Feds finally got one right

[Andy9o8 2]

Quote

I'm surprised you woke up from your nap long enough...

Whoa. Are you having a really bad day?

[wolfriverjoe 1,523]

Quote

With the possible exception of eating, all the rest combined probably don't add up to the number of people using their cells.

Maybe, maybe not. I don't keep stats. I just have to not get hit by them (which can be harder than it sounds).

More often than not, a car being driven badly is being driven by an idiot on a phone (talking or texting).

The idiots who need to go faster than everyone else (tailgating and lane jumping) are more annoying.

And the "lost ones" are often the scariest. Someone who doesn't realize they are at their exit until the last second and then swerve across 3 lanes of traffic with no warning (or signal).

Interesting story to add to the discussion CNN.com text story.

PURELY A GUESS - Accidents don't go down because the ones who obey the law are the careful and concientous ones who wouldn't get in an accident anyway, and the ones who cause the accidents are the ones who don't obey the law because they have "mad skilz"

"There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy

"~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo

[Belgian_Draft 0]

Quote

Quote

Like I said, you want to wait until something bad happens, i.e. driver swerving, etc. Since we know that texting while driving is an extremely dangerous activity, we can eliminate a lot of it just by banning it..

snip

The "something bad" could well be crashing into a schoolbus, not just swerving out of your lane.

Rehmwa, please think of the CHILDREN!

Yes! We must not forget the children!
As an aside, I'd rather have it spelled out in the laws that texting and/or talking on a cell while driving is prohibited rather than leave it up to a police officer to decide what he/she feels is distracted driving. Just my luck I would be scratching my ear just as I pass a cop having a bad hair day.

HAMMER:
Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a
kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the
object we are trying to hit.

[rehmwa 2]

Quote

Like I said, you want to wait until something bad happens, i.e. driver swerving, etc. Since we know that texting while driving is an extremely dangerous activity, we can eliminate a lot of it just by banning it. A sizable portion will stop without any cop ever being involved.
Your solution is analogous to eliminating speed limits and only citing those who cause an accident by driving too much faster than the rest of traffic.
I realize that your superhuman driving skills put you far above any mortal human behind the wheel, but that is an extremely rare situation.

don't be an ass about it - you are not reading my words

I said if the cops sees a driver that "appears" to be distracted, they should have the option to pull them over right then

so it's a question of whether we need a specific texting law that won't be enforced any better - or we need cops to have the leeway to enforce existing, more general, distracted driver laws already in place.

the net result of this type of law will be apathy - only now, we can be pissed when we see people texting, but we can now say they are breaking the law and complain that there is not a cop around to see it - much like speeding, or singles in the carpool lane, or my example earlier, etc

it's enforcement that matters, not just making a gesture

this has nothing to do with your 'superhuman' insult - get over it - sometimes people have different opinions than you and it's not personal - I don't text, I don't like it when others text, but I don't think a specific law about it is an effective way to fix that

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[rehmwa 2]

Quote

As an aside, I'd rather have it spelled out in the laws that texting and/or talking on a cell while driving is prohibited rather than leave it up to a police officer to decide what he/she feels is distracted driving.

this isn't an 'aside' - this is exactly the point we're debating

but you guys keep taking my point and turning into an incorrect strawhorse - so I'm done

we want the same results, but think about attacking it from different directions

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[rehmwa 2]

Quote

The "something bad" could well be crashing into a schoolbus, not just swerving out of your lane.

Rehmwa, please think of the CHILDREN!

I don't want that bus run into by a mom putting on makeup, someone texting, or a realtor reading a map, or a contractor digging in his backseat, or a college professor grading papers either....... I consider these all to be the same issue - from what I can tell, you guys want 5 different laws.....

or, you are ok with those children dying due to 4 out of 5 of those things

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[rehmwa 2]

Quote

Quote

I'm surprised you woke up from your nap long enough...

Whoa. Are you having a really bad day?

the argument "if we make it illegal, then it is illegal" is an obtuse statement, John is much smarter than that.

...
Driving is a one dimensional activity - a monkey can do it - being proud of your driving abilities is like being proud of being able to put on pants

[kallend 2,027]

Quote

Quote

The "something bad" could well be crashing into a schoolbus, not just swerving out of your lane.

Rehmwa, please think of the CHILDREN!

I don't want that bus run into by a mom putting on makeup, someone texting, or a realtor reading a map, or a contractor digging in his backseat, or a college professor grading papers either....... I consider these all to be the same issue - from what I can tell, you guys want 5 different laws.....

or, you are ok with those children dying due to 4 out of 5 of those things

I guess you never heard of the word "trend".

A list of every distraction would be infinitely long so it is appropriate to prioritize. Accident stats show very convincingly that texting has become a major problem. Please tell us how many accidents were caused in the USA by professors grading papers while driving in the last decade.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[kelpdiver 2]

Quote

Why would you say "never mind texting"? What do you think this thread is about? The Feds banned texting by truckers, not talking. Texting is only slightly less distracting than using a GPS.

This thread wanders between merely texting, and the bigger picture of selective bans of distracting behavior.

Since people use their cell phones much more than their GPS units, I have more fear of the latter, which is fully legal to use currently. They also are pretty crappy on the ergonomic side. Anyone remember when Michael Scott (Dundler Mifflin) drove his car into the lake because the GPS told him to?

[kallend 2,027]

Quote

Quote

Quote

I'm surprised you woke up from your nap long enough...

Whoa. Are you having a really bad day?

the argument "if we make it illegal, then it is illegal" is an obtuse statement, John is much smarter than that.

