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Philosoraptor

(15,019 posts)
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 08:06 AM Sep 2012

How dumb do you have to be to text while driving?

This morning in Kansas City is 'Pledge not to text and drive day', a public relations effort called 'It can wait' to remind people not to text and drive because its caused thousands of wrecks and many deaths.

I wonder just how dumb a person has to be to text and drive? It makes me sad that they actually have to remind people not to text and drive at the same time, but if thats what it takes.

Now I'm worried about some dumb ass slamming into ME AND MINE. Driving is dangerous enough without the stupid texting and driving simultaneously.

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How dumb do you have to be to text while driving? (Original Post) Philosoraptor Sep 2012 OP
Or smoke a cig, or put on makeup, etc. Logical Sep 2012 #1
Want to explain the smoking one to me? harmonicon Sep 2012 #39
I have seen people nearly oldbanjo Sep 2012 #43
I haven't. harmonicon Sep 2012 #114
If you have to fumble around to get a cig out of a pack, then somehow light it while driving, Arugula Latte Sep 2012 #70
Yup. I've been in the car when the entire cigarette fell and caused absolute chaos... Drunken Irishman Sep 2012 #103
I've never found it to be a distraction. harmonicon Sep 2012 #115
Texting on a motorcycle in traffic - Look ma, no hands Submariner Sep 2012 #41
That's not a motorcycle, that's a donorcycle. progressoid Sep 2012 #110
And yet we see it all the time. Here's what could happen (hopefully not) CurtEastPoint Sep 2012 #2
My adult daughter does occasionally left is right Sep 2012 #23
Yo, that is wicked awesome! WinkyDink Sep 2012 #99
About one in three American teenagers dumb. n/t porphyrian Sep 2012 #3
How dumb do you have to be to drink while driving? Blue_Tires Sep 2012 #4
Alcoholism is a serious addiction. Texting is not. Major Nikon Sep 2012 #30
Alcoholics aren't the only ones who drink and drive. lapislzi Sep 2012 #81
Dumb, but at least they are looking at the road we can do it Sep 2012 #95
Except texting must perforce remove hands from wheel and eyes from road. WinkyDink Sep 2012 #101
When I first heard this being discussed as a problem I was floored. drm604 Sep 2012 #5
Hundreds of people are killed each year due to drunk driving. Selatius Sep 2012 #11
Yes, but drinking impairs your reasoning so that you don't realize that you shouldn't be driving. drm604 Sep 2012 #73
Yep. They "misjudge" ... 99Forever Sep 2012 #91
Yep. drm604 Sep 2012 #96
Absolutely agree. n/t susanna Sep 2012 #118
I saw a man driving to work with a newspaper laying across oldbanjo Sep 2012 #46
I was going to say the same thing deutsey Sep 2012 #65
Sure, but it's not a common thing, is it? Only a small number of fools do such a thing. drm604 Sep 2012 #74
I'm posting on DU while driv.....aaaarggghh! (crash) scheming daemons Sep 2012 #6
ROTFLMAO.........aaaAAARRRGGGHHH! Philosoraptor Sep 2012 #7
No kidding jsr Sep 2012 #8
There's a roadside memorial cross near me. trof Sep 2012 #9
I see it all the time, some fool looking down at his/her lap joeybee12 Sep 2012 #10
It's hard. You have to be pretty smart. n/t cherokeeprogressive Sep 2012 #12
No, you have to be pretty stupid. drm604 Sep 2012 #77
Gee, did I forget the sarcasm thingy again? cherokeeprogressive Sep 2012 #88
... petronius Sep 2012 #116
About a month ago, me and a friend were driving our children to the zoo. Butterbean Sep 2012 #13
I have done it, sorta unc70 Sep 2012 #14
I don't have Siri, maybe that could be the solution? treestar Sep 2012 #21
Siri only partial solution unc70 Sep 2012 #72
The solution is not trying to use a phone when you're driving. drm604 Sep 2012 #78
The Bluetooth seems to work all right treestar Sep 2012 #98
Studies have shown that even handsfree is too distracting and interferes with your ability to drive. drm604 Sep 2012 #100
Texting while driving is twice as dangerous as driving drunk KurtNYC Sep 2012 #15
Texting while "drunk af" and driving at 120 mph is ??? as dangerous: Five dead in one crash: Bernardo de La Paz Sep 2012 #27
Large amounts. Iggo Sep 2012 #16
Add those crossing pedestrian crossing and texting at the same time malaise Sep 2012 #17
In the past year or so, 3 ppl have stepped out in front of me kenny blankenship Sep 2012 #61
What troubles me is that one of them will hit my car malaise Sep 2012 #111
The other day I saw this girl walking in the Walmart parking lot, texting laundry_queen Sep 2012 #93
It's freaking crazy malaise Sep 2012 #112
I see it all the time on the way home from work. Javaman Sep 2012 #18
Teens for some reason believe in texting rather than using the phone treestar Sep 2012 #19
The inability to ignore a phone message is not cultural conditioning. enlightenment Sep 2012 #56
Maybe I am old-fashioned, I have always been a slow adopter and I'm not even that old. smirkymonkey Sep 2012 #113
