Texting, Dialing, Crashing -- Stupidity On Wheels

Bans on texting and cell phone use while driving seem not to be doing a whole heck of a lot of good, considering there are always reports of accidents occurring as a result in those areas where such activity is illegal. It's not illegal where I happen to live, and this morning I had the opportunity to watch as a chronological grownup proved how stupid such activity can be.
 
I stopped at a traffic light while on my way home from getting a cup of coffee and watched a woman with the green light attempt to make a left turn. I could see clearly that she was tapping away on her cell phone with her left hand as she began moving, turning the steering wheel of her car to the left with her right hand. Looking down at the phone in her hand all the time she drove directly into a utility pole, a mail box and a van. All three were over the sidewalk she jumped.
 
Would a ban on messing with a cell phone have stopped her from such activity? I doubt it.

Laws can't fix stupidity. 

I teach at a university in a state that prohibits texting while driving.  Officially.  But driving around our campus, I frequently see students texting while driving.  I once saw one texting while driving, who also had "earbuds" in her ears, so presumably she was listening to music (or something) as well.
Of course, they also cross streets against the light while texting, talking on the phone, or listening to something on their iPods.  The sheer obliviousness of it makes me insane.  

Maybe not, but the penalties would possibly be more severe.
 
Wisconsin's texting ban goes into effect Dec. 1 and it'll be interesting to see the statistics after a couple of months.
 
A few months ago in Madison a woman was killed when she plowed into the back of a semi while texting.  IIRC there were no skid marks from her car and I can't remember if it was reported on the news or not, but considering that her car looked cut off at the door sills I wouldn't be surprised if the same happened to her.
 
Brad

A young lady that goes to my church was killed while texting returning from high school.  She took her eye off the road, rolled over and hit a tree and died.
 
I always remind my daughter and others that no texting, no speeding and no tail gateing.
 
I bought my daughter and Iwanago a bluetooth earpiece to make calls and answer a call.  You can make a call or receive a call without taking your eye off the road.
 
Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

My son has a doohickey that feeds it through his radio, although supposedly it's the divided attention of participating in the call that's dangerous moreso than the actual using-your-hands part.

I can tell you from personal experience that having a hands-free headset (or using the speaker phone) is equally distracting as holding the phone and talking.  I thought I was doing it right by putting the phone on the passenger seat and using the speaker phone, and I still narrowly missed having an accident because I simply did not see the stop sign.  At an intersection I drove through at least twice a day.

Granted, I live in a rural area, and am somewhat senior in years...but I don't answer my cell when it rings when I am driving. If Jan is with me she fields the call and depending on the issues involved, I will try to relay my thoughts thru her to the party calling.  I have never...and will not...TEXT. The phone is handy to have on the road, but using it safely requires some discipline !

felix4067


I can tell you from personal experience that having a hands-free headset (or using the speaker phone) is equally distracting as holding the phone and talking.  I thought I was doing it right by putting the phone on the passenger seat and using the speaker phone, and I still narrowly missed having an accident because I simply did not see the stop sign.  At an intersection I drove through at least twice a day.

 
I agree with you and Nancy. The problem isn't holding an object, it is the fact your mind becomes pre-occupied with the conversation. I found this out years ago when I was talking on the phone...hands free...and drove about 15 miles past the exit for my house. An exit I took every day. Now I stop and call back or just ignore it. I am not important enough that I need to be reachable each and every minute of the day. 
 

Three months ago or so, I was coming to a stop,slowing down to a yellow light and I had a young woman plow into me without even braking. She must have been going a good 35+ mph and totally tore up the rear of my car and her front end. I checked on her b4 calling 911 and she had a bloodied nose near as I could tell, but ok otherwise. Her airbag didn't deploy, but I did notice that she had a white pair of IPOD type earphones draped on her shoulders. When the EMS guys checked me out, the cop mentioned she was "pretty distracted". I'm going to assume that they seen evidence of her preoccupied with something else. Shame to lose a great car that I've kept well maintained for 12 years over someone not paying attention and I'm amazed she wasn't severely injured as her car hood slid under my trunk.
I never text nor do I have need for net features. My kids text me, but it's easier to call back instead of play with the keys to get the right letters and I don't see the point of getting a keyboard phone when you can just call someone. I never liked using the phone or a two way radio in the car b4, but with the new vehicle I do have hands free from the steering wheel. I don't seem to have much problems keeping my mind on the road while talking with this set up. If anything, the distraction was handling the phone or a microphone. I didn't get a navigation system in my vehicle, but now that I'm paying attention, I'm noticing that folks that are driving very slow or all over the place are often busy poking on the displays on their dashboard much more then using a handset when you pass them. This seems like a dangerous trend in the newer vehicles.

