Dude, if you text while driving...at least HIDE IT!

[Gibson99]

if i get a text while driving, i usually just wait till the next red light to read it. i used to have an app that read them out loud to me, but that quit working with an update to android (more security prevented apps from reading data belonging to other apps). i have "written" texts while driving using the voice to text stuff. it's not perfect, but it's good enough for stuff like "i'm stuck in heavy traffic and won't make it on time" or "i'm stopping at the store, text me a list of groceries to buy".

the tech is there. people just refuse to use it.

also...

the brain is there. people just refuse to use it.

 

[Daleg]

you obviously shouldn't text and drive, if you're going to do it, I would argue it's safer to hold the phone up high, and in your direct line of sight so you at least have your peripheral vision in play. But with the anti-texting laws, people who still feel the need to text, are now trying to do it surreptitiously, by holding the phone in their lap - looking down to read/text. Laws won't fix stupid, but in this case, it makes stupid even more dangerous.

I disagree...holding the phone up high...even accounting for peripheral vision....you are still focusing on the phone....your eye cannot focus on the phone and the road at the same time...it's impossible for your eye to focus up close to read the text and far away to see other vehicles at the same time...add the physical skill of operating the vehicle to the equation...you may see the blur heading in your direction but will be unable to judge speed, distance, time...all of which are required and normally used in driving. By the time you notice the blur speeding towards you at 60mph in your peripheral vision it's already too late....the law can't fix stupid, but it certainly doesn't make people more dangerous because they try to hide the fact they are breaking it...the mere fact they are stupid enough to break it...makes the case for being dangerous.

Cell phones are the bane of society. People now think they have to be instantly accessible and people think they should have instant access to you. Do you remember when you would come home and check your messages in the answering machine? How about not having an answering machine? There were no huge issues then....there are none now....but...don't answer your cell phone all day and see how many people are thinking something terrible must have happened to you. How many text will you get wondering if your okay? That's the problem...people think they have to answer a text...or read a text or the world will stop spinning. The phone is ringing...I must answer it...someone might be calling me because they are clinging to the side of a cliff and need my help. We can make laws till we are blue in the face...and people will break them, no matter the consequences...thinking...it will never happen to me. We blame the law itself...we blame society...we blame to officer that writes the ticket...but we never seem to take personal responsibilty for our own actions. Put the damn phone down and drive...can't blame the law for that...you'd have to be stupid.

 

[Rajagra]

if i get a text while driving, i usually just wait till the next red light to read it.

This is what ticks me off about UK law. It doesn't distinguish between reading a text while stationary vs moving.
As far as I'm concerned, if you are stationary, in neutral, with handbrake AND footbrake on, then reading a text is OK. The worst that can happen is you inconvenience someone by not pulling away quickly when traffic moves. But people get prosecuted for it.
And then there's the lunatic cyclists with helmet cams getting all excited when they see it and starting an argument despite it being perfectly safe.

Here that would cost you $200 and five points on your license, people STILL aren't getting the message. Here's how one reacted to getting a ticket.
Man Who Rammed 5 Winnipeg Police Cars Speaks From Prison

I strongly dispute their use of the word "man."

He even looks like Scumbag Steve http://memegenerator.net/Scumbag-Steve

 

[Gibson99]

Cell phones are the bane of society. People now think they have to be instantly accessible and people think they should have instant access to you. Do you remember when you would come home and check your messages in the answering machine? How about not having an answering machine?

was trying to find the clip, but can't... some standup comic (maybe Kathleen Madigan) had a bit where she was talking about her dad's take on this. He said something like "We don't need an answering machine. If we're not home, we're not home, G**dammit."

 

[GTA Driver]

Kind of interesting what a trucker can see.

A few years back, heard in the news that New York state police is investing in SUV's so the officer can look into other cars in an attempt to find distracted drivers better than a typical cruiser. Noticed the newer provincial police vehicles tend to be SUV's. A coincidence ?

My wife as a passenger counts at least 2 cars in the twenty minute trip texting.

I have a recorded a few distracted drivers and working on a compilation video now. There are several times I discarded the clip because it just doesn't show what I see as a driver.

 

[dash riposki]

Trust me, some things you don't want to see.

Sometimes when I'm stuck at a traffic light, I play a game and count the cars passing me that the driver is holding a cellphone. Usually it's around 40%.

I've also seen TVs, full sized laptops, tablets. It used to be more common to see somebody barreling down the interstate with a newspaper spread out on the steering wheel, or a book.

 

[GTA Driver]

Sometimes when I'm stuck at a traffic light, I play a game and count the cars passing me that the driver is holding a cellphone. Usually it's around 40%.
.

Then the freeway patrol should invest in full sized trucks. I am surprised its that high, but I have noticed fewer cars honk as one hand is occupied it seems.

