no more texting while driving come january 1st

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BigAl3

New member
Wish they'd pass that here. Nothing worse than getting stuck behind some moron driving 20-30 under the limit or sitting there with a green light because they are texting. Personally, I think they should get a beating instead of a ticket.
 
I'm pretty sure it is already against the law here in NY.



My mom got rear ended on Halloween by some retard 17 year old girl who was clearly texting (but obviously never admitted to it). At least her car got the worst of the damage.
 
BigAl3 said:
...i don't see why this wasn't enforced at the same time while talking was...
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So am I, kind of strange. This past summer here in Montreal it was prohibited to hold the cell phone while driving, which obviously takes out texting at the same time. You can still talk however, but only if you use a hands free unit (bluetooth piece, one-ear wired earpiece, speakerphone unit).



Personally, I've noticed the difference in the past months in other driving behaviour on my way to work and back. Even myself I was guilty of occassionally glancing at the BlackBerry because of a new message or picking up a call. Definitely a good thing :)
 
Scottwax said:
..........Personally, I think they should get a beating instead of a ticket.
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My sentiments exactly. No need to write more laws that cover common sense, just write 'em up for reckless operation (which it is).



People are poor enough drivers anyway without trying to text and drive........ every time in recent years that someone has swerved into my lane it was because they had a stupid phone in their hands texting while steering with their elbows :bat
 
In general, I'm personally usually in favor of less government intrusion and regulations.



However, this practice of texting while driving is extremely dangerous and unfortunately becoming more common. Driving on public roads is a privilege, not a birthright, and laws to make it safe for everybody are necessary and should be enforced.



I agree use of cell phones in general distracts drivers, obstructs their peripheral vision by holding the phones up to their faces/temples, and contributes to unsafe driving. And, IMO it's usually just senseless jibbering about non-important stuff .... at least less important than concentrating of the important duty of focusing on safe driving. Texting is even worse because by definition the driver is forced to takes his eyes, mind, and hands away from focusing on driving safely.
 
Scottwax said:
Personally, I think they should get a beating instead of a ticket.
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agreed. when driving, that's ALL they should be doing with their full undivided attention. as if there weren't bad anough drivers out on the road already, only to have this distract and make them more hazardous. why should anyone be a victim in a accident over this nonsense. i wish cops would step it up and issue more tickets, i see people all the time still yacking away while driving as if the law never took place. let's remember here... driving is a privilege!
 
I hate people who text while driving. My room mate does that and it scares the crap outta me when im riding with him cause hes all over the road. Its like, why waste the 20 minutes writing a novel when you could end the conversation in 30 seconds if you talked to them on the phone?



But what pisses me off more is ive seen many people listening to their ipod with ear buds while driving! Last time i looked, the warnings on the thing says "do not use while operating a motor vehicle." It sucks that people are this stupid to put their life in danger, and they complain the government takes away too many liberties. If people actually thought before they did stupid things, we wouldnt need rules to ban it.
 
As a firefighter.. I deal with the lunacy every day I am on duty! :wall :grrr



Responding to calls with morons chatting on the cell, phone, texting, eating breakfast, putting on makeup, shaving, reading the paper and such makes a response to a call more thrilling than any ride at Disney World or Universal Studios! :grinno:
 
I agree with Scottwax, they should get a good old a** whooping, instead of a ticket. I don't know about where you'll live, but here in Houston people are not in the Christmas spirit at all (no reefs, or Bows on cars, not like any of us autopians would would risk scarring our paint with a reef on our rides, but still i've only seen two, my neighbors). People here are also driving a lot more aggressive and are a lot more rude behind the wheel , i've had many more close calls lately too. :grrr
 
Eliot Ness said:
My sentiments exactly. No need to write more laws that cover common sense, just write 'em up for reckless operation (which it is)...
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Yeah, it's "driving while distracted" or some such wording. The law (i.e., don't do stuff that interferes with your ability to control the vehicle) is already on the books, I don't see why it's necessary to start getting specific.



