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Driving While Texting
From Slate, an argument for outlawing driving with even a powered up cell phone. Sound draconian to you? Then I guess you haven't yet had the privilege of a near death experience at the hands of some moron texting at 65 miles per hour. I have.
First there was last year's train crash near Los Angeles, with 25 dead and 130 injured. In three hours of work before the crash, the engineer received 28 text messages and sent 29 more. He sent his last message 22 seconds before impact, just after passing a signal that would have alerted him to the disaster ahead.
Now comes the Boston crash, in which one trolley went through a red light and rear-ended another...Officials say the operator of the second trolley "was text-messaging his girlfriend" and "was looking down at his phone and could not apply the brakes quickly enough when he looked up and saw the trolley in front of him."
If texting can cause crashes on train tracks, which prevent lateral drift, think how much more dangerous it is to text while driving a car.
Duh.
I'd go so far as to argue that the police check the text and call logs of every cell phone at every accident site and charge accordingly.
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Do Cell Phones Kill 1,000 People a Year?
In June 2003, the Bush administration nixed a report on the dangers of gabbing while driving. Six months later, a Michigan 12-year-old became another statistic.
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This Is Your Brain on Cell Phones
Is it just the crazies who think cell phone radiation causes cancer?
Close but not exactly
You can call AT&T and get my call logs, but you're going to need a warrant if you want to look inside my locked phone.
Oh and to be straight, I hate text drivers. I spent a good deal of money building my car from a shell. God save the jackass that hits me because he's looking at his phone. I'm sticking by my right to privacy though. A lock is a lock.
Get-rich-quick scheme
Drive around in a POS car; look for the texting driver; get in front of him; hit the brakes; sue the SH!t out of him.
Too much stuff in cars.
tagged as:- solution
Ever since automakers started putting cup holders in vehicles (some have more cup holders than potential passengers) drivers have assumed that their vehicle is a little rolling habitat, complete with TV, DVD player, GPS device and other creature comforts that you would think make driving a pleasure. What all of those things do is create distractions, as you pointed out in your letter.
The struggle is always what we want to do versus what we have to do.
Legislators are in a constant battle, it would seem, against the automakers who continue to provide more devices that have nothing to do with driving. The GPS is the latest. It tells you where you're going, but it does you no good if you drive off the road looking at it.
A total ban on cell phone use while driving is admirable but unenforceable. We have one in New Jersey and every day I see at least a dozen people chatting away, phone to head. Yesterday, I saw a Woodbury police officer on the phone, so how do you expect the cops to enforce it if they're among the offenders?
It's unenforceable because drivers are keen to the cops. You could even argue that the ban compounds the problem. While drivers are increasing their risk of an accident while talking, they're further increasing it by looking around for the cops. When they see one, they cup the phone or lay it down for a second until they pass.
On occasion, I've yelled at people to "hang up and drive" or "get off the phone" and get the most angry responses you could imagine. They feel it is an infringement of their rights somehow.
A better option would be to pass a law requiring auto makers to insulate cars so that, while the vehicle is running, the phone won't work. That would require drivers to pull over and shut off the engine before they could make a call. That is a much more interesting and achievable solution than another law that people won't obey.
Texting while driving
tagged as:- solution
will soon be the #1 killer of young people.
I read somewhere that the World Health Organisation estimates that deaths on roads will shortly be one of the major causes of death in humans.
If that's the case, I'm sure texting will be at the top of contributing factors.
If you're a parent of a teen who's recently learnt to drive, please talk to him/her about turning their phone off and putting it in the boot/trunk whilst their driving - it may just save their life.
Texting whilst Driving
tagged as:- solution
In Australia, you will be given a ticket, fined $121 and lose 2 points (out of 8) on your license for driving and talking or texting on a phone. The police fined over 140 drivers at one speed trap alone on Victoria Road in Sydney last weekend. They used the speed camera to record the people speeding and using their mobile phones also a few seat belt infringements and a drunk driver.
re:
Drive around in a POS car; look for the texting driver; get in front of him; hit the brakes; sue the SH!t out of him.
Public Safety
I think the public's safety is very much at risk, and agree something needs to be done nationwide that would eliminate people's ability to operate a cell phone (including any features, text, email, what you have it) when driving a vehicle.
Reading a book while driving
Yes, I saw other commuters do this twice. Once was a newspaper on thesteering wheel, another had a hard bound book. This should be punished by incarceration or pillory.
Texting ban
I agree with the driving while texting ban as prohibited by the government because a lot of car accident cases are caused by this. Just like the case of Aiden Quinn, he recently was the driver in a trolley crash, allegedly because at the time of the crash Aiden Quinn was text messaging his girlfriend. The crash caused about $9.6 million in damages, and that's just to the trolley and other Green Line (the company) property. Luckily, no one was killed, and none of the injuries were life-threatening. Personal loans won't cover this kind of bill. Quinn is still employed by the company, even though prior to his employment he had several moving violations. Still, Green Line will likely need debt relief after Aiden Quinn.