 

[petepete]

I m finding a lot of drivers bang their brakes on an pull half to the side stopping dead to instantly answer their phone..

9 out of 10 times it's women ..

 

[Rajagra]

I have noticed fewer cars honk as one hand is occupied it seems.

You can get an app for that. (I bet!)

 

[erkme73]

I disagree...holding the phone up high...even accounting for peripheral vision....you are still focusing on the phone....your eye cannot focus on the phone and the road at the same time...it's impossible for your eye to focus up close to read the text and far away to see other vehicles at the same time...add the physical skill of operating the vehicle to the equation...you may see the blur heading in your direction but will be unable to judge speed, distance, time...all of which are required and normally used in driving. By the time you notice the blur speeding towards you at 60mph in your peripheral vision it's already too late....the law can't fix stupid, but it certainly doesn't make people more dangerous because they try to hide the fact they are breaking it...the mere fact they are stupid enough to break it...makes the case for being dangerous.

There's no disputing that driving while texting (or viewing your cell phone) adds a layer of distraction and danger. My point is, viewing your phone when it is in your line of sight is SAFER than reading it in your lap - where you have ZERO peripheral vision. That's not saying either is SAFE to do. IF someone is going to text and drive (which I don't want either), then I would prefer they have at least SOME vision of the road, vs. none when they're looking at their laps trying to conceal the phone.

 

[ddnut]

You can get an app for that. (I bet!)

Oh yeah, I wouldn't want to have to put down my device to have to honk my horn.

I found some interesting statistics on 'Driving While Intexticated'

• Causes nearly 25% of ALL car accidents
• About 6 times more likely to cause an accident than driving intoxicated
• The same as driving after 4 beers

http://www.textinganddrivingsafety.com/texting-and-driving-stats

 

[Dashcam Georgia]

Interesting stats! My only chargeable accident was due to distracted driving. I wasn't texting though; I looked down for a second or two, aiming for the cup holder. Bottom line: while moving, keep you eyes on the road, and ONLY the road, at all times.

 

[Gibson99]

Interesting stats! My only chargeable accident was due to distracted driving. I wasn't texting though; I looked down for a second or two, aiming for the cup holder. Bottom line: while moving, keep you eyes on the road, and ONLY the road, at all times.

Similar for me. I was 18. I reached down to change tracks on my CD walkman... Suddenly a light pole jumped out and bit the corner of my car!

 

[GTA Driver]

Vermont has a proposed law that could allow warrantless phone searches
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/...aw-could-allow-warrantless-searches/78784640/

 

[Daywalker]

Here's a follow up to a story from the first page.

Man, 26, Charged In 3-Day Spree With Stolen Pickup Truck

A man who rammed a truck into five Winnipeg police cars two years ago allegedly stole a truck and gas and then sped away from officers this month.

Police say Wayne Rennie, 26, stole a pickup truck on Oct. 6 from a parking lot near Grassie Boulevard and Lagimodiere Boulevard.

Two days later, the truck was fuelled up near Gateway Road and McLeod Avenue and the driver sped off without paying.

Police spotted the truck Monday morning in the Transcona area and tried to stop it, but the driver raced off. After a brief pursuit, police backed off because the truck was being driven dangerously.

Police found the truck again, later that same afternoon, in the area of Plessis Road and Regent Avenue. Another attempt was made to stop it but the truck sped off.

The pursuit went through a residential area of Transcona and was again called off due to public safety concerns, police said.

A short time later, the truck was involved in a crash at Plessis Road and Pandora Avenue but it didn't stick around. Police said it took off but was later found abandoned in the area.

A police canine unit was called in to track the driver. They found Wayne Rennie walking not far from the area.

Rennie has been charged with 13 offences, including theft, flight from police, dangerous operation of a vehicle, failure to remain at the scene of an accident, driving while disqualified and failure to comply with a probation order.

He is the man who repeatedly rammed a delivery truck into police cars parked near Winnipeg's downtown police service headquarters in July 2015.

The incident was witnessed by news crews covering a protest by medicinal marijuana advocates outside the police headquarters.

After driving away, Rennie led police on a pursuit that went onto the Trans-Canada Highway west of the city. The truck was eventually stopped about 100 kilometres away, near Portage la Prairie, Man.

Rennie was sentenced in January 2016 to 2½ years behind bars but given credit for time served since his arrest.

 

[Gibson99]

Here's a follow up to a story from the first page.

Man, 26, Charged In 3-Day Spree With Stolen Pickup Truck

obviously never learns, doesn't have respect for authority (or life), so why should we continue to pay for him to live in jail?

 

[GTA Driver]

The sentence (2 and 1/2 years) seems kind of light to me.

 

[Deleted member 46308]

obviously never learns, doesn't have respect for authority (or life), so why should we continue to pay for him to live in jail?

+1