Texting & Driving

Discussion in 'Detailing Bliss Lounge' started by BoostedMk6, Apr 15, 2013.

  1. BoostedMk6

    BoostedMk6 Jedi Nuba

  2. TheRustySuper

    TheRustySuper Obsessive Detailer

    Tragic but definitely worth sharing. Lexington has a huge population of college students (due to the presence of UK) and as a commuter, I see people--especially students--texting and driving all of the time. It's not worth the risk...people say that they can "multitask" but I don't believe it for a minute. If it's so important that it can't wait...CALL them. Get one of those hands free bluetooth earpieces, I've got one and it's great. But then calling people seems to be something that people in my generation don't get...people give me really weird looks when I say I'm gonna call one of my friends rather than text them.
     
  3. slanguage

    slanguage OD On Detailing

    There was a study that was done recently, that said one thing contributed to more accidents than phonecalls/texting.
    It was people daydreaming while driving.

    I dont know how people can hit those little letters on the phone while driving. I cant so its good because it keeps me from texting and driving.
     
  4. BoostedMk6

    BoostedMk6 Jedi Nuba

    The problem is the younger generations must always be connected 24/7. If they don't have their cell phone at hand, they seem to lose all touch with humanity.

    Somehow, someway, they need to be taught that there are more important things in life. Way too many people dying for such senseless reasons IMO.
     
  5. invaderzim

    invaderzim Jedi Nuba

    That is the real challenge; changing the mindset to one where "it can wait". I don't know how you do that. How do you reprogram the thinking from I must respond to everything immediately and I must know everything that everyone is doing instantly to it being okay to wait 20 minutes to know what your friend just thought of?

    You can show everyone how dangerous it is but as long as the addiction is there they will give in to it. They will find a way to justify it to themselves.

    I've had people that were walking in front of me stop dead in their tracks right in the middle of the doorway to a store because they had to type something on their phone and couldn't continue to walk and do it at the same time, even though the door opened automatically. Yet I would bet those same people say they can drive just fine while they text.
    We were walking out of a mall one day and this late teenage looking girl was walking in front of her parents and she got to the door to get in to the store and just stopped and stood there still focusing on her phone. Her dad squeezed around her and opened the door so she could keep walking without looking up or taking a hand off the phone. My Dad would have smacked me on the back of the head and said "pay attention and open the door".

    First people worried about the danger of talking on the phone but at least then there wasn't looking away from the road for long sections of time while they concentrate on a little tiny screen and tiny keyboard in their hand. It is insane the number of people that play road pong (bounce between the lines) on a regular basis while doing that. You can watch their heads bob up and down. Up for a half second, down for several, repeat. All the while their speed drops down to 10-15 under the speed limit and they keep fading from one side of the lane to the other.
     
  6. Pureshine

    Pureshine DB Pro Supporter

    I'm a firm believer that if your caught texting while driving you should have the same fines as drunk driving!!!!!!!
     
  7. BoostedMk6

    BoostedMk6 Jedi Nuba

    Absolutely. Car and Driver did a study a few years ago and showed that texting while driving is worse than DUI.

    The funny thing is around here, even though its illegal, it rarely gets enforced. Instead, cops spend the majority of time giving tickets to people going 5-10 km/h over.
     
  8. 911Fanatic

    911Fanatic DB Pro Supporter

    I was almost involved in a texting while driving accident on Sunday while I had the wife and kids with me. As I pulled into a parking lot, some punk bitch teenager stepped off the curb while texting then slowed almost to a stop as he typed. Guess he forgot how to spell LOL. I almost got him with my mirror. Never mix texting with driving. You'll always lose.
     
  9. Kilo6_one

    Kilo6_one DB Forum Supporter

    California its illegal to do both talk or text. But morons still do it and people get seriously hurt or die as a result. Yes. The punishment shouls be the same as a DUI. Not a 50.00 fine. But its not just tweens. Its adults too.
     
  10. invaderzim

    invaderzim Jedi Nuba

    And the drunks can at least try to say they had their decision making abilities inhibited by the alcohol. The texters are fully aware of what they are doing. I remember back when cell phones were just getting popular a lady was swerving around while talking on the phone and trying to make notes on the calls and hit a pedestrian and didn't even realize it at first. She admitted that she'd swerved off the road accidentally several times right before that because she wasn't paying attention. I could never understand how that wasn't murder. She knew what she was doing was causing her to repeatedly run off the road and kept doing it. If someone walks into a crowded mall and starts shooting do they get off with involuntary manslaughter because they didn't actually mean to hit anyone?

