Distracted Driving - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

whunter · #1 03-03-2010, 11:44 AM

This issue is killing more people every day..

http://www.distraction.gov/

retmil46 · #2 03-03-2010, 10:01 PM

For Gawd's sake, TALKING on cell phone while driving is bad enough, but TEXTING?!

What are they using to hold the steering wheel?

Mine stays turned off while driving, not just tucked away - that's what voicemail is for. My greeting says "If I didn't answer, I'm either eating, sleeping, at work, or driving - leave a message."

Skippy · #3 03-03-2010, 10:22 PM

I leave mine on, but I won't answer it if I'm in traffic. Out in the middle of nowhere, I MIGHT answer it if it's safe to do so.

catmandoo62 · #4 03-03-2010, 11:21 PM

the state here is in the process of passing a law banning texting,but my issue with it is they will make it a $20 dollar fine.they need to make it 2-300 and add points against your drivers license.

Hatterasguy · #5 03-03-2010, 11:40 PM

Yep its a shame:

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2010/03/02/obituaries/doc4b8cf5ce2a102156948590.txt

These two kids bought a telephone pole down the street from me on Sunday. The cops investigation isn't complete, but the talk is that he was texting while driving very fast. If you look at the skid marks or lack of you can tell he didn't see the pole till he was about 20ft from it.

Tragic that two young lives were cut short and such a sensless manner.

pawoSD · #6 03-03-2010, 11:45 PM

I don't use texting....it is a pointless form of communication....not sure what the fascination is with it. I am 1000% sick of seeing morons going down the road looking at their lap and driving with their knees. I only talk on the phone while driving if I am going down the empty highway by myself....that is not a very big deal. I avoid it in city traffic.

I don't have much sympathy for those who crash into trees while texting. If they were stupid enough to do that, then that was their own fault.

HuskyMan · #7 03-04-2010, 12:47 PM

the political heat is on to ban DWI (driving while intexticated)
and at least for me, I'd like to see the cell phone yakkers hang
up and drive. they are dangerous and are out there causing
multiple car pile ups.

in addition, I know of one recent case where the victim's
attorney issued a subpoena for the cell phone records
of the individual who was responsible for the car accident.

it appears that cell phone yakkers/texters are thinking of
one thing only: THEMSELVES.

HuskyMan · #8 03-04-2010, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by catmandoo62

the state here is in the process of passing a law banning texting,but my issue with it is they will make it a $20 dollar fine.they need to make it 2-300 and add points against your drivers license.

that's a slap on the wrist. some years back I heard about a little town
in Texas that was handing out $500 fines for speeding through a
school zone. as a result, speeding through school zones
virtually CEASED.

LUVMBDiesels · #9 03-04-2010, 02:47 PM

I admit to talking but with a bluetooth and both hands on the wheel. My commute is sometimes 2 hours and it is the only time I get to answer calls.

However I draw the line at READING anything while driving. I was behind a guy yesterday who was weaving back and forth between the lanes. I thought he was drunk - at 5am he could be going home from an all-niter. However at a stop light I pulled next to him and he was USING A LAPTOP! I actually rolled down the window and *****ed him out!

I was in the big black Suburban and wearing a DHS hat at the time so he took me seriously

Around DC is it a mark of how important you are if you need to be 'plugged in' 24x7

AustinsCE · #10 03-04-2010, 02:53 PM

Propaganda. Nothing wrong with personal responsibility, we don't need any more wars against objects.

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/study-finds-that-reduced-phone-use-does-not-cut-crashes/

Quote:

Laws banning cellphone use while driving apparently haven’t reduced crashes, according to a study released on Friday that compared the number of total crashes before the ban with the number after. The study found virtually no difference in the numbers, a finding that had the researchers scratching their heads.

AustinsCE · #11 03-04-2010, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuskyMan

that's a slap on the wrist. some years back I heard about a little town
in Texas that was handing out $500 fines for speeding through a
school zone. as a result, speeding through school zones
virtually CEASED.

Yeah, that's known as Draconian. After Draco, great guy.

raymr · #12 03-04-2010, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

Yep its a shame:

http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2010/03/02/obituaries/doc4b8cf5ce2a102156948590.txt

These two kids bought a telephone pole down the street from me on Sunday. The cops investigation isn't complete, but the talk is that he was texting while driving very fast. If you look at the skid marks or lack of you can tell he didn't see the pole till he was about 20ft from it.

Tragic that two young lives were cut short and such a sensless manner.

The trouble with the Darwin Award is that the recipients are never around to accept it. Unfortunately there will always be more "common-sense challenged" individuals competing for the honor.

strelnik · #13 03-04-2010, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

I don't have much sympathy for those who crash into trees while texting. If they were stupid enough to do that, then that was their own fault.

May they drive non MB cars into the Louisiana swamp while texting, and become food for the locals

cmbdiesel · #14 03-04-2010, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

I don't use texting....it is a pointless form of communication....not sure what the fascination is with it. I am 1000% sick of seeing morons going down the road looking at their lap and driving with their knees. I only talk on the phone while driving if I am going down the empty highway by myself....that is not a very big deal. I avoid it in city traffic.

I don't have much sympathy for those who crash into trees while texting. If they were stupid enough to do that, then that was their own fault.

I'm 100% sick of any percentage greater than 100, which anyone, who understands what percentage means, knows is a nonsensical term...

OK..now that's out of the way, I routinely use my cell phone while driving, and it is perfectly legal, as the state where I live allows wrecker operators to use cell phones while driving. Not that I'm always in a wrecker, but the point is, the cell phone can be used safely while driving for people who KNOW how to drive in the first place. For folks who can't focus enough to stay out of the ditch, or the car in front of them, without a cell phone, the introduction of that kind of attention sapping device is catastrophic....and then you add texting...I don't EVER text while driving, regardless of what I'm currently piloting. There is NO SAFE WAY to text and drive, neither can you enter addresses into the freakin' gps while driving. The real key is keeping your eyes on the road, anything that removes your visual focus from the path you and your car/truck/etc. are taking is death defying, whether it's a baby in the backseat or a blackberry between your knees. What we need is less focus on crime and punishment, and more attention to teaching the proper skills in the first place.

okyoureabeast · #15 03-04-2010, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AustinsCE

Propaganda. Nothing wrong with personal responsibility, we don't need any more wars against objects.

http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/29/study-finds-that-reduced-phone-use-does-not-cut-crashes/

Thank you for posting that. It frustrates me when career politicians write laws and pat themselves on the back for saving the world when in fact all they've done is write letters onto a piece of paper.

Until cars are driven by something other then a person we will always have car accidents.

Sorry guys, it's a fact of life. It's going to happen eventually to all of us whether it's our own or someone else. If you're lucky then congrats otherwise get up and move on.

Me? I talk on my phone while I drive even in New York. Do I care? Not really. Will I stop? Probably not .

Laws that can't be enforced shouldn't be on the books.