Should US television show this PSA on texting while driving?

[mnskydiver688 0]

While 25 dead is 25 too many. Let's try putting the proper weight behind the problem of texting. 25. Now lets consider driver fatigue. Do all of us pull off the road if we are tired? Driver fatigue has proven to be much more deadly than texting.

Now lets consider no texting or non-hands free phone use laws. Would the driver be required to pull onto an on ramp to use the phone or would people be pulling over on the side of the road? If it is the latter then how is that safer? We have all seen the videos of traffic stops going horribly wrong when another driver drifts onto the shoulder. In regards to the former, some states only allow for emergency stopping on the ramps. In addition to this, how would emergency calls be handled?

While I think texting is a dangerous activity while driving it is a small part of a much bigger problem. General driver distraction. Drinking the morning coffee. Reaching for something on the backseat. Trying to control kids. Putzing with the radio. I watched a woman search her backseat for at least a few miles in absolute awe as every once and a while she would look at the road. Also how about GPS units. Ever seen someone slam across 4 lanes of traffic because "Daniel" told them they needed to "exit right"? I have seen more poor driving related to GPS usage than texting. When someone is driving erratically all I do is look on the dash and sure as shit there sits a GPS.

So lets not get fixated on a small part of the problem.

Sky Canyon Wingsuiters

[MikeJD 0]

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I honestly cannot understand why someone would text while driving.

Honestly? I suspect that texting while driving has actually increased since people were banned from talking on cellphones behind the wheel. Obviously I'd never condone either - but a phone held down low to text is more discreet (but even more dangerous!) than one held up to the ear.

[pirana 0]

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I have no problem showing it, but I'm skeptical of the power PSAs have to actually change behavior. I made a PSA earlier this year that just about everyone I know has watched and I still come back into the team room after a jump halfway through the day to find four people eating in-n-out and an empty bag on the table.

Back on topic... I don't text or talk without a handsfree while driving. I avoid browsing for music on my ipod/phone as well because that's a similar distraction to texting. That's why I like Genius Playlists and Pandora so much, set it up when getting ready to go and you don't have to touch it.

I rarely use the phone at all while driving because I'm told it's impossible to carry on a conversation with me. I guess driving is too distracting. "What was that again? Sorry, I was changing lanes and wasn't paying attention to you." "What were you saying? Sorry, someone was tailgating the guy next to me and I was trying to make room so he wouldn't cut me off."

Agreed, with this and much of the other stuff here.

As far as whether or not it will have real impact; make it real for them. Show them the PSA, then take them on a tour.

There are 2 intersections, both about a mile from our house that include vivid reminders. At one is a cross, a wreath, and a good sized pile of momentos; the kind a teenage boy would have in his life. We drive by it often, and sometimes a couple of the dead kid's friends are mowing the corner, freshening the flowers, etc. Killed about 3 or 4 months ago, mostly from not wearing a seat belt; but something caused him to run a stop sign and be completely unaware of a truck approaching the intersection.

The other is a small triangle of a park called Cally's Corner. Just a picnic table, few flower beds, and a sign put up by her 4-H club after young girl was killed while her teenage brother was driving.

In St Croix County alone (WI); I believe we lose at least half dozen teenagers and 20-somethings per year to the poor driving habits of teenagers. (I believe rural 2-lane undivided blacktops are the most dangerous type of road). Of the ones I know of personally; all are attributable to either failing to buckle up, alcohol, major distraction or some combination.

Another angle is that adults need to be the best possible role models they can. Most kids, at least in the beginning, emulate their parents. Sloppy adult habits like not buckling, rolling thru stop signs, failing to signal, driving with knees, etc. If somebody drives like that they should not be surprised when their kid gets in an accident.

Kids are going to be the most at risk just from lack of experience; but at least 3/4 of the adults I observe are truly shitty drivers; mostly because they take too much for granted and do not focus on the task at hand. Being a good driver is mostly about never forgetting that when that one in thousands moment comes along you need to be on your game 100% - as if your life depends on it. Too few adults drive that way.

" . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

[georgerussia 0]

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While 25 dead is 25 too many. Let's try putting the proper weight behind the problem of texting.

I do not even consider "texting while driving" - it is stupid, and none of my kids will be allowed to do so. If they want to tell someone something, call them. No other considerations needed.

* Don't pray for me if you wanna help - just send me a check. *

[GeorgiaDon 362]

Do you have "graduated licenses" (at least I think that's what they're called) where you live? Here in Georgia, for the first 6 months after getting a license, kids can't have anyone else in the car while they're driving except one other family member, so no friends. There are some other limitations, they can lose their license for speeding at a lower threshold than people with full licenses for example, but there are so many exceptions for that it's kind of a joke. The main thing is to eliminate the distraction of talking to friends until they get some experience behind the wheel. It hasn't been in effect long, so I don't know if the sample size is sufficient to see if it's helping or not, but I don't see how it could not. Unfortunately a lot of adults allow their kids to ignore the law, and there's no way for the police to know who is allowed to have passengers and who isn't unless they have other grounds to stop the car. This summer, two of my daughter's friends were killed, and a third critically injured, in a rollover/fire accident. The driver had had his license for only two weeks, so he should not have had any passengers, but he wanted to go to a mini-golf place with his friends and his mother said OK. The survivor, who was in the back seat, told police the kid driving was turned around to talk to him (the survivor) when he lost control. I bet that mom will relive and regret every day for the rest of her life that she let her son ignore the law that day.

Don

_____________________________________
Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996)
“Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

[masterrig 1]

Yes! I think too, it should be a part of every driver's training course! Over the years,I've seen people reading books, newspapers, eating cheeseburgers and talking on a cell-phone, fumbling through CD's, texting... you name it. It's called driving and it requires one's full attention. The public service announcement in question is definately, an eye-opener and shows what could happen. Too many folks and especially young people have the wild idea that 'it won't happen to them!' As for any gorey details the psa may show, it no worse than most of the movies kids watch. The difference is, the pas tells the truth.


Chuck

[RonD1120 62]

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today.msnbc.msn.com/id/32551351/ns/today-today_technology_and_money/

So far the answer seems to be "NO".

Yes. I'm in favor of graphic presentations.
However, not sure of the good. Texting while driving, yeah it's bad. Like fatalities in skydiving, the odds are on my side that it will happen to the other guy.

Look for the shiny things of God revealed by the Holy Spirit. They only last for an instant but it is a Holy Instant. Let your soul absorb them.

[pirana 0]

I believe there are some rules in place now in our state (WI, USA); but not sure exactly what they are. I believe there are limitations on how many people in the car and possibly a curfew. To be honest, I have not kept up real close and am instead going to take charge on my own because as you mention, the rules as imposed by the state are difficult for the police to enforce until something bad has already happened.

Saw a show on the requirements of Finland (or maybe Sweden) where driver training is more like skydiver training. Instead of just cruising around at granny speed for a few hours to get a license, they have REAL training. Skid pads, terrain, emergency procedures, etc. The required training here in the USA is mostly a joke. If a kid takes those kinds of courses their first experience at a life-saving emergency procedure is most likely, and most unfortunately, going to be the real thing.

Training needs to include exploring the limits of control. Intentionally put them out of control so they know what it feels like and can train for how to recover. All it takes is some cones and a big open space. I've done this for the kids of a couple friends when they hit the point where teaching their own kids was just not working out. They got to have more fun than they thought and fun for me too.

" . . . the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley