Cell phones while driving..!

[California]

I posted these photos on here back in 2007. Here's how inattentive a driver can be.

I have no doubt the lady in the convertible Mustang was on the phone.

She came out of a side road and drove head-on into the passenger side fuel tank of a semi coming from her left.

That semi skidded on his own fuel slick and took out the gravel trailer's axle plus a Suburban behind it. Only the gravel driver was unhurt.

 

[Bedlam]

Here we had a patrolcar that was stopped on the roadside, and then the cop decided to get going and pulled out into traffic, and there was a car coming, they of cource crashed into him, sending them to the hospital.
Weeks later they announce no charges. Hmm I wonder if I could not yield and pull in front of him and have that decision.
Yes he was busy looking at his computer.So lots of distractions but they should also be held to the same standard but many times they arent.

 

[Bird]

Weeks later they announce no charges. Hmm I wonder if I could not yield and pull in front of him and have that decision.
Yes he was busy looking at his computer.So lots of distractions but they should also be held to the same standard but many times they arent.

And many times they're held to a much higher standard than the public. What you've told us doesn't include the reason for no charges (I can think of several reasons), doesn't tell us whether it's only criminal charges not filed, or whether disciplinary action in the department was called for or taken, so I don't see how anyone could tell whether the cop was or was not held to the same standard as anyone else; just not enough information.

 

[kidr]

Don't they teach in the defensive driving course, that in order to "get away" from a kamikaze driver, is to stop and let them drive away from you?

Yes, but alot of times people zonked out on phones will not be aware of their speed and slow down way below the posted speed.I get away from them. Speeders or or erratic drivers are different and I'll even slow down to "get away". I've even had a passeger call 911 to report particularly dangerous driving. In my post I said I would speed a little to get out of danger "if I had to". that implies there are other options. I didn't want make an overly long post and include them all.

 

[dave1949]

The brain attention split is the biggest problem; motorically driving with the phone is not a big deal.

Huh? Could you rephrase that comment please?
Dave.

 

[dave1949]

Yes, but alot of times people zonked out on phones will not be aware of their speed and slow down way below the posted speed.I get away from them. Speeders or or erratic drivers are different and I'll even slow down to "get away". I've even had a passeger call 911 to report particularly dangerous driving. In my post I said I would speed a little to get out of danger "if I had to". that implies there are other options. I didn't want make an overly long post and include them all.

Stopping on an interstate is a good way to get killed too, even in the breakdown lane.

What I hate to see is someone on the phone settle in behind me, usually closer than they should be even without the phone. That's just what I need - someone in position to rear-end me if I am forced to slow down.

The only thing worse is a semi tailgating, I know his stopping distance is 3-4 times longer that what I am driving. In the 1.5 seconds it takes for truck air brakes to engage, I could be dead already.

I agree with the previous poster who believes tailgating is the cause of many serious accidents. The police could easily enforce tailgating, but I suppose it's easier to ticket people for speeding.
Dave.

 

[kidr]

Huh? Could you rephrase that comment please?
Dave.

I think what he's saying is that physically handling the phone or radio in a car is not the main problem. The problem is that the eyes glass over and the brain disconnects. I call it "cell phone fog" and I want my cut if it's used as a defence in court. Not talking about texting which is different. Anyway I like the way he said it, very colorful.

 

[jimmyj]

It is impossible for a person to devote part of their attention away from one task and still have the same amount of concentration on the original task. Thus, driving alone vs driving and doing anything else at the same time is taking on a risk. The problem as I see it is we humans have different tolerances for what is "acceptable" in terms of risk and also we are lousy judges of how good our tolerances are. Just ask a drunk driver, "well, I thought I was OK."

I'm not saying that talking on a phone or lighting a smoke or changing the radio station is the same as being drunk, it's just that any time a person divides their attention while driving they take on a level of risk. I must admit due to my job I am on the phone constantly while I drive. I know for sure it makes me less competent as a driver and I do it anyway. Dumb, and proof of my point I think.

A good topic, I think a core issue is that we drive so very much we take the risks associated with it for granted. Each of us posts here about how careful we need to be when using a PHD or FEL, yet we drive at 50 to 80 mph on a strip of road in opposite directions to people doing the same thing with nothing to separate us but a line painted on the ground every day! There is no way any industrial union or plan manager would allow such a practice in a factory, but we do it with our kids in the back!

 

[Bedlam]

thumbs up Jimmy well described

 

[Alan L.]

The problem is not with talking, its with dialing and texting. I don't use bluetooth, but I do use voice activated calling - "call home". Most good drivers can drive and talk at the same time, but shouldn't be taking their eyes off the road to text, read texts, or punch in phone numbers.