texting while driving.

[Rincewiend]

Funny that this cropped up...
Since there was a interresting article:

Simulation teaches teens the perils of distracted driving

In fact on this day, students like 13-year-old Alli O'Brian are getting the rare chance to play Nintendo at school.

"I'm here playing Mario Kart," O'Brian said.

If it sounds too good to be true, it's because students might get to play video games, but it's not all fun and games. Students like Alli are learning firsthand how difficult it is to try and drive while dealing with distractions like talking on the cell phone or texting.

"I ran into a lot of things and it was very stressful," said O'Brian.

With help from the Eagle County Sheriff's Department, the Colorado State Patrol, Eagle County Fire Fighters and the Vail Valley Medical Center the high school created the "distracted and drowsy driving project."

 

[dave_R_treker]

Try having a water balloon at hand. Or, better yet, a maple syrup balloon. If they're busy texting while driving, they won't even see you throw it, and you'll get the satisfaction of shaking them up without the risk to your own vehicle (and, hopefully, other vehicles). And a maple syrup balloon in the summer provides merriment long afterwards.

Throwing stuff towards other cars on the road is in general a bad idea. In fact it's worse than text messaging your friends while driving.

I assumed he was joking about the water balloons. At least, I hope he was.

Boys and girls, I am as serious as Farrah Fawcett's anal cancer.

A maple syrup balloon on your car in the hot and humid Nebraska summer is not a funny thing. I never found out who nailed my car in a parking lot while I was at work, but my car smelled like breakfast for months.

If you cause a wreck with a liquid-filled balloon instead of your car, that is technically not vehicular homicide. Guy shoulda been paying attention to the road and not his phone. Think it over, folks. Let me know how it works.

And what happens if that person gets into an accident and KILLS an innocent person? Are you willing to live with that? And guess what? That would still be murder. The same thing could happen regardless if the person is texting or not.

 

[Guartho]

Don't gripe at me because someone else is irresponsible.

We're not. We're griping at you because you are irresponsible. Doing it to get back at someone else who's being irresponsible doesn't pass the irresponsibility on to them.

Driving is a full time activity.

So stop trying to be a teacher while you're trying to drive! Driving is a full-time activity.

I've had a carload of college kids play games with me on the Interstate while I had a trailer. The third time they were going to play "speed up" and pin me behind a truck was when I cut over and dropped that trailer right in front of them. I'm betting all four of them had skidmarks in their drawers, after which they made it a point to speed up (after I made my pass), flip me off, and then put the pedal to the floor.

Speed up and pin you behind a truck? I'm having trouble visualizing this. What's the game, they float in the passing lane and don't let you pass a truck? Well I take it back. That certainly puts you in significant immediate danger and should potentially cost them their lives. I know you probably seriously considered calling the Highway Patrol and reporting the make, model, license, and location of a dangerous vehicle, but all that might have accomplished is that you would have created a legitimate record of their behavior and perhaps even caused them to be pulled over and cited. They might have even gotten their license revoked if they had a record and were on their 3rd strike. I mean, the best you could've hoped for is the permanent removal of a dangerous driver with no injury to anyone, but what good would that have done? You made the right choice. When it comes to overall public safety, there's just no substitute for pissing off an irresponsible driver and sending him further down the road.

The other trucks with trailers were happy with what I did.

How on Earth could you possibly know that. As you passed them (after dealing with the "speed up and pin you" game naturally) did they all give you energetic thumbs up and honk their horns?

Deal with it.

Unfortunately an anonymous post boasting of what could be entirely fictitious irresponsible driving is not going to be enough to get your license pulled so we won't be able to deal with it under the current conditions.

 

[Guartho]

Oh, and on the original topic, a friend of mine who I used to room with on camp staff was hit by a drunken and texting driver tuesday. This was while he was in a parked police car! (No, he wasn't in trouble, he's a cop)

the story I hadn't realized that alcohol was also involved until searching for this article. The e-mail that informed me neglected to mention that.

 

[JimCasy]

You can believe whatever you want, I have confidence in myself.

You're putting other people's lives and safety in jeopardy due to VANITY?!

I don't quite understand how this is vain on my part. I believe I'm good at something and that makes me vain? I don't get how you think it's so completely impossible for some people to possibly be good at driving while texting.

 

[Trekker4747]

You can believe whatever you want, I have confidence in myself.

You're putting other people's lives and safety in jeopardy due to VANITY?!

I don't quite understand how this is vain on my part. I believe I'm good at something and that makes me vain? I don't get how you think it's so completely impossible for some people to possibly be good at driving while texting.

You may be better than most people who text and drive. But you're not being the best possible driver since your attention is divided between the road and your blackberry. DRIVE YOUR FUCKING CAR, the text can wait.

Do it before you kill someone.

 

[JimCasy]

You may be better than most people who text and drive. But you're not being the best possible driver since your attention is divided between the road and your blackberry. DRIVE YOUR FUCKING CAR, the text can wait.

Do it before you kill someone.

Oh, now you've totally convinced me.

Tell you what, if I ever kill someone (or even get in a fender-bender) because I'm texting while driving, I'll come right on here and let you know so you can gloat about how right you were.

And hell, I can't afford a blackberry, I have the cheapass free phone that came with my plan.

 

[Saturn0660]

Just because it's common sense, doesn't mean that people are gonna obey. Look, i know it's illegal, but i still do it on occasion/

If you're going to text while driving you might as well be blind.

Seriously. What posess people to think that it's a good idea to take their eyes off the road and focus their attention on a screen and typing in messages? You might as well read a book or paint your windshield black.

Texting while driving is monumentaly stupid and dangerous.

It should be severly punishable. Orders of magnitude worse than even drunk-driving is.

Because at the very least a drunk driver can see the goddamn road!

wait wait wait... Are you telling me you'd rather be on the road with drunk drivers?

 

[dave_R_treker]

You may be better than most people who text and drive. But you're not being the best possible driver since your attention is divided between the road and your blackberry. DRIVE YOUR FUCKING CAR, the text can wait.

Do it before you kill someone.

Oh, now you've totally convinced me.

Tell you what, if I ever kill someone (or even get in a fender-bender) because I'm texting while driving, I'll come right on here and let you know so you can gloat about how right you were.

Why risk someones life? Just stop texting and driving. I don't care how good you think you are. There is no such thing as texting and driving safely.

 

[Trekker4747]

wait wait wait... Are you telling me you'd rather be on the road with drunk drivers?

A drunk driver has at least some, be it slim, understanding of where they are and what is going on around them. In that they can SEE THE OTHER CARS ON THE ROAD.

As I said, a texter might as well be blind. As they've no awarness of anything around them.

 

[dave_R_treker]

You may be better than most people who text and drive. But you're not being the best possible driver since your attention is divided between the road and your blackberry. DRIVE YOUR FUCKING CAR, the text can wait.

Do it before you kill someone.

Oh, now you've totally convinced me.

Tell you what, if I ever kill someone (or even get in a fender-bender) because I'm texting while driving, I'll come right on here and let you know so you can gloat about how right you were.

And hell, I can't afford a blackberry, I have the cheapass free phone that came with my plan.

wait wait wait... Are you telling me you'd rather be on the road with drunk drivers?

A drunk driver has at least some, be it slim, understanding of where they are and what is going on around them. In that they can SEE THE OTHER CARS ON THE ROAD.

As I said, a texter might as well be blind. As they've no awarness of anything around them.

text driving and drunck driving is really apples and oranges. You really can't compare the two.

 

[Trekker4747]

text driving and drunck driving is really apples and oranges. You really can't compare the two.

Perhaps.

But some studies have shown that just talking on a cell-phone while driving makes a person four times more likely to have an accident than someone who is drunk.