The really sad thing is that... Whiskeytide Sep 2012 #20
It's not hard to tell though. laundry_queen Sep 2012 #94
If innocents didn't die, I'd think of it as evolution in action. n/t GoneOffShore Sep 2012 #22
That's why those who want to text while driving should be limited to bikes and mopeds Major Nikon Sep 2012 #35
About as dumb as you have to be to vote Republican. Nt nichomachus Sep 2012 #24
I bet that most people have done that Stuckinthebush Sep 2012 #25
I agree with that! randome Sep 2012 #31
Distractions are not all equal Silent3 Sep 2012 #34
I contend that any distraction is a distraction Stuckinthebush Sep 2012 #57
I contend that any fine is a fine... Silent3 Sep 2012 #80
They. Are. Dumb. For. Doing. It. Iggo Sep 2012 #36
Cute Stuckinthebush Sep 2012 #58
Texting while driving is dumb to do, yes. Iggo Sep 2012 #64
I pull off the road to dial a number oldbanjo Sep 2012 #50
Indeed Stuckinthebush Sep 2012 #59
0 tolerance for people doing something that stupid while I'm riding. EnviroBat Sep 2012 #26
When I was younger, I'd ride my bicycle straight into a car that cut me off and stopped. Iggo Sep 2012 #37
I saw a guy in a BMW texting while doing 85 on the NJ Turnpike Patiod Sep 2012 #28
I think soon there will a nationwide campaign to encourage drivers to call 911 KurtNYC Sep 2012 #33
Texting while driving while smoking a cigarette liberal N proud Sep 2012 #29
I've been driving for 3 decades LittleGirl Sep 2012 #32
That's why some of the newer smart phones let glowing Sep 2012 #38
It's possible to not respond marions ghost Sep 2012 #44
+1. People know I won't pick up while I'm driving, and adjust their expectations accordingly. n/t gkhouston Sep 2012 #62
Sure and they can always leave a message so you can marions ghost Sep 2012 #119
I think of it about like listening to music and singing along to it. glowing Sep 2012 #108
I think it's a big mistake to cater to expectations of IMMEDIATE responses... Silent3 Sep 2012 #109
Dumb is not the word, it's more like stupidity. demosincebirth Sep 2012 #40
Dumb enough to think you're indestructible. Tierra_y_Libertad Sep 2012 #42
Now when I see slowing or slight swerving I stay back or get away flamingdem Sep 2012 #45
I am so old fashioned Smilo Sep 2012 #47
Somewhere between Sack of Hammers dumb and Box of Rocks dumb slackmaster Sep 2012 #48
We ain't seen nothing yet Hutzpa Sep 2012 #49
Palin stupid. hifiguy Sep 2012 #51
IMHO it's not about being "dumb". It's about not giving a damn about anyone but yourself. These kestrel91316 Sep 2012 #52
+1,000,000^^^^^ catchnrelease Sep 2012 #117
It's not just texting. bigwillq Sep 2012 #53
Somebody told me once, "Everybody thinks they're the exception." And raccoon Sep 2012 #54
I see people doing it CONSTANTLY.... mike_c Sep 2012 #55
Watched a truck/horse trailer constantly veering off the left side of the road on the highway TwilightGardener Sep 2012 #60
I see people doing it all the time guardian Sep 2012 #63
I see people texting, reading while driving Liberal_in_LA Sep 2012 #66
A long time ago, in a different life... randome Sep 2012 #79
I see shaving sometimes, guys running electrical shavers over their faces Liberal_in_LA Sep 2012 #86
to be fair, is it really that much different than garybeck Sep 2012 #67
Or thinking very deeply about something. randome Sep 2012 #68
Then heaven forfend we try to prevent ANY accidents. WinkyDink Sep 2012 #105
Not my point at all. I just don't think calling people 'dumb' is productive. randome Sep 2012 #106
I think it's a whole lot different. Robb Sep 2012 #71
That first time could have been the last time. randome Sep 2012 #75
I'm willing to compromise and call it a dumb mistake. Robb Sep 2012 #90
GPS/stereo are placed to enable the viewing of the road. The last is plain WinkyDink Sep 2012 #104
Dumb enough to have a fair percentage of qualifying for a Darwin. hobbit709 Sep 2012 #69
Bumper Sticker I've seen... maveric56 Sep 2012 #76
What the hell is it with constant texting anyway? drm604 Sep 2012 #82
I think texting is worse than other distractions people have mentioned gollygee Sep 2012 #83
+100 librechik Sep 2012 #85
As a parent of 3 teens Sheepshank Sep 2012 #84
Driving my 18 wheeler I've seen it all! Hell I B Calm Sep 2012 #87
Who u calin dummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm;okg;fgkfge'rgl'g benld74 Sep 2012 #89
About as dumb enough to vote for Mitt Romney LynneSin Sep 2012 #92
True drm604 Sep 2012 #97
As a Boston commuter... Rider3 Sep 2012 #102
My uncle used to haul petroleum out of White Fuel in Revere Mopar151 Sep 2012 #121
I'm tired of this hysteria over texting. Daemonaquila Sep 2012 #107
What age group do you think dies the most while texting? WinkyDink Sep 2012 #120
Dumb enough to think you can handle it, no problem. n./t Mopar151 Sep 2012 #122

harmonicon

(12,008 posts)
39. Want to explain the smoking one to me?
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 11:12 AM
Sep 2012