DawnT


I don't seem to have much problems keeping my mind on the road while talking with this set up. 

 
I know we are all wired differently, but my wife says the same thing. One day I followed her home after picking up her car at the repair shop. She has a hands free bluetooth set up. During the 10-12 mile drive she was driving like she was drunk. Speed up, slow down, going down to under 50 in the left lane of a 4 lane highway, moving all around the lane...fortunately not going over lines...and generally driving like someone who was severely distracted. She was totally unaware and denied any of it happen. Scary. 
 
 

 
I live in VA, which does not have any specific laws forbidding texting or cell phone use while driving.  However, we do have a law against "distracted driving" or "failure to pay full time and attention." 
This covers anything that distracts you.....cell phone, texting, putting on make-up while driving (yes, it happens), or even eating or drinking a soda while driving.  If a cop sees you driving 20 under the limit, and you're eating your take-out burger, you can be ticketed.  If you're  texting, you can be ticketed.  etc., etc., etc.  
 
I agree with those who say that hands-free cell use doesn't really help.  It's the distraction of the conversation, not the  holding of the phone that is the problem. 
Texting is really not smart.  That takes your attention away and it takes your eyes off the road.  
 
I have never texted.  I don't understand the point of it?  If you are holding a phone, which is a modern piece of machinery  that allows you to actually talk to others, why not just call?  Why bother going through the cumbersome task of typing on little keys?  It's almost as if today's kids are regressing in progress.   Next, they'll think Morse Code is cool, and then eventually they'll be sending smoke signals to each other.
 
About the only times I can think of that texting would be advantageous is when you are in a situation where you can't talk or can't hear (loud concert, etc.), and you have to communicate for some reason (like meeting up with friedns, etc. inside that loud concert where nobody can hear a conversation.)
 
Glenn
 
   
 
 
 

http://www.cbsnews.com/83...20013953-10391698.html

Glenn1234

 I have never texted.  I don't understand the point of it?  If you are holding a phone, which is a modern piece of machinery  that allows you to actually talk to others, why not just call?  Why bother going through the cumbersome task of typing on little keys? 

I actually felt the same way as you, but now I get it.  I primarily use texts for when I know someone cannot answer the phone (or in the case of my ex, who had a prepaid phone and wouldn't call his voicemail because it used minutes) but I still need to give them information.  Also, we now use texts to dispatch work calls through my hiring hall, because it saves them time and everyone definitely has written confirmation of when and where they are supposed to be for work.
 
But yeah...most texts could easily be done via a voice call.

I am  quite proud  of the fact that I have  maintained  a safe  and  worry-free life with out   texting  or  being on a cell phone all the time.
 
Today, I had to pick my  daughter in law up  from    the  dealership where she  dropped her car off for  reparis.  She  was there ,  standing outside waitting for me,  talking on her cell.   She  gets in c r   ,  says  "hi"  and  then  s ta rts  texting  (what lovely manners).    I  stopped at  grocery store to  go into the bank there to make deposit  and  told her to  take over the wheel  and  wait   and  I  would  be  right  out.
 
I come ou t.  She  is no where to be  found.  She  had  pulled into   a  parking  spot  and  was  texting.   After I   am standing there for   5  minutes,  she  finally comes  around to get me  and  we  drive on home.   She  gets a  call from  her boss and  get s  so involved in conversation  t  ha t she  slows  down  to   20 miles  per hour   with  traffic  back up  behind  us. It is hard to believe that  intelligent people  act this  way.

