distracted driving

Phones while driving are only a small part of the problem. People just don't seem to give a crap. Last week alone I came across two seperate vehicles doing 50 on the interstate. Imagine the mess that causes, especially when they aren't in the right lane. I was lucky enough to get to do the Skip Barber driving school in my younger days. The money that has saved me by avoiding wrecks is astounding. Tailgating is probably my #1 pet peeve. Traffic rolling at 65 mph or more and many cars have less than 7 feet between bumpers. Had one guy buried so far under my trunk, I couldn't even see his headlights. Most of the buttholes I come across are not using a phone. They're just that stupid.

Pa. currently prohibits texting for all drivers, $50 fine. No restrictions on cell phone use though. There are numerous bills in the house and senate ranging from increasing fines and penalties for texting to a ban on all hand held device use except handsfree phone.

Handsfree is a reasonable compromise if you must use a phone. Factory Bluetooth or add-on w/ voice commands is the easy button. Cell phones w/ voice commands, ear bud/ mic or speakerphone isn't quite the answer but at least a step above fumbling with and having a phone sticking outta your ear.

Really ain't no excuses. If you're using this tech you should absolutely be aware of the law and consequences. Billboards, PSA's, internet and other media... no excuses.

Still say law makers gotta get off their asses and get the cell phone ban done. Convincing the general population to take heed is another story, but yea we're still screwed.

ncjay wrote: Phones while driving are only a small part of the problem. People just don't seem to give a crap. Last week alone I came across two seperate vehicles doing 50 on the interstate. Imagine the mess that causes, especially when they aren't in the right lane. I was lucky enough to get to do the Skip Barber driving school in my younger days. The money that has saved me by avoiding wrecks is astounding. Tailgating is probably my #1 pet peeve. Traffic rolling at 65 mph or more and many cars have less than 7 feet between bumpers. Had one guy buried so far under my trunk, I couldn't even see his headlights. Most of the buttholes I come across are not using a phone. They're just that stupid.

One thing taken from road racing and applied on the highway is not watching a vehicle spaced side to side but watching their front wheel turning in, in relation to the center line. Got me outta several scrapes that coulda landed me in the ditch or worse, nailed the brakes when they started coming over the center line and into my lane.

ncjay wrote: Phones while driving are only a small part of the problem. People just don't seem to give a crap. Last week alone I came across two seperate vehicles doing 50 on the interstate. Imagine the mess that causes, especially when they aren't in the right lane. I was lucky enough to get to do the Skip Barber driving school in my younger days. The money that has saved me by avoiding wrecks is astounding. Tailgating is probably my #1 pet peeve. Traffic rolling at 65 mph or more and many cars have less than 7 feet between bumpers. Had one guy buried so far under my trunk, I couldn't even see his headlights. Most of the buttholes I come across are not using a phone. They're just that stupid.

I think this is the key.

Phone or no phone, people are so consumed with MEEEEEE and ONLY MEEEEE that the rest of the world is irrelevant. They feel that God, Allah, FSM, whoever, has given them dominion over all others.

After about 4 months of driving, my kid is already at the point where he refuses to ride with any of his friends. He'd rather spend his own money for gas than risk his life. (Many of these are the same ones whose parents thought Street Survival was a waste of $75 , one of the parents was on the news for trying to run over a volunteer at the middle school a few years ago )

MD has a no handheld device law and around here it is enforced. City has a traffic enforcement unit and that is one of the things they do.

Interesting to watch them. One cop standing on a street corner radioing to 1 or 2 others at the end of the block who pull them over. Last fall I saw them get 5 drivers in an hour on my block. That was in addition to the 3 speeders he got with his laser gun.

Last spring i had a lady come left if center while holding her cell phone to her ear. I swerved too miss her and hit a stormdrain that had been broken by a plow. Cost me a ball joint, inner and outter tie rod end on my car.

The cop said the only way they could have ticketed her is if id let her hit me. Suburban would have destroyed my wagon.

I just want someone to figure out a way to simply disable the driver's phone when the car is in gear/motion, aside from hands-free calls and GPS functions (no touching while driving though).

I think its the only way to prevent distracted driving. Well, that or self-driving cars.

This seems relevant.

(Cue agitated hand-wringing & whinging from the usual sources. )

What has been getting to me lately is stories from cops and friends and bar customers of coming across people shooting up at red lights. While I've seen people nodded off at gas stations, even hearing these worthless junkie berkeleys are driving around is enough to piss me off. I've not seen it personally, but I've heard more than enough reports of DUI for it, as well as multiple accounts from others. Opiates are a huge problem locally though, and it's frightening knowing there's some pilled up moron out driving around. At least most drunk people aren't falling asleep at the wheel.

A local woman who was texting hit a guardrail on a bridge. She ripped a hole in the floorboard and fell 60' into the lake below. She swam back to land and walked up to a cop who was investigating the accident. I heard on the news today that she is going on a campaign to end texting and driving.

Here is the original story. http://www.kbtx.com/content/news/373373411.html

This problem probably wouldn't exist if all cars had manual transmissions.