How on earth is that anything like texting or putting on makeup?

harmonicon

(12,008 posts)
114. I haven't.
Thu Sep 20, 2012, 01:09 AM
Sep 2012

Is there anything apart from anecdotal evidence that smoking while driving even "nearly" causes accidents? I'm not trying to be an ass, but I've never heard any mention of this before.

 

Arugula Latte

(50,566 posts)
70. If you have to fumble around to get a cig out of a pack, then somehow light it while driving,
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 02:01 PM
Sep 2012

then make sure the ashes don't fall on your crotch, well ... it's easy to get distracted, no?

harmonicon

(12,008 posts)
115. I've never found it to be a distraction.
Thu Sep 20, 2012, 01:10 AM
Sep 2012

Do you know of any evidence to suggest that smoking while driving is dangerous? I've never heard of it. I try to drive as safely as possible, but I still smoke when I drive, and I've never found it to be a problem. Of course there are times when I'll put a cigarette out because of driving conditions, but those are the same sorts of times that I'll turn the radio off.

left is right

(1,665 posts)
23. My adult daughter does occasionally
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 09:25 AM
Sep 2012

J just made your excellent cartoon her desktop wall paper. It’s an apple and I usually have a lot of trouble copying an image and then pasting it into an email—I just get an empty box outlined in blue

Blue_Tires

(55,445 posts)
4. How dumb do you have to be to drink while driving?
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 08:12 AM
Sep 2012

With decades of ads, posters, slogans, PSAs, etc., countless people still roll the dice and crap out...

Major Nikon

(36,814 posts)
30. Alcoholism is a serious addiction. Texting is not.
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 10:52 AM
Sep 2012

While both are monumentally stupid, at least you can understand why people still drive while intoxicated.

There should be laws against texting that are just as strong, if not stronger, than the laws for driving while intoxicated.

lapislzi

(5,762 posts)
81. Alcoholics aren't the only ones who drink and drive.
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 02:38 PM
Sep 2012

I would even go so far as to suggest (without any backup evidence whatsoever) that an occasional drinker who doesn't realize he's had one too many (two is usually one too many) gets behind the wheel because he doesn't realize how impaired he actually is.

I would never suggest that seasoned alcoholics never get behind the wheel, because we all know they do, and they kill people. But a drinker with a long drinking history is often quite in touch with his body and the effects of alcohol on it. He knows when he's drunk. He just doesn't care.

But not everyone who drinks and drives is an alcoholic. A DWI arrest should be a wake-up call, however.

drm604

(16,230 posts)
5. When I first heard this being discussed as a problem I was floored.
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 08:12 AM
Sep 2012

It would never have occurred to me in a million years that anything other than a vanishingly small number of people would ever even consider doing something so stupid.

Would you read a book or a newspaper while driving? Would you watch TV while driving? Texting is worse than either of those.

Selatius

(20,441 posts)
11. Hundreds of people are killed each year due to drunk driving.
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 08:29 AM
Sep 2012

It makes sense that when the technology came of age, people would also be engaging in texting and driving. There have always been stupid people in the human population.

drm604

(16,230 posts)
73. Yes, but drinking impairs your reasoning so that you don't realize that you shouldn't be driving.
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 02:29 PM
Sep 2012

Also, people misjudge how drunk they are and think that they're still able to drive.

I don't think the same is true of texting. Common sense should tell people that you have to watch the road.

99Forever

(14,524 posts)
91. Yep. They "misjudge" ...
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 03:05 PM
Sep 2012

... and this happens:

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2012/09/17/2-killed-in-motorcycle-vs-suv-crash-in-east-bethel/#_=_

It just so happens that my wife's parents live just off of Viking Blvd and we had been there for grilled burgers and a big sweet corn feed, last Sunday evening. We had to u-turn and go around Coon Lake because of this "accident." Would it have been any "better" or "worse" if texting had caused it? Both are stupid and deadly, and the results are identical. Personally, I think the penalties should be exactly the same for both.

drm604

(16,230 posts)
74. Sure, but it's not a common thing, is it? Only a small number of fools do such a thing.
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 02:31 PM
Sep 2012

Even that, which is very bad, isn't as bad as texting. At least you're not trying to type on some little keyboard with the hands you're supposed to be driving with.

 

joeybee12

(56,177 posts)
10. I see it all the time, some fool looking down at his/her lap
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 08:28 AM
Sep 2012

while driving, one hand on the wheel, the other texting...and not just for a second, he/she will text for a long time...sometimes I pull over and let them pass...I'm convinced I'll get rear-ended by one of those fools some day.