I never use my cell phone while driving.  That said, I don't see how participating in a hands-free cell conversation can be any more distracting than participating in a conversation with a passenger in the car.  Yet nobody gets on anyone's case for having conversations with passengers while driving.

My mind wandering often distracts me.  I can't imagine what the addition of a phone would/could do.
 
Any of you ever have that....  When did I drive through that busy intersection moment?
 
 

Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle


I never use my cell phone while driving.  That said, I don't see how participating in a hands-free cell conversation can be any more distracting than participating in a conversation with a passenger in the car.  Yet nobody gets on anyone's case for having conversations with passengers while driving.

Precisely my thought. As long as I'm not distracted fooling with the phone or have to divide my concentration with punching buttons, it's no different then speaking with a passenger. Safer actually as you never have to take your eyes off the road. We're all different. I can easily read a book, work on the computer, type, or watch a television program and consciously pay attention or engage in a conversation. That drives people like my dad or my step son nuts who can't pay attention to more then one thing at a time. Try to speak to them while watching TV, talking on the phone, or reading the newspaper and it's nothing more then a distracting noise.
 
Glenn mentioned: " However, we do have a law against "distracted driving" or "failure to pay full time and attention." This covers anything that distracts you"
 
Does this mean that you can't drive with children on board in VA Glenn ?
 

Glenn mentioned:  "However, we do have a law against "distracted driving" or "failure to pay full time and attention." This covers anything that distracts you"

Does this mean that you can't drive with children on board in VA Glenn ?

 
 

If the driver turns around to yell at kids, reprimand kids, adjust tight scarf on kid, etc.,  and is swerving around while doing it, with eyes off the road, then yes, this is included in distracted driving.  It's at the officer's discretion.  Same deal with drinking a soda.  If you raise the drink to your lips, take a sip from a straw, all while keeping your eys on the road, and keeping the car in its lane, then no problem.   if you are fumbling for your drink/food, etc., where it takes your eyes off the road, and you are swerving around, then you can get in trouble  (legally and safety/healthwise)  . 

Glenn
 
 
 

 
Regarding the issue of hands-free cell phones while driving versus having a conversation with a passenger,  studies have shown that having a conversation with a pasenger is much less distracting.  Cell phone conversations are often more focused on something (business, what to pick up at the grocery store, etc.), while conversations with a pasenger are generally more casual. ... and timed better  (see below).
 
  Also, having the person in the car with you allows him to assess the driving situation (either consciously or subconsciouly), and the pasenger will adjust the intenisty of the conversation accordingly.   A person at the other end of a cell phone conversation doesn't know when to tone it down.   Here's an example I'm sure many of us have faced... 
You need to pull out into busy traffic on a busy road at night in the rain or in rush hour traffic. ....or maybe driving next to a jersey wall in a narrow construction zone.    Many of us will even turn down the radio in an intense driving situation like this just so we can concentrate more.       Now imagine having a cell conversation  with your boss at that time, and he is yelling at you and asking about the 3rd Quarter sales figures.   That certainly won't help your driving situation.  Even if that same boss was riding in the car with you, he would most likely have the instinct to tone down or stop that conversation, even if only temporaily, to give you a chance to get into a safer driving situation.    A boss  (or whoever)  at the other end of a cell phone has no idea of the road situation.       
 
Here is a summary quote from a University of Utah study on it:
 
   "A 2004 University of Utah simulation study that compared passenger and cell-phone conversations concluded that the driver performs better when conversing with a passenger because the traffic and driving task become part of the conversation.   Drivers holding conversations on cell phones were four times more likely to miss the highway exit than those with passengers, and drivers conversing with passengers showed no statistically significant difference from lone drivers in the simulator.  A study led by Andrew Parkes at the Transport Research Laboratory, also with a driving simulator, concluded that hands-free phone conversations impair driving performance more than other common in-vehicle distractions such as passenger conversations. ^" 
 
It seems there are 2 factors at play in cell conversations versus conversations with passnegers:   1.)  The nature of the conversation,  and/or  2.)   The timing of the conversation.   
The nature and/or timing of conversations is usually more distracting on a cell phone conversation than with a passenger.  
 
