing a law forbidding any kind of cell phone usage while driving--aside from mere texting. The state believes that even having a both-hands-on-the-wheel conversation is still distracting to the driver--so from now on no cell phones at all--hands-free or otherwise--for N.C. drivers. I can't honestly disagree.

Forget a minute about driving, though. I assume you have experienced those people who wear Bluetooth devices and mics on their faces while in public, and constantly walk around muttering continuously out loud, as if talking to a ghost? That's pretty irritating, too. I'd like to see those people committed for mental hygiene treatments (shock treatments) because they have obviously contracted the dreaded "I'm a Star Trek Crewmember, Too" syndrome.

Too bad it's not real and nobody ever beams them up. Permanently.
 
Whatsisname said:
too many people have to drive too many miles.
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...the roads would still be dangerous if people were driving fewer miles and texting.

You don't stop working on a smaller problem because you don't have a solution for a larger one.
 
lilbabycat said:
I was literally forced to do the wrong thing in order to not only keep my job, but also for the lives of hospital patients...but had I ever gotten in an accident related to the cellphone, I would be the bad person.
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Yes.

Your company was negligent.
 
Oh, PS, if you think indicator usage is the main failure of the driving public, I can already safely guess you are a chronic tailgater.
 
I wonder if you could make the device disable if it located in the drivers seat and in motion. Not sure if that's possible.
 
It isn't just teens that have this problem. My 40s-something cousin always preaches to his two teen daughters not to text while driving. The first time he didn't listen to his own advice he caused an accident. No one was hurt, fortunately, but the two girls didn't let him forget it for long time.
 
(complaint thread?)
I like how people texting on the freeway think its safer to get in the rightmost lane because its slower, and completely ignore the drivers coming down from the entrance ramp.
 
Aluisious said:
Anyone notice at 1:35 the guys head hits the dash while he's wearing a seatbelt? That car is dangerous.
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Except he wasn't wearing a seat belt in that short take, take a good look. Excellent driving instructor. :rolleyes:
 
Entertainer said:
(complaint thread?)
I like how people texting on the freeway think its safer to get in the rightmost lane because its slower, and completely ignore the drivers coming down from the entrance ramp.
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...or assume because you are on a road with a 20MPH limit you can stop paying attention to the road to do your makeup. Dumb ass caused a four car tangle of rear end collisions because she hit another at 35+, which then hit me, which then pushed my car through a stop sign to hit someone on the other side of the intersection. One car totaled, one severely damaged, I needed a new set of bumpers, and I think the person in front of me needed a paint job on her rear bumper. Two lawsuits later (my back was injured in the crash and the person in front of me got whiplash) the at-fault driver's auto insurance company dropped her and both her parents. I'm sure it didn't help that she was cited for excessive speeding.

People will be stupid regardless of if they can text and drive or not. I'm not saying we don't need restrictions, but I am saying that stupid people are going to be stupid regardless of what method of stupidity is available to them.
 
lilbabycat said:
Out of my time "on the road", the biggest failure of drivers was not cellphone/texting, but the complete inability to use a turn indicator. Literally 75% of all drivers on the road either don't use it at all OR use it only while committing a lane change/movement.

Apparently, "signal your intentions" is not being taught to student drivers these days. Such as simple concept, completely lost to the vast majority.
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I used to use mine properly, but have learned that if I actually want to do what I'm indicating I need to just do it and signal as I do. When you signal a lane change out here in advance they close the gap and prevent you from doing it.

The failure to signal in advance that you complain about is a symptom of a couple of other root causes. Overcrowded roads, stress, not enough time in the day for people to do what is expected of them, and maybe other things as well.

The only real solution I can see is to automate driving.
 
Aluisious said:
I am not polite about it. I had a friend pull out a phone to check texts while she was driving and I yelled at her "what the fuck are you doing?" That got the message across.
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we need more people like you; people who will sit in the passenger seat and yell at the offenders.
 
The only solution is for the phone company to block texts while you are moving. Of course everyone gets all up in arms over that one.
 
JayteeBates said:
The only solution is for the phone company to block texts while you are moving. Of course everyone gets all up in arms over that one.
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You'd have to have active GPS in every phone and lock down any smart phone that allows rooting and whatnot. Not only will that drain batteries faster but it'll also remove choice from the market when it comes to ROMs and third-party Android builds. While I like the idea I strongly suspect the collateral damage from such a block would be colossal (texting while walking, lower battery lives, hotter phones, malfunctioning GPS = no text, etc, etc).

Maybe blocking it at the tower would make more sense but again you'd be dependent on either GPS data or tower triangulation to determine location (not very accurate for determining velocity).
 
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