Butterbean

(1,014 posts)
13. About a month ago, me and a friend were driving our children to the zoo.
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 08:31 AM
Sep 2012

There were 4 kids and us 2 moms in my van, going on a highway with a posted speed limit of 65. I was in the slow lane going 70. This young woman comes FLYING up behind me, not even looking up once, I kid you not, NOT ONCE, because she was texting the whole time. I had to surge forward to keep from being hit by her and then lay on my horn twice to keep her from hitting me from behind (she almost rammed us three times). Finally she swerved into the other lane and shot on. We got her plate number and called the highway patrol, but I have no idea if anything ever happened. We never saw her stopped or any blue lights. That young woman is going to end up dead if she isn't already.

unc70

(6,095 posts)
14. I have done it, sorta
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 08:31 AM
Sep 2012

I have a couple of 5+ minute stoplights where I have technically texted while "driving".

I have used Siri on my iPhone to read messages to me a couple of times, but would not try to reply using the voice option while driving even on empty interstate.

treestar

(82,383 posts)
21. I don't have Siri, maybe that could be the solution?
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 09:14 AM
Sep 2012

As for teens, they often have phones but not smart phones. I think their parents needs to give them smart phones (they can also tell where the teen is with those).

unc70

(6,095 posts)
72. Siri only partial solution
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 02:29 PM
Sep 2012

Dialing a telephone is as bad as texting, particularly on smart phones using virtual keyboards (e.g. iPhone).

Voice commands help that a lot; otherwise, you see people you think are texting who are actually scrolling through a contact list. I see this often on rural interstates where someone in the left lane has slowed and is hugging the left median. After the erratic driving while initiating the call, I then see them talking on their phone.

Even talking on the phone is rather distracting. In NC, texting by anyone while driving is illegal, as is any cellphone use by anyone with a provisional license (under 18). Chapel Hill has passed an ordinance banning all cellphone use by anyone in the Town, but that is currently tied up in the courts.

drm604

(16,230 posts)
78. The solution is not trying to use a phone when you're driving.
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 02:36 PM
Sep 2012

Why is any other solution needed?

treestar

(82,383 posts)
98. The Bluetooth seems to work all right
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 03:34 PM
Sep 2012

So if it can all be done with talking, it seems safe enough.

drm604

(16,230 posts)
100. Studies have shown that even handsfree is too distracting and interferes with your ability to drive.
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 03:50 PM
Sep 2012

Apparently it uses a different part of your brain then when you talk to a passenger in the vehicle.

KurtNYC

(14,549 posts)
15. Texting while driving is twice as dangerous as driving drunk
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 08:33 AM
Sep 2012

The number of drivers I have seen crossing the centerline in the last month scares the shit out of me.

You have some shot at avoiding drunk drivers since they are more common in the evening and as bars close but texters are sober and can crash into you at any hour.

Finally someone is going to jail for killing others while texting at the wheel:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/06/06/12090348-massachusetts-teen-sentenced-to-prison-for-texting-while-driving?lite

Bernardo de La Paz

(48,790 posts)
27. Texting while "drunk af" and driving at 120 mph is ??? as dangerous: Five dead in one crash:
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 10:47 AM
Sep 2012
Look, the dangers of texting while driving are well-documented. It was only earlier this year that a Texas college student texted about needing to stop texting lest he die in a car accident right before he drove himself off a cliff. Miraculously, he survived.

21-year-old Ervin McKinness wasn’t as lucky.

McKinness, an aspiring rapper from Southern California, was also on his phone prior to the fatal car crash that killed him and four of his friends over Labor Day weekend in Ontario, Calif. The 2005 Nissan Sentra, the San Bernardino County Sun reports, ran a red light and crashed into a wall.

Just minutes before the crash, at 1:19 a.m. on Sept. 2, McKinness posted a tweet to his account @ink2flashyy that is now filled with cruel irony:

2.7.5 Inkyy @ink2flashyy

Drunk af going 120 drifting corners #FuckIt YOLO
2 Sep 12


At 1:20 a.m., McKinness reportedly sent out one last tweet: “Driving tweeting sipping the cup f— yolo I’m turning it up.”

(READ: Watch ‘Texting While Driving’ Get Put to the Test, Literally)

YOLO stands for “You Only Live Once,” and was first popularized by singer Drake in his song “The Motto.” And as McKinness discovered, Drake is right—you do only live once.


http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/09/19/aspiring-rapper-drunk-tweets-yolo-just-before-fatal-car-crash/#ixzz26vXkb92i

malaise

(267,838 posts)
17. Add those crossing pedestrian crossing and texting at the same time
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 08:33 AM
Sep 2012

Dumb does not describe these people. They are beyond stupid.

kenny blankenship

(15,689 posts)
61. In the past year or so, 3 ppl have stepped out in front of me
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 01:17 PM
Sep 2012

right off the curb, heads down, with their not-very-smartphones about a foot to a foot and a half from their faces - either reading or sending txts. They didn't pause at the curb, they didn't look both ways to see if it was safe to cross, they didn't even look up. My car is small but it's hardly silent. Obviously I managed to stop in time and I wasn't going above a crawl when any of these incidents happened, but had I ignored my environment as they were doing they'd each have been injured. The next one gets the horn.

