Texting & Driving

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by m21sniper

It should be perfectly legal to shoot texting drivers in moving vehicles in the face with a .357 magnum.

Absolutely.

[Tervuren]

Driving one armed around a kart track, depending on conditions, I can gain a tenth, but typically its a loss of of a tenth or two a lap. I can also try to glance at and read a scoreboard right as I should be slowing down for turn one...most of the time I make that to.

I think if someone puts enough attention outside their car, and keeping their car on the road where it should be is simply natural, there's not too much wrong with texting and driving, just be ready to drop that phone if someone cuts in front of you, etc.

I send out a text maybe once a month, sometimes more, not enough to find the need to do it while driving, but I feel there are situations I could safely do it. I'm not annoyed that I'm not supposed to in the state I do most of my driving in - I do not trust most drivers to text and drive.

[Shuie]

I can't even dial and drive. I'm serious. Hands off for me. Whatever it is, I'm sure I'll be able to deal with it when the car stops moving.

[911Rob]

I'm guilty, but trying to do better.

I have all the hands free gear, but seriously its easier and less distracting to just hold the phone.

When I drive my car, the phone and stereo are OFF, so that's a good thing.

[rnln]

+1

Originally Posted by m21sniper

it should be perfectly legal to shoot texting drivers in moving vehicles in the face with a .357 magnum.

[deanp]

A high school girl hit a tree about a mile from our house while texting a friend on the way too school one morning. Have to pass the tree with the makeshift memorial every day. Stupid, stupid loss.

[oldE]

"Driving one armed around a kart track, depending on conditions, I can gain a tenth, but typically its a loss of of a tenth or two a lap. I can also try to glance at and read a scoreboard right as I should be slowing down for turn one...most of the time I make that to.

I think if someone puts enough attention outside their car, and keeping their car on the road where it should be is simply natural, there's not too much wrong with texting and driving, just be ready to drop that phone if someone cuts in front of you, etc."

The problem is not related to this. The difficulty comes from our centres of communication.

When we communicate with another person, we are hard-wired to look for body language, facial expression, eye contact, etc. which makes up so much of the message. Studies (U of Toronto and others) have shown the part of the brain engaged in this activity is the same area we are using for defensive driving or projecting possible difficulties with road or traffic conditions.

If you are trying to communicate with an individual not present (or out of sight) the multitasking going on inside your noggin will add 1/3 to 1/2 second to your reaction time. Worse than .08%BAC.

Switch off the phone.

Les

[Tervuren]

Originally Posted by deanp

A high school girl hit a tree about a mile from our house while texting a friend on the way too school one morning. Have to pass the tree with the makeshift memorial every day. Stupid, stupid loss.

A highschool kid flipped and hit a tree and died just off the road I lived on. He was not texting. I pass the tree with its makeshift memorial every time I drive from home. Stupid Stupid loss. Its not very explainable, he wasn't on drugs, alcohol, he just goofed up(He was within 5-10MPH of the speed limit to). Very sad.

I think a real issue should be "texting on the job". Unless its business related, you are stealing the time from your employer.

OldE, if I am trying to visually communicate with someone standing off track my times go to pieces!!! I try to keep it either a very simple colored sign in which the color is the meaning(no words or symbols), or if allowed, radio. I drive by and see a black NOS energy drink billboard being held up - and know to bring it down into the pits, etc...

[Tobra]

What Les said; Tervuren, you only THINK you are not a hazard and can drive just fine while texting, you are mistaken. Hope you stop before you hurt or kill someone.

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by Tervuren

Driving one armed around a kart track, depending on conditions, I can gain a tenth, but typically its a loss of of a tenth or two a lap. I can also try to glance at and read a scoreboard right as I should be slowing down for turn one...most of the time I make that to.

I think if someone puts enough attention outside their car, and keeping their car on the road where it should be is simply natural, there's not too much wrong with texting and driving, just be ready to drop that phone if someone cuts in front of you, etc.

I send out a text maybe once a month, sometimes more, not enough to find the need to do it while driving, but I feel there are situations I could safely do it. I'm not annoyed that I'm not supposed to in the state I do most of my driving in - I do not trust most drivers to text and drive.

Classic "I'm good enough to pull it off, but no one else is" nonsense.

[Tervuren]

Originally Posted by Tobra

What Les said; Tervuren, you only THINK you are not a hazard and can drive just fine while texting, you are mistaken. Hope you stop before you hurt or kill someone.

Hello, I have done this ONCE in my life. Texting in general is just not something I do...

[David]

It's a terminatable offense to text while driving where I work, whether you're on company time or using a company phone.

I consider myself a way above average driver and I don't text and drive.

[ckissick]

Here in California, they first passed a law against hand-held cell phones while driving. And they were considering outlawing texting while driving.

How could they have decided that talking with both eyes on the road was bad, but they weren't yet sure about texting with no eyes on the road?

[Superman]

Originally Posted by Christien

Study after study has shown that hands-free has absolutely no reduction on accidents than holding the phone to your ear (talking about voice conversations, not texting)..

Look again. Studies show that hands-free is way different from holding the phone to your ear. That has also been my observation. Mark on Page 1 makes the same observation. Way different.

Originally Posted by Christien

And I'll freely admit to sending the occasional short email from my blackberry on the road. Only on an empty highway or stopped at a red light, but I do do it.. But with a full keyboard I don't even have to take my eyes off the road, I can do it all by feel. A couple typos, but so what..

At a stop light, fine. Texting or typing from the driver's seat of a moving vehicle is playing with fire.

[Evans, Marv]

I believe they should make accidents caused by/while talking on the phone or texting a seriously punished offense. Not that that would probably deter most people. I don't notice any difference in the number of people doing that around me while I'm driving since it became illegal (the talking part).

[URY914]

I have a friend that owns a body shop. He loves people that text and drive. His business is booming....

[vwbobd]

Texting while driving? Hell im driving right now while im replying to this

[Rikao4]

had to decide a few days ago..
do I let her hit me or..
NOT a clue I was there..
thankfully she was going elsewhere..
had she not..
her car would NOT have moved upon her return..
her and her babies could have walked back to hell for all I care...

Rika

[sammyg2]

I have never texted while driving. In fact I have never texted period. Never sent one, and if I get one I delete it without reading it. I'm not even sure how to send one.

We advanced from the telegraph to the telephone for a reason. If someone wants to talk to me, they have to talk to me.
Now get off my lawn!

[djmcmath]

My morning commute typically happens at 50mph with 3-5 lanes of traffic carrying only a second or so of space between us. It's dangerous, no foolin', and I don't even take my eyes off the road to find my coffee cup unless there's a slow-down or a big opening. I definitely do NOT make phone calls in that kind of traffic.

My afternoon commute is a different story. My typical average speed is maybe 10mph, and there are long periods when I'm just stopped, or barely rolling waiting for traffic to start moving again. I have no problems making phone calls in that kind of traffic, and often pass the time that way -- the mental activity required to move the car forward another car length, then push out the clutch and wait just isn't that much. In fact, my last phone had buttons, and it wasn't terribly challenging to type without looking, so I will admit to having sent a few texts while driving.

My new phone is an iPhone, and while I like it, the loss of tactile buttons means there's no way I can type without looking. I also haven't figured out how to place a call by voice, which means that I can't even place a call without risking an accident.

Dan