    I know it is a common gripe that cops only go after the speeders that are just breaking the limit but years ago (before cell phones) they had an officer on the local news talking about cracking down on speeders and the news lady asked him if speeding was the leading cause of injury accidents. He said no, that it was failure to stop at intersections and then he quickly covered with "but we think that cutting down on speeders will help".
    So they could sit at intersections all day long and give out good tickets to people that are actually endangering others but they choose not to do that. Instead they sit along the road and wait for their radar gun to beep at them to tell them someone is speeding because that is much easier than actually paying attention to the drivers to see who deserves a ticket.
    It is the same thing with the texting, if I see as many as I do in a given day then how do the cops not see them? They could easily setup 'texting traps' just like their speed traps but it would require their attention and effort. Pull the car off like they are setting up a hidden speed trap but instead of pointing a radar back down the road use binoculars and watch the drivers. Heck get a good video camera with a strong zoom and image stability and then you've got iron clad proof if the driver tries to fight the ticket.
     
  11. Kilo6_one

    Kilo6_one DB Forum Supporter

    That is the problem with people, they cannot abide by the simple laws. Do you think they are going to abide by the more complex? Murder is illegal since the beginning of time and people still commit it. Problem is there is a lax justice system where people can plead down their guilt to community service.

    You can walk into a crowded street in america and blow people, and the most you will get is probably a life of appeals and court dates.

    the justice system is such a convoluted mess, the punishment rarely fits the crime. There was an asshole who was drinking all day, ran over a family in a crosswalk and dragged a little boy almost the length of a football field in Fresno. He drove off, came back and admitted to it on the scene after he was read his rights. Its in 3 different agencies reports. He was arrested and then released on bail the next day. He has been living it up like the douche bag that he is, and the trial keeps getting kicked back due to "lack of evidence". His attorney is blaming the family, the city because a street light was out an 1/8 of a mile away and the kid should have been walking his bike. He even has gone as far as saying the parents are liable for their own childs death because the did not read the warning on the bike. But this asshole was drinking all day with his girlfriend on a boat, while his wife and kids were at home.

    that is our american justice system.

    You can get 5 DUIs in California and as long as you pay the fine, take your classes you can still get a drivers license.

    People who drink and drive, or text/ talk on the phone or generally **** off while driving, well to me that is no different then shooting a gun into a crowd of people. eventually someone is going to be killed.
     
  12. React

    React Birth of a Detailer

    Vowed to myself years ago that I would never text and drive again. Definitely needs to illegal in all states and I've seen some scary accidents due to it... just as bad as driving impaired IMO
     
  13. Tweaked

    Tweaked Two Bucket System Washer

    I find that on top of the obvious texting issues, people use their phone for so many different things including GPS, email, browsing, games, that the cell phone is beyond distracting.

    I mean, hell, you hear about people's kids dying because their parents are too busy playing Farmville, it's not a stretch that those same types of people are playing games while driving.
     
  14. Kilo6_one

    Kilo6_one DB Forum Supporter

    problem is making it illegal is not going to solve the issue....... distracted driving has been in the vehicle code for years, it just is now more specific. The laws and punishment need to be much stiffer.
     
  15. Tweaked

    Tweaked Two Bucket System Washer

    Agreed.. it couldn't hurt for the police to actually enforce current laws a little more either. Spend less time shooting radar and a little more time pulling over the woman applying makeup or the guy shaving behind the wheel...
     
  16. Kilo6_one

    Kilo6_one DB Forum Supporter

    Oh I agree........ fines are starting to creep up now, its 50.00 for the fine and about 300 for the court fees LOL
     
  17. Tweaked

    Tweaked Two Bucket System Washer

    Texting and driving in Ontario is about a $110 fine, plus whatever fees you might incur after the fact. If you're really bad, they'll charge you with careless and you can be fined up to $2000 bucks.

    Doesn't make that terrible joke your buddy texted you seem worth it anymore does it? :)
     
  18. invaderzim

    invaderzim Jedi Nuba

    I guess we can hope it makes the change that drunk driving eventually did from laughing the next day about parking on the lawn because they were so drunk when they got home way back when to it being socially unacceptable for most people now and financially crushing to get caught.
     
  19. Kilo6_one

    Kilo6_one DB Forum Supporter

    that is what the government likes to do, ban it or tax it............
     
  20. Tweaked

    Tweaked Two Bucket System Washer

    They're great at banning, and taxing... But not as good as they are at spending said taxes :)
     

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