malaise

(267,838 posts)
111. What troubles me is that one of them will hit my car
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 06:49 PM
Sep 2012

and Idon't want to think about that - I slow down and tell them some bad words.

laundry_queen

(8,646 posts)
93. The other day I saw this girl walking in the Walmart parking lot, texting
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 03:11 PM
Sep 2012

during the time she went from looking up to looking down to text, a car backed out slowly and stopped when it saw her coming. She kept walking right into the side of the car that had backed out. It was a good demonstration to my 15 year old about how dumb teens look while they are texting and walking. I told her if I ever catch her doing that I'll take her phone away.

malaise

(267,838 posts)
112. It's freaking crazy
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 06:51 PM
Sep 2012

I asked one of them recently if she'd ever seen a car in hospital. She thought it was funny.
Darwin will eliminate many of them before they reach 30.

Javaman

(62,444 posts)
18. I see it all the time on the way home from work.
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 09:08 AM
Sep 2012

and I also see countless times, those same people texting, slamming on their brakes for not paying attention to the road.

treestar

(82,383 posts)
19. Teens for some reason believe in texting rather than using the phone
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 09:13 AM
Sep 2012

I was driving with a teen - he was driving and I was supervising. He could not resist the friend's text. I was in the car, so he pulled over! Further, I think the friend knew he was on his way and was asking him how far along he was, so the friend could have at least called.

Don't know what it is about their culture but they think using the phone uncool.

I have a bluetooth and so I can answer and even place calls, but am tempted to look at red light at least if I have a text. We are culturally conditioned not to ignore summonses of any kind. I remember how failing to call someone back was a major rudeness. We need to reverse that as now it's so easy to place calls.

enlightenment

(8,830 posts)
56. The inability to ignore a phone message is not cultural conditioning.
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 12:27 PM
Sep 2012

It is Pavlovian conditioning.

The wise thing to do, if you reach a point where you just "have to answer" the phone is to stop carrying the phone, because at that point it has become an addiction, not a tool.

 

smirkymonkey

(63,221 posts)
113. Maybe I am old-fashioned, I have always been a slow adopter and I'm not even that old.
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 07:14 PM
Sep 2012

There is just something about being addicted to technology that has always turned me off. I was one of the last people I know to get a cell phone. I still don't have an iPhone and I refuse to text. If someone texts me, I text back, "call me, I don't text". I hate it. It's so time consuming and I am on the computer all day at work as it is. I also can't stand the interface.

I have a New Yorker cartoon up at work that shows two guys at a bar and the caption says "I used to call people, then I got into e-mailing, then texting and now I just ignore everybody." That's pretty much me in a nutshell. It's not really something to be proud of, but I was just too overwhelmed by the onslaught of constant (mostly pointless and impersonal) communication invading every waking moment.

Whiskeytide

(4,459 posts)
20. The really sad thing is that...
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 09:14 AM
Sep 2012

... recent studies have shown that laws enacted to make texting a ticketable offense backfire because drivers start texting in their laps instead of holding the phone above the steering wheel - thus taking their eyes even more off the road. Yikes.

laundry_queen

(8,646 posts)
94. It's not hard to tell though.
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 03:14 PM
Sep 2012

In the drive to school every morning, if someone looks down for awhile, then up quickly, then down for awhile again, while going too slow or too fast, or is drifting side to side, it's a dead giveaway. My SIL's a cop and it's illegal here to text and drive and that's how she stops people too.

But yeah, it's almost worse.

Major Nikon

(36,814 posts)
35. That's why those who want to text while driving should be limited to bikes and mopeds
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 11:00 AM
Sep 2012

This would give evolution a fighting chance.

Stuckinthebush

(10,817 posts)
25. I bet that most people have done that
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 10:43 AM
Sep 2012

or dialed the phone...or searched around for something in the car....or searched for a radio station...or put on makeup...or wrote a note

Texting is just one of many bad distractions. It happens to be the distraction of the day (thankfully).

But, my point is that we should be careful in saying someone is "dumb" for doing it when we are all likely dumb for doing a number of distracting things in the car. Unless you are a constant 10 and 2 driver with eyes forward and no distractions then it may be best not to throw stones - or smart phones.

 

randome

(34,845 posts)
31. I agree with that!
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 10:54 AM
Sep 2012

If people being 'dumb' was the only thing causing accidents, then 90% of the country is 'dumb'.

Silent3

(15,020 posts)
34. Distractions are not all equal
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 10:59 AM
Sep 2012

Texting takes way more attention away from the road than looking for a radio station, which can mostly be done by ear and requires very little concentration.

Putting on making up or writing a note... those are probably up there with texting, and yes, I'd call those things pretty stupid to be doing while driving too.

Frequency of distractions matters too. If you just can't put the phone down and you're texting fairly often, you're not just a stupid and dangerous driver, you have an over-inflated sense of the importance of other people immediately getting your messages.