It absolutely would still exist.

Relevant to this discussion:

Distracted driver crosses center line, hits police cruiser!

This is VERY relevant to me. In my head on collision last October I was turning left at a double turn lane under a green arrow. I was on the inside lane and was the second car in line. At this intersection you turn left across 2 opposite left turn lanes and 3 lanes of traffic plus a right turn lane. The woman that ran the red light and creamed me just as I turned into the intersection never even touched her brakes. She was approaching the intersection in the left most travel lane (fast lane). All lanes of traffic to the right of her were stopped or slowing but the turn lanes had just gotten their green arrow and were moving. She reported to the officer at the scene that she was distracted. Didn't say by what, texting, phone ringing, masturbating, etc. I really don't care.

What amazes me is how much time she missed while distracted. From the last time she saw a green light the cycle changed to yellow, red then pause before opposite green arrow goes and then a car made it through the intersection ahead of me. What is that 8-10 seconds? At 50 mph (73.33 ft/sec) that is 587-733 ft.

In FL they do not investigate or enforce the "no texting and driving" law in an accident unless there is a FATALITY. I guess I would have had to die for it to matter. If I had been on my Honda or in my Bronco I very well might have.

What did she get for all her troubles? A $186 ticket which her lawyer got her out of because the of duty officer who witnessed the entire crash from 2 cars behind me didn't make it to the court date. Bitch didn't even have to pay a fine.

In reply to hobiercr:

Civil court

I'm pretty much never the type to ask for new .gov regulations, but I'm not sure how much I'd complain about a law that required Faraday cages to be built into new cars.

It seems like the general public has decided by majority opinion that the "convenience" of using a phone while driving outweighs the chance of injury, death, property damage, fines, etc, I certainly don't agree with that at all, but successfully changing anything will be extremely difficult.

They're not ACCIDENTS! Banish that word from your lexicon. When something goes wrong it's from driver error. If not yours, then theirs. Regardless of how, if or when you use your personal electronic device in a vehicle you are a danger to others, and just as importantly vulnerable. Look down when someone else crosses the center line and you could be in the hospital.

As adults we have the greatest influence on new young drivers. If you think you're good enough to drive distracted then you validate others doing it also.

And, sorry to say, but research shows advanced DE schools and avoidance programs, in the long run, have a negative effect on new young drivers as their perceived skill level outpaces their actual skill level. I still advocate for these programs, but they need to be followed up with more training, instruction, and especially reflection.

Gary wrote: This problem probably wouldn't exist if all cars had manual transmissions.

I don't understand how this would help. Shifting gears is just not that complicated.

A good portion of my day is spent responding to incidents and distracted driving, biking and walking keep me busy. I went to a pedestrian accident where a woman walked off the sidewalk into the side of a moving bus. When I interviewed her she said she was looking at her phone and wasn't expecting the bus to be so long.

Gary wrote: This problem probably wouldn't exist if all cars had manual transmissions.

In my younger and dumber days (16-20 or so) I could/would drive stick around town and eat a cheeseburger or talk on the phone no problem, both if I put it on speaker. The trick at intersections was to clutch and then go for the stick, so the steering wheel didn't have much time to return to center when you were shifting to 2nd.

In reply to BrokenYugo:

My sympathies.

Today, while on a parts run, I was almost hit by a woman who thought it would be a good idea to merge into the lane I'm in without signaling, or even checking my blind spot. Naturally, I gave her a toot of the horn to remind her that I was there, and I applied my brakes to eliminate any chance of her turning into me. I forgot that the PO installed a low-tone Freeway Blaster on my C1500. She was mad

Unfortunately I can see both sides of this situation. I ride road bikes recreationally,so am at the highest risk possible from distracted drivers, and have used distracting devices in my car at times as well. I can't imagine the level of distraction possible in a post-Idrive Era car. Everything I drive has to be able to be fully operated without taking my eyes off the road. No infotainment on-screen menus with softkey inputs that change. No quad zone climate control, Facespace autosyncing, or Pandora/Slacker/Spotify frippery for me. Get off the damn lawn kids, can't you see I'm busy driving across it?

I keep seeing it. Often times the P71 scares people into driving safely, but the other day I actually called the cops because a guy ran me out of my lane. He was driving a pickup truck and swerving across three lanes while playing with his phone. Drives me nuts. My horn isn't working. I have musical horns I can hook up under the hood, but I think I'm going to switch to a low tone air horn.

vwcorvette wrote: And, sorry to say, but research shows advanced DE schools and avoidance programs, in the long run, have a negative effect on new young drivers as their perceived skill level outpaces their actual skill level.

I've heard this argument before. Please provide the tech to back up your statement.

I teach one of these courses. We've received numerous emails and letters from students and parents describing instances where the training they received directly saved their bacon. From personal experience I have either avoided or diminished several probable nasty wrecks during driving. Though some (usually teen males) will abuse the knowledge provided I believe the vast majority of teen advanced driver training is extremely useful.