Sometimes a whack with a blunt instrument is necessary. My "obtuse" comment was in response to nonsense.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[Belgian_Draft 0]

Quote

don't be an ass about it - you are not reading my words

Actually I am reading your words. You want to wait until something happens whether it is evidence of distraction or an accident. I feel it is better to eliminate part of the problem outright. Eliminating the X% who will stop texting because it is against the law is better than letting them continue until something happens. You wnat punishment, i want prevention. Prevention almost always is more effective.
Plus, I would rather not leave my driving record and finanicial status up to the subjective opinion of the cops anymore than it already is.

HAMMER:
Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a
kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the
object we are trying to hit.

[Belgian_Draft 0]

Quote

Quote

As an aside, I'd rather have it spelled out in the laws that texting and/or talking on a cell while driving is prohibited rather than leave it up to a police officer to decide what he/she feels is distracted driving.

this isn't an 'aside' - this is exactly the point we're debating

but you guys keep taking my point and turning into an incorrect strawhorse - so I'm done

we want the same results, but think about attacking it from different directions

It was an aside to the Profs point of doing it for the children. Pay attention.

HAMMER:
Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a
kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the
object we are trying to hit.

[Belgian_Draft 0]

Quote

Quote

Why would you say "never mind texting"? What do you think this thread is about? The Feds banned texting by truckers, not talking. Texting is only slightly less distracting than using a GPS.

This thread wanders between merely texting, and the bigger picture of selective bans of distracting behavior.

Since people use their cell phones much more than their GPS units, I have more fear of the latter, which is fully legal to use currently. They also are pretty crappy on the ergonomic side. Anyone remember when Michael Scott (Dundler Mifflin) drove his car into the lake because the GPS told him to?

The thread is wandering because one or two posters insist upon comparing texting while driving to other far less common and/or dangerous distractions.
I wonder who they may be?

HAMMER:
Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a
kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the
object we are trying to hit.

[marks2065 0]

Quote

Quote

Quote

The "something bad" could well be crashing into a schoolbus, not just swerving out of your lane.

Rehmwa, please think of the CHILDREN!

I don't want that bus run into by a mom putting on makeup, someone texting, or a realtor reading a map, or a contractor digging in his backseat, or a college professor grading papers either....... I consider these all to be the same issue - from what I can tell, you guys want 5 different laws.....

or, you are ok with those children dying due to 4 out of 5 of those things

I guess you never heard of the word "trend".

A list of every distraction would be infinitely long so it is appropriate to prioritize. Accident stats show very convincingly that texting has become a major problem. Please tell us how many accidents were caused in the USA by professors grading papers while driving in the last decade.

pulling over all people that are texting is profiling and according to the left profiling is illegal.

[Belgian_Draft 0]

Saying that is a trait of the left is itself profiling.

HAMMER:
Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a
kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the
object we are trying to hit.

[marks2065 0]

Quote

Saying that is a trait of the left is itself profiling.

but I don't think profiling should be illegal

[kelpdiver 2]

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=17554

The real question in many minds is, are the bans effective? According to a new study released by the Highway Loss Data Institute laws banning the use of cell phones while driving in the majority of areas where they are enacted have failed to reduce crashes.

"The laws aren't reducing crashes, even though we know that such laws have reduced hand-held phone use, and several studies have established that phoning while driving increases crash risk," says Adrian Lund, president of both the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and HLDI.

[Belgian_Draft 0]

There will always be idiots.
Looking at the graph, I wonder why the red and blue lines merge around 12 months post passage?
I would hate to see it happen, but i did read a while back one suggestion to eventually eliminate the majority of the problem. It was suggested that all new cars be required to have a jamming device to prhibit the use of cell phones while the vehicle is moving. An exception would be made for calling 911 or other authorities. Yes, it's drastic so let's hope it never comes to that.

HAMMER:
Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a
kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the
object we are trying to hit.

[Andy9o8 2]

True story: Yesterday I almost caused an accident because I was using the cell phone while having an animated conversation with a client. I happened not to be using my hands-free then, so I was holding it up to my ear; and I'm still undecided whether that made the difference. But I'm certain that had I not been on the phone, I wouldn't have done that.

I was waiting at a red light, when the car in the left lane next to me started forward, and my brain registered "green" on the traffic light. I started forward. When I got into the middle of the intersection, the driver approaching in the opposite direction started to left-turn in front of me. Just as I'm thinking, "WTF?" she jerked to a stop with a shocked look on her face. I looked back up at the light, and saw that it was only a green left turn arrow, with a (still-) red circle controlling my lane. I had just run a red light. I've never done that before. I'm lucky I didn't cause a wreck, and had a cop been there, he'd have had me cold. It was sobering.

[kallend 2,027]

Quote

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=17554

The real question in many minds is, are the bans effective? According to a new study released by the Highway Loss Data Institute laws banning the use of cell phones while driving in the majority of areas where they are enacted have failed to reduce crashes.

"The laws aren't reducing crashes, even though we know that such laws have reduced hand-held phone use, and several studies have established that phoning while driving increases crash risk," says Adrian Lund, president of both the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and HLDI.

That's because it's not the "hands" part that is the distraction. It's the "phoning" part that is distracting, regardless of the involvement of hands.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[kelpdiver 2]

Quote

That's because it's not the "hands" part that is the distraction. It's the "phoning" part that is distracting, regardless of the involvement of hands.

So why waste time with these intermediary steps? Why not just go to the simpler model of punishing bad drivers?

Oh right, because the actual problem isn't remotely as bad as claimed.

[kallend 2,027]

Quote

Quote

That's because it's not the "hands" part that is the distraction. It's the "phoning" part that is distracting, regardless of the involvement of hands.

So why waste time with these intermediary steps? Why not just go to the simpler model of punishing bad drivers?

Oh right, because the actual problem isn't remotely as bad as claimed.

Neither is drunk driving. Doesn't mean it should be condoned.

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.