It's a false dichotomy to act like that there's only 10-and-2, eyes steadily forward driving on one hand, and all distracted driving on the other.

Stuckinthebush

(10,817 posts)
57. I contend that any distraction is a distraction
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 12:36 PM
Sep 2012

Some people are foolish enough to look down and text for many seconds at a time only to glance now and then at the road. I equate these with the people who look down for many seconds at a time to change their radio or MP3 tunes.

Sure it is dumb. But I'm saying that we are all dumb on any number of driving issues. Texting being one.

Silent3

(15,020 posts)
80. I contend that any fine is a fine...
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 02:37 PM
Sep 2012

...but I'd still rather pay a $5 fine than a $10,000 fine.

If you're trying to say, "Oh, well, we all do dumb things, so let's all lighten up on this one particular dumb thing and give texting drivers a break", I'm not buying it.

Stuckinthebush

(10,817 posts)
58. Cute
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 12:38 PM
Sep 2012

But not addressing my point. Texting is dumb to do, yes. But you and I do other dumb things while driving. Very dumb things.

Iggo

(47,489 posts)
64. Texting while driving is dumb to do, yes.
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 01:41 PM
Sep 2012

No buts about it.

Other dumb things don't make it any less dumb.

oldbanjo

(690 posts)
50. I pull off the road to dial a number
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 11:41 AM
Sep 2012

I also don't talk on a phone when i'm on my motorcycle. When I get a call I look for a place to pull over and stop then I return the call. I've road motorcycles sense the 60's and know that if you want to survive on a motorcycle you must concentrate on your driving ONLY and nothing else. I'm 67 and today I have a sidecar on my bike because of bad knees but the rules are the same, It's unsafe to talk on a phone and drive a bike.

EnviroBat

(5,290 posts)
26. 0 tolerance for people doing something that stupid while I'm riding.
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 10:46 AM
Sep 2012

I've had a few swerve into my lane when I'm on the Harley. I've kicked a basketball-sized dent into a car door as a reminder to put the fucking phone down while driving.

Iggo

(47,489 posts)
37. When I was younger, I'd ride my bicycle straight into a car that cut me off and stopped.
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 11:11 AM
Sep 2012

But that was when I was immortal...lol.

(And yes, those door dents are huge and beautiful.)

Patiod

(11,816 posts)
28. I saw a guy in a BMW texting while doing 85 on the NJ Turnpike
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 10:48 AM
Sep 2012

I was in the passenger seat, and could see him clearly in the lane next to me. He was holding his phone on the steering wheel and texting with both thumbs (NOT dialing or checking GPS).

Same deal, different trip, and a young woman in a Camaro was swerving from lane to lane. As she passed us, I noticed the same thing - two hands holding the phone, texting at 85 mph.

Distracted driving is dangerous, but a distraction that takes both your attention AND YOUR EYES off the road is bad.

KurtNYC

(14,549 posts)
33. I think soon there will a nationwide campaign to encourage drivers to call 911
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 10:58 AM
Sep 2012

when they encounter texting drivers. Just as there was for reporting drunks at the wheel.

1.4 million crashes from cell phone drivers annually and another 200,000+ from texting at the wheel.

http://www.nsc.org/Pages/NSCestimates16millioncrashescausedbydriversusingcellphonesandtexting.aspx

liberal N proud

(60,302 posts)
29. Texting while driving while smoking a cigarette
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 10:50 AM
Sep 2012

Or they will be talking on the cell phone while eating or drinking.

See it every day.

LittleGirl

(8,261 posts)
32. I've been driving for 3 decades
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 10:55 AM
Sep 2012

and I fear for my life everyday behind the wheel. I know I'm paying attention, but 75% of the people I see are not paying attention. Scares me especially since my husband rides a motorcycle to work.

 

glowing

(12,233 posts)
38. That's why some of the newer smart phones let
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 11:11 AM
Sep 2012

Read ur text to u and let u text verbally. That's why many new cars have integrated voice/ talk thru the radio/ blue tooth device accessory. Many people are so connected to the phone these days, it's nearly impossible not to respond or answer the phone. I love having a phone... But now it's almost a requirement for jobs or what not to be able to answer or respond.

My son's teacher tweets all the time. My boss texts or calls and wants immediate responses. Even my husband is blowing up my phone when he needs something. Thankfully, the makers of phones are catching up the technology to make it easier to respond without having to run off the road while answering.

And yes, I've been known to text back at a stopped light (our red lights in my area are known to last up to a good 5 minutes). But texting while driving has become a huge issue with accidents... I think it has become #1 in driving accident/ fatalities now.

As to drinking and driving, I believe the number of people who drink and drive would decrease if we had sound public transportation that ran into the evening. Probably not for true alcoholics, but for many people, having the option of hoping onto a train, trolly, or bus that run normal safe stops, I think more would choose that option.

marions ghost

(19,841 posts)
44. It's possible to not respond
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 11:21 AM
Sep 2012

When I'm driving & get a phone call, if I can I'll check who it is, but don't call back until I'm parked.

I don't feel compelled to answer the phone immediately anytime. It's great to have some phone free time everyday.