Glenn
 
 

I must admit that I have out-grown 'most' of the outlandish behaviors of my youth...However--
   The temptation to replace my normal pickup truck horn with a full-bore train air horn, solely to use when I am stuck behind someone in the left lane of our local Interstates. That lane-blocker is visibly obvious texting or just reading, and doing between 45 and 65 mph (70 mph zone)...the speed varies like a roller coaster, as they change pages or whatever they do to alter the text pages.  I figure a good blast of 130db horn from about 20 ft off their rear bumper might bring them back to reality.
  On the other hand...
Not long ago I pulled into a local Kroger gas station to fill-up. The place was busy and I was the second car in line for 'my' pump. When the first car left, the next pulled up to the pump (the driver was talking on her cell phone), she did not get out to start the fueling process, rather she sat in her car in a rather 'heated' discussion with whomever she was talking. I waited a couple of minutes and honked my horn. She looked up and flipped me off.  So I introduced her to my brand of nasty talk, which at least got her off the phone, filled her tank while giving me the evil eye, and then flipped me off again as she left.  
  I am also amazed at the number of people who read while driving..not texting...books, reports, dvd movies, I guess all's fair these days.

I guess I am kind of an old fashioned cell phone user. I dont even always carry it with me when I leave the house. I figure if I am shopping, or out for a meal, etc..I am BUSY and will return calls when I am  done. I never text-ever. My brother-in-law came over for dinner recently, and spent 2 hours texting the new woman in his life. I guess I just find alot of cell phone users just plain rude, as Al pointed out. And if one is texting, one should not be driving. Will the new laws deter people-not all. But after a stiff fine or two, it may detract.People have died from this practice.

I RARELY USE A CELL PHONE, the exception is when I'm at Costco, and call back here to check on inventory. I never answer or make a call while driving, unless I see an accident.

mayor al

I introduced her to my brand of nasty talk, which at least got her off the phone, filled her tank while giving me the evil eye, and then flipped me off again as she left.   

 
Somehow this seems inconsistent with the "family values" for which your neck of the woods gets so much publicity these days.
 
I must admit there are quite a few situations in public in which I am tempted to do the same, though.  Often it has something to do with someone making a right turn on a green light (while madly using their cell phone) as I am stepping off the curb to cross the street onto which they are turning.  It is a situation in which a red bullfighter cape and steel-toed shoes would help.

BT,
  I am sure she was on her way to Bible Study !!!

Completely anecdotal regarding talking to passengers vs. talking on a phone...there is a HUGE difference, at least in my car.  I don't know anything about the study (and I'm sure there has been more than one), but I can talk to people in the car all day long and never have an issue.  Get on the phone, even hands-free, and I'm screwed.
 
One of the daily drives I used to make is about 80 miles one-way.  I was having a conversation on the phone (on speaker) with someone driving home one night, and I was suddenly five miles from home and the last thing I could remember was dialing the phone just as I was leaving work.  Same drive, with someone in the car, I remembered the entire thing and didn't lose the better part of an hour.
 
I can, however, eat a four-course meal while driving and never have an issue. 

Geez, my husband can steer the wheel with his knees, read his Sporting News, and eat a burger-but text? Way too dangerous!!!

Around here cell phone use, texting and distracted driving is of epidemic proportions. I don't know if anything or any law will stop it.

Not ten minutes ago I'm approaching a 4 way lighted intersection wanting to turn left and there is a left turn only arrow but it turns off just as I approach the intersection. The cars facing me of course have been staring at a red light for 15 seconds. They get a green, I stop as I no longer have an arrow and some &%$@#*+ on the cross street  barrels through her red light blissfully yapping on her cell. Luckily no one had floored their car on their green light as she would have t-boned them. Grrrrrrr.

Living in this big sprawled-out metro area where everyone pretty much has to drive, I've gotten a grim fatalism that it's not a question of if I get broadsided by someone running a red light while looking at internet porn on their cell phone as much as when.