Phones, texting...what's next, eating/drinking/smoking...what about having a conversation with somebody in the car or fiddling with your i-drive's controller?



Pretty pathetic that we have to legislate common sense :rolleyes:



I wish they'd just throw the book at people who drive badly for *any* reason.



The Vehicle Dynamics Institute has done some interesting controlled tests on multi-tasking drivers. While I've witnessed some pretty incredible examples of people who *can* multi-task behind the wheel, that's quite rare. The VDI studies showed that *most* drivers lose a huge % of their ability to react and control simply by doing *anything* other than just driving. E.g., hands-free cells generally resulted in the same sort of diminished performance as regular ones.
 
Accumulator said:
Yeah, it's "driving while distracted" or some such wording. The law (i.e., don't do stuff that interferes with your ability to control the vehicle) is already on the books, I don't see why it's necessary to start getting specific.
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I know it was a rhetorical questions but this is how most laws evolve. Thanks to lawyers and our legal system, you have to always be more specific.



You basically tell you have to live and think since there are quite a few that are not capable to do it by themselves without hurting themselves or others or become a burden to the state.



It is like seeing those infonews comments telling people on tips to avoid getting cold....put on a coat before you do out... hmmm. Or, in a tornado, run outside to see what it is doing so you can show your friends.....
 
Bunky said:
I know it was a rhetorical questions but this is how most laws evolve. Thanks to lawyers and our legal system, you have to always be more specific......
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Guess I'd rather just boil it down to "you were driving, your driving caused the accident, so you're at fault".



But I suppose there's no preventative value in that..I myself just never see much preventative value in *any* laws like this as I assume that the same people who need the specific laws on the books are the same people who will ignore them :nixweiss



This sorta gets into the whole idea of the govt. watching out for me...I for one never expect laws/the government/whatever to save me from the idiots; I assume and accept that it's up to me. It's like the flip side of my "you were driving..so you're at fault" thought: if *I* am behind the wheel, everything that happens involving my vehicle is *my* responsibility, and that includes dealing with all the idiots out there.



As one of my instructors said: "if a meteorite falls out of the sky and hits the car I'm driving, it's *my* fault because I'm the driver."



Of course my more liberal friends get all :rolleyes: and respond with comments about "the wild west" and "chaos" (scare-quotes intentional ;) ).
 
Accumulator said:
Guess I'd rather just boil it down to "you were driving, your driving caused the accident, so you're at fault".



But I suppose there's no preventative value in that..I myself just never see much preventative value in *any* laws like this as I assume that the same people who need the specific laws on the books are the same people who will ignore them :nixweiss



This sorta gets into the whole idea of the govt. watching out for me...I for one never expect laws/the government/whatever to save me from the idiots; I assume and accept that it's up to me. It's like the flip side of my "you were driving..so you're at fault" thought: if *I* am behind the wheel, everything that happens involving my vehicle is *my* responsibility, and that includes dealing with all the idiots out there.



As one of my instructors said: "if a meteorite falls out of the sky and hits the car I'm driving, it's *my* fault because I'm the driver."



Of course my more liberal friends get all :rolleyes: and respond with comments about "the wild west" and "chaos" (scare-quotes intentional ;) ).
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i use to think that most every person out there has some sort of common sense these days. not so, boy was i wrong...
 
BigAl3- Yeah, nowadays I don't find that old quip about "common sense not being so common" very amusing; now it's just sorta sad-but-true.
 
One day I'm going to buy an ol F-150 that runs well. Then weld in a front and rear bumper guard and reinforce the frame and just drive. If some one decides to jump out/swerve onto me so be it. I'll hammer out the dents and keep truckin. I'm getting tired of having to cut some one else off to avoid an accident because *** hat couldn't wait 3 more seconds.
 
wytstang- I've sometimes had that attitude when driving something that already needed bodywork...seems like the idiots keep their distance when I'm driving something I don't care about :D
 
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