I think studies are showing that even hands free, you can't safely carry on an extensive phone conversation while driving.

The concentration is just not there, especially dangerous in the heavy traffic we encounter these days.

If I had the integrated voice device it would still be a plus, as I could use it to tell people to call back later.

marions ghost

(19,841 posts)
119. Sure and they can always leave a message so you can
Thu Sep 20, 2012, 12:34 PM
Sep 2012

get back when you can. I don't know why people think they should be available 24/7. Sometimes I don't want interruptions, like when driving or doing important work. But I have a friend who thinks I'm rude not to email her immediately, so she calls. I haven't been able to get across that she needs to allow some space.

 

glowing

(12,233 posts)
108. I think of it about like listening to music and singing along to it.
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 06:00 PM
Sep 2012

The radio says who's calling in... I can talk to the radio/ phone to say who I want to talk to. texting is the thing that really takes one's attention.. at least for me.

Silent3

(15,020 posts)
109. I think it's a big mistake to cater to expectations of IMMEDIATE responses...
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 06:01 PM
Sep 2012

...to all messages at all times. Friends and family should be more understanding than that. If it's an employer... well, I understand it's a bad economy and some people might have to cater to unreasonable bosses, but not that many bosses are so very unreasonable that they can't wait a few minutes, at least wait for you to pull over.

If your employer really is that unreasonable, and nothing but a response in mere seconds will do, you have to ask yourself whether risking your life and the lives of others is worth keeping that job, even as hard as jobs are to find. The more of us who give into unreasonable demands, the more employers there will be who think those demands aren't that unreasonable.

flamingdem

(39,304 posts)
45. Now when I see slowing or slight swerving I stay back or get away
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 11:23 AM
Sep 2012

Distracted drivers and often older drivers are unpredictable and dangerous.

As to why? Were you ever in love? It's the hormones, worse than addiction. Young people text hundreds of times a day and they're getting dopamine kicks from it... ahem kind of like posting on DU but with worse consequences in a car.

Smilo

(1,944 posts)
47. I am so old fashioned
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 11:27 AM
Sep 2012

that I won't answer the phone if I am driving - I believe driving is a responsibility that requires your attention 100% of the time.

Usually, when I see someone driving erratically it is to see them with a cell phone in hand (but then I have seen them putting on make up, brushing hair and even shaving).

I am not in that much of a hurry to meet my maker.

Hutzpa

(11,461 posts)
49. We ain't seen nothing yet
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 11:35 AM
Sep 2012

wait till all the latest cars start saturating the market with internet access like; facebook, google search, bing etc,
then you'll see, it's about to get worse.

People will probably be stopping their car on the freeway to respond to someone on the net.

 

kestrel91316

(51,666 posts)
52. IMHO it's not about being "dumb". It's about not giving a damn about anyone but yourself. These
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 12:04 PM
Sep 2012

people that text while driving are sociopaths or narcissists or something..........

Spoiled, entitled - nobody ever told them there were RULES in this world when they were growing up, and now they think rules still don't apply to them. These are the very same people who, as children, were taken to nice restaurants and then allowed to run rampant and disturb all the other patrons without one word from their parents about minding their manners and being considerate of others.

Los Angeles is full of these folks.

catchnrelease

(1,942 posts)
117. +1,000,000^^^^^
Thu Sep 20, 2012, 01:45 AM
Sep 2012

You are so right.

One day while driving on a surface street I was behind a car that was going slower than all of the surrounding traffic, and weaving in the lane. As I went around the car and looked over, saw the driver was totally focused on the ipad leaning up against the steering wheel. I don't get it.

 

bigwillq

(72,790 posts)
53. It's not just texting.
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 12:10 PM
Sep 2012

Eating, drinking, putting on makeup, turning the radio dial, smoking, dancing, singing, turning around to yell at kids in back seat.
There are many other distractions that folks do while driving that are just as dangerous as texting.

Unless you're a perfect driver, I am sure you are guilty of some.

mike_c

(36,214 posts)
55. I see people doing it CONSTANTLY....
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 12:25 PM
Sep 2012

My girlfriend and I play "spot the texters" when we drive the corridor between Arcata and Eureka, CA. Recently, going north on the 101 on the way home, I passed one of those lighted highway signs that are normally used to display road condition warnings, amber alerts, etc. This time it said something like "Fine for cell phone use: $150. It's not worth it!" Four cars passed me before my exit, which was just up the road. All four drivers were using their cell phones, and one of them was texting with the phone down near the steering column.

TwilightGardener

(46,416 posts)
60. Watched a truck/horse trailer constantly veering off the left side of the road on the highway
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 01:05 PM
Sep 2012

a couple weeks ago, with two horses sticking their heads out and almost getting injured or killed by the driver nearly hitting reflectors and posts. Passed him on the right to get away from him and his impending disaster (and the gravel he kept kicking up from the shoulder), and yep...he was fucking around with his phone, typing away.