 

[Miss Chicken]

I wonder who is more dangerous - the texting driver or this driver who certainly didn't have his mind on the road.

 

[Davros]

Are they complete morons?

Yes

 

[Guartho]

I don't get how you think it's so completely impossible for some people to possibly be good at driving while texting.

I'm not the one you're replying to, but I think it is certainly possible that you're better at driving while texting than some people (my sister-in-law's husband) are while paying complete attention to the road. What I don't believe is that you're just as good at driving while texting as you are at driving while focused on the road.

 

[Peacemaker]

You may be better than most people who text and drive. But you're not being the best possible driver since your attention is divided between the road and your blackberry. DRIVE YOUR FUCKING CAR, the text can wait.

Do it before you kill someone.

Oh, now you've totally convinced me.

Tell you what, if I ever kill someone (or even get in a fender-bender) because I'm texting while driving, I'll come right on here and let you know so you can gloat about how right you were.

And hell, I can't afford a blackberry, I have the cheapass free phone that came with my plan.

wait wait wait... Are you telling me you'd rather be on the road with drunk drivers?

A drunk driver has at least some, be it slim, understanding of where they are and what is going on around them. In that they can SEE THE OTHER CARS ON THE ROAD.

As I said, a texter might as well be blind. As they've no awarness of anything around them.

text driving and drunck driving is really apples and oranges. You really can't compare the two.

Asserting that "they are apples and oranges" and actually providing a supporting argument aren't convertible.

And notice what has happened here. You were the one who boasted about your abilities and then were confronted with comments about your vanity. You objected to that, yet you were the one who chose to frame the issue in that manner. So, you're objecting to being answered on your own level. Ergo, your objection proves the accusation was actually accurate.

 

[Rincewiend]

I wonder who is more dangerous - the texting driver or this driver who certainly didn't have his mind on the road.

Ah, he was thinking with his little head...

 

[Miss Chicken]

I wonder who is more dangerous - the texting driver or this driver who certainly didn't have his mind on the road.

Ah, he was thinking with his little head...

They should have charged the woman with something, she was behaving irresponisbly too.

 

[JimCasy]

wait wait wait... Are you telling me you'd rather be on the road with drunk drivers?

A drunk driver has at least some, be it slim, understanding of where they are and what is going on around them. In that they can SEE THE OTHER CARS ON THE ROAD.

As I said, a texter might as well be blind. As they've no awarness of anything around them.

I completely disagree with this statement. There have been instances of drunk drivers around here pulling onto the (divided) interstate going the wrong way. I have never heard of a driver who was texting doing the same thing (though I obviously haven't researched every single traffic violation ever in the history of driving). In my ever so humble opinion, you are wrong in saying that drunk drivers are not as bad as texting drivers.

And really, there's nothing you can say that will convince me otherwise. Putting things in capitals doesn't count.

ETA: I wasn't boasting. Saying that you have confidence in yourself isn't boasting. I didn't say, "I'm the greatest driver in the world, I could text while driving 300mph down the curviest road I know!" I simply said that I'm confident in a skill I have. And it would seem it is believed that I'm texting the entire time I'm driving. I do it when I'm not surrounded by other cars, all moving. I'm not retarded. It's not like I'm thinking, "Oh, here comes the big curvy part of the road, better stare at my phone and wish everyone good luck!"

 

[Smiley]

Any driver who is texting will automatically be less safe than if they are paying complete attention to driving only. Doing both at the same time means that the driver is less prepared for the unexpected. This has nothing to do with the driver's skill, it's just a fact of how our bodies work.

I still have yet to hear a compelling case for when a text message is so important that it overrides everything else. What if it comes in while one is in the bathroom or in the shower? I doubt there is anyone who uses texts that demands an instantaneous reply. Besides, there was no prevalent text messaging 30 years ago, and people got on with their business just fine.