We are about to have a Texting while driving law

[elwoodtrix]

I guess he would have ran me over since I was going down the road and he was pulling out onto the road. But yes, my aim high in steering and get the big picture saved me because I noticed he wasn't coming to a complete stop and was looking the opposite direction while talking on his phone.

So I guess my defensive driving training saved me from having an accident.

I doubt he was on the phone

 

[farmerbyron]

I don't know. The more I think about it the more I like the idea of vehicles having proximity control and GPS lane control. I definitely would want the ability to disable this kind of control but warnings would be nice. I think this technology is coming in the near future. I've got a friend that has a vehicle that monitors the distance to vehicles or objects ahead when on cruise control. The vehicle will automatically slowdown if you get to close to the vehicle ahead. The vehicle also has a warning light near the mirrors that senses vehicles in the blind spots.

Technology is a great thing. Adaptive cruise control, lane assist, blind spot detection, and some cars are even equipped with emergency braking if you are not paying attention. These are all great ways to assist drivers without limiting their freedom of choice.



Do you guys think distracted/$hitty drivers are something new? I can assure you that the road has been littered with $hitty drivers since they invented automobiles. This $hitty driver problem will never go away until cars are capable of driving themselves. And honestly, just sitting in a pod taking me from point A to B sounds pretty depressing and I would rather deal with the dangers of $hitty drivers than lose the feeling of independence from driving. Although on some long a$$ trips it might be nice to have the option of napping while driving.

 

[elwoodtrix]

Been a professional driver for 18 years accident free. Trained every year in the Smith Driving system with quarterly refresher class'. Even have an onboard tattle tale mounted in my truck in case I switch lanes too often or go a few miles over the limit. . Smith Driving teaches me to Look Ahead and Get The Big Picture, so I ease my way around them and keep focused on my surroundings.

Every year????

we go through that everyday!

google UPS DOK

 

[John6185]

I'm dangerous enough on the road without texting so the law makes no difference to me but to those who have had their teenager killed in an auto accident it makes a lot of difference. Kind of like Benghazi-"what difference does it make at this point?" Well, it makes a lot of different to those who have lost their loved ones.

 

[KOPBET]

This is a good thing, I have a difficult time texting while holding a bottle and a steering wheel and a stick shift.

 

[Kyle78]

Do you guys think distracted/$hitty drivers are something new? I can assure you that the road has been littered with $hitty drivers since they invented automobiles. This $hitty driver problem will never go away until cars are capable of driving themselves. And honestly, just sitting in a pod taking me from point A to B sounds pretty depressing and I would rather deal with the dangers of $hitty drivers than lose the feeling of independence from driving. Although on some long a$$ trips it might be nice to have the option of napping while driving.

Not a new issue, but it's surpassed DUI/SPEED combine in causing accidents/deaths. I don't have numbers atm, but it's a major issue.
I think people are just tossing a snitch, kinda like when seat belt laws went into effect..

 

[dennishoddy]

That's because the sumbeetches are going 15 under the speed limit and the ones getting in the accidents are the people trying to pass their old ass'

I'd anyone actually explain the reasoning for exempting emergency responders and the last 10 pages?

I fit into that demographic, and my feelings are hurt.
I have a sensitive type personality.

Don't get in my way sonny!!

 

[farmerbyron]

I think people are just tossing a snitch, kinda like when seat belt laws went into effect..

Seat belt laws. There is no denying that one for a revenue/stop generator.

 

[inactive]

Seat belt laws. There is no denying that one for a revenue/stop generator.

And insurance companies and other lobbies looking for a reason to apply comparative negligence and partial denials on injury claims. Same deal with the texting and driving.


Say you are proceeding through an intersection with proper right of way, on a green light. Someone passes in front of you, you t bone them. You happened to be on your phone. You had right of way, but you were breaking the law by texting. Claims adjuster and insurance company assert you are some percentage at fault due to your texting and inattention, even though you had right of way. Perhaps you would have seen the other car and braked before impact, or slowed considerably before impact. So we assess 15% negligence to you for texting, or not wearing a seatbelt (exacerbating your injuries). Now you only collect 85% of your medical bills and 85% of your pain and suffering damages.

Similar thing to the "no pay no play" laws, that say uninsured are not entitled to pain and suffering even if they are 0% at fault and injured as a result of a wreck. Because they did nothing wrong, have no liability, and owe no one any damages, somehow they are precluded from collecting pain and suffering damages all other parties are entitled to. Only the incurred medical damages. It's abso****inglutely ridiculous technicalities to limit plaintiff's recourse to reasonable and proper tort settlements.

And I'm an adjuster.

 

[Dave70968]

(or heck, why even have a licensing process at all)

FAA: get your license once, it's good for life. No renewals, ever. Yes, you have to take a biennial flight review, but that's with any instructor you can find, at any (or no) cost. Instructor won't pass you? There's no notification to the FAA; just go find another instructor.

Now, knowing those facts, tell me how many airplanes fall out of the sky, and compare it to the rate of auto accidents.

Just remember, the most dangerous part of flying is driving to the airport.