 

guardian

(2,282 posts)
63. I see people doing it all the time
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 01:41 PM
Sep 2012

Mostly younger people...teenages, those in their 20s. They weave all over the road and get offended if you toot your horn because they are half way over in your lane.

 

randome

(34,845 posts)
79. A long time ago, in a different life...
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 02:36 PM
Sep 2012

...I carpooled with someone who shaved and read the newspaper while he drove. Not kidding.

 

Liberal_in_LA

(44,397 posts)
86. I see shaving sometimes, guys running electrical shavers over their faces
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 02:50 PM
Sep 2012

I think about the little hairs falling everywhere.

garybeck

(9,932 posts)
67. to be fair, is it really that much different than
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 01:57 PM
Sep 2012

dialing a phone?
answering a phone?
operating a GPS?
adjusting the car stereo?
looking for something that fell to the floor?

I agree texting is a bad idea but it's just one of the many distractions. Reading an incoming text takes less effort than finding an address on a GPS. We have to use our judgment on all these things.

 

randome

(34,845 posts)
106. Not my point at all. I just don't think calling people 'dumb' is productive.
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 04:03 PM
Sep 2012

We all do dumb things every once in a while. If we're lucky, nothing tragic happens and we learn from our mistakes.

Robb

(39,665 posts)
71. I think it's a whole lot different.
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 02:15 PM
Sep 2012

Having done all those things. I returned a text once, just an "ok I will" sort of thing.

I was terrified to discover how far down the road I'd come while texting, with zero recollection of how it'd happened. This on a side street at like 15 mph.

Never again. The combination of brain and motor skills shuts down attention to anything else -- e.g. driving -- in an unfamiliar and complete way.

 

randome

(34,845 posts)
75. That first time could have been the last time.
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 02:33 PM
Sep 2012

Would it be fair to call you 'dumb', then? I say not. Everyone makes mistakes, whether it's driving or walking down the sidewalk. If we're lucky, that first time turns out as it did for you and we learn from it.

Hell, someone I work with broke her foot stepping on a grassy hill the wrong way. Does that make her 'dumb'?

 

WinkyDink

(51,311 posts)
104. GPS/stereo are placed to enable the viewing of the road. The last is plain
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 03:57 PM
Sep 2012

stupid behavior.

Texting, unlike the GPS, requires message interpretation, not being the normal sentence construction or spelling (and whose GPS does not speak?); it requires continued manual and visual use; and it is unrelated to the immediate task, requiring the mind to ignore the immediate task.

There is a reason texting and cell-phone use are illegal in many locales, whereas GPS systems are ACTUALLY BUILT INTO MANY CARS AND ARE, HENCE, LEGAL.

drm604

(16,230 posts)
82. What the hell is it with constant texting anyway?
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 02:41 PM
Sep 2012

Can't people just talk to the people around them, or be alone with their thoughts? I don't even have a text plan. If I want to talk with somebody I like to hear a human voice. But most of the time, I don't want to be on the phone at all.

gollygee

(22,336 posts)
83. I think texting is worse than other distractions people have mentioned
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 02:42 PM
Sep 2012

because it takes more physical reading time, which means more time concentrating with eyes off the road.

So I agree with you.

 

Sheepshank

(12,504 posts)
84. As a parent of 3 teens
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 02:43 PM
Sep 2012

where memory retention, and cognitive and reasoning skills leads me often wonder if they are "brain dead"...I think overt reminders is a good thing. I can but try, but in this case I think the village approach is good.

 

B Calm

(28,762 posts)
87. Driving my 18 wheeler I've seen it all! Hell I
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 02:50 PM
Sep 2012

even seen a couple having sexual intercourse driving down the road. Drivers getting a blow job is not that rare. There isn't a day gone by where I don't see many people texting. I've seen people reading the newspaper/books while driving. The other day I passed another 18 wheeler who was watching TV. State cops drive by speeding with their laptops open and playing with them.

It's time for me to retire!

LynneSin

(95,337 posts)
92. About as dumb enough to vote for Mitt Romney
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 03:06 PM
Sep 2012


Best anti-texting I ever saw was a billboard outside of a church:

'Honk if you love Jesus, Text if you want to meet him today'

Rider3

(919 posts)
102. As a Boston commuter...
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 03:52 PM
Sep 2012

I have seen a guy shaving in his car - with blade, shaving cream, and a towel. WTF?

Mopar151

(9,965 posts)
121. My uncle used to haul petroleum out of White Fuel in Revere
Thu Sep 20, 2012, 12:38 PM
Sep 2012

You guys could swap stories for HOURS.

 

Daemonaquila

(1,712 posts)
107. I'm tired of this hysteria over texting.
Wed Sep 19, 2012, 04:05 PM
Sep 2012

Simple - don't do stupid crap while driving. That might include checking the weather while driving through a snowstorm at 70 mph, dealing with your screaming kid in the back seat during rush hour, lighting your cigarette, fixing your hair, trying to cool off your boiling coffee... or it might not. But it's the new fad to get all bent over anything involving a cel phone. Whatever. Wake me when the feel good nonsense pledges and overly specific bills are over, and people are ready to talk about common sense.

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