JL Sargent Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 (edited) When I was a kid we were stuffing the cassette player in our cars going down the road. Then it was cell phones and we were talking on the phone. Nobody seemed to be in too much of an uproar about those distractions. Now we have texting. It gets all the negative attention. Is it that bad? I did find this photo of a guy that wrecked his car. Troopers supposedly found his phone in his hand. texting and driving.htm Edited July 31, 2014 by JL Sargent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The History Kid Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 I think the big difference between the distractions you gave is that texting requires the driver to fully take their eyes off the road for a longer period of time. You can just as easily put a cassette in with one hand and a few glances or dial a phone, but texting tends to require some careful attention and usually requires two hands. That's what makes it more dangerous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 I don't think it's any worse than putting on make-up, reading a book, shaving, or any other ridiculous activity I see people doing while cruising at 80MPH. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappydue Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 (edited) Agree. It's usually just easier to prove when doing it vs a crashed car and dead woman laying there and make up everywhere. Oh her purse spilled. No biggie. But crash at 1:32 pm and text sent at the same time easy to blame it on the phone. I try and speak to text if I have to. Otherwise I just call Edited July 31, 2014 by Scrappydue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sancho Panza Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Darwin Award? When I was a kid we were stuffing the cassette player in our cars going down the road. Then it was cell phones and we were talking on the phone. Nobody seemed to be in too much of an uproar about those distractions. Now we have texting. It gets all the negative attention. Is it that bad? I did find this photo of a guy that wrecked his car. Troopers supposedly found his phone in his hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Sargent Posted July 31, 2014 Author Share Posted July 31, 2014 I'm bad about going through a hamburger joints drivethru and getting lunch and then eating/driving down the road. Is that better than texting/driving? Maybe so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thaddeus Smith Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 I'm firmly against texting and driving, but see no problem with facebook, email, or pandora. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvu80 Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 I'm bad about going through a hamburger joints drivethru and getting lunch and then eating/driving down the road. Is that better than texting/driving? Maybe so. Maybe not, IMO. Opinion only, of course. Eating is a thoughtless act and requires no decision making. It can also be done while keeping eyes 100% on the road. Texting (talking, to a much lesser extent) takes constant decision making, eye-hand coordination with a VERY narrow field of vision, and eyes OFF the road. I think talking on the phone on the interstate is a minor distraction, and can be done safely. +++ Anecdotal story: Several years ago my daughters then 17 year-old friend Miranda was driving down a country road, but straight road. She decided to text and ran off the road to the right, hit a hill, rolled back across the road to the other side, where she went up over a bank and took out the gas line to a house. Everybody was OK, gas line did not catch on fire, but that was when I figured out texting and driving were bad. My daughter's friend was lucky. I'm glad texting while driving is now illegal everywhere, and if talking on the phone has to be gone as well, then so be it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 yep. IMO texting and driving is the worst offender named. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJkizak Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 Well they might come up with a car voice alarm cutoff saying "you are trying to text while driving, the text will not be able to transmitt while the vehicle is moving and if you feel lucky punk, auto pilot will take over and run you into the first availabe telephone pole at maximum speed". JJK 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 (edited) I don't think it's any worse than putting on make-up, reading a book, shaving, or any other ridiculous activity I see people doing while cruising at 80MPH. The problem with texting and driving is the unknown and likely poorly perceived amount of time that eyes are off the road. Accidents can develop and happen in tenths or hundredths of a second, and the distracted texter can probably lose track of a lot more while they think they can squeeze out another batch of precious texting without keeping exact track of time. Edited July 31, 2014 by LarryC 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 I think I posted here before that my wife was an early adopter of injured by textor. Wife returning from grocery store when young lady ran red traffic light and t-boned her. Local flat/straight/low traffic road in perfectly clear weather. Wife said young lady got out of her own car with her cell phone in hand and admitted she was using cell phone. My wife had a neck injury and got to have fun at rehab and continues to suffer today with pain. My low mileage unwrecked car suffered too. I later went to the young textors insurance agency inquiring about why they were not going to furnish my wife a rental. Agent was so cavalier about the accident ( I finally asked him to stop using that word as there was no accident, his client made a conscience decision to risk my wife's health by driving distracted) that I finally told him that I would have someone contact him on our behalf and I left. About a year and a half later we settled. I'm sure the young lady's insurance premiums are quite high and I feel oh so sorry for her. Everyone should know by now that if you text and are in an accident then your actions are easily documented. More than likely if you are at fault then your actions will be costly. I hope everyone realizes that if your limits of liability are low then your auto insurance carrier will simply pay to the limit of their liability and leave you hanging for the balance. This was the second time this happened to my wife. I have no sympathy for self-distracted drivers. Keith 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted July 31, 2014 Share Posted July 31, 2014 I've got your back on that Keith I completely agree. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Sargent Posted August 1, 2014 Author Share Posted August 1, 2014 Keith, since your wife's accidents have you changed your own driving habits? I just wonder if maybe you are more "aware" of the consequences since? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ceptorman Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 I ride a motorcycle a lot, and the crazy people not paying attention scare me sometimes. I'm always on high alert while riding, and I've seen a lot of terrible driving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 There is a lot of terrible driving everywhere. I suspect a lack of training. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Keith, since your wife's accidents have you changed your own driving habits? I just wonder if maybe you are more "aware" of the consequences since? Not really. I was on call for work 24/7 for 36 years so I'm not phone guy. I do try to stay off of I-459 and US-280. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JL Sargent Posted August 1, 2014 Author Share Posted August 1, 2014 Keith, you must of carried a pager then! I had one for a loooong time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twistedcrankcammer Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 (edited) My mom was rear ended at 45mph by a guy in his 40s that was texting. Mom was sitting behind two other cars all stopped at a red light, she now has 3 blown discs in her neck. Guy was texting and lawyer argued that his last text was several minutes earlier. Try to prove the exact minute of the text vs: the exact minute of the accident. Mom only got a pittance as they also argued her injury was from when she previously layed down her motorcycle while turning into my driveway. I hope all texters die in a single victim accident. Roger Edited August 1, 2014 by twistedcrankcammer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted August 1, 2014 Share Posted August 1, 2014 Keith, you must of carried a pager then! I had one for a loooong time. Yes I did, then came the brick phone. All of this shortly after the disappearance of dinosaurs. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.