Do You Text While Driving?

Sending text while driving is plain stupid. You can kill someone. Although it seemed obvious, the scientific research on this issue is pretty convincing - you can not text and drive a vehicle safely. I read that you were 23 times more likely to have an accident while driving a full size truck (class 8) if you are distracted by the mental demands of "texting". Pull off the road and then text as much as you want.

British Columbia just officially banned sending text and also using hand-held cell phones while the vehicle is in traffic. I am happy because I observed that most of the time, people executing really stupid maneuvers on the road or driving unbelievably slow were simply distracted by their mobile device.

THE WORLD IS FULL OF STUPID, IGNORANT, AND INCONSIDERATE PEOPLE - SO WHAT IS NEW?

It's illegal in the UK, but that doesn't stop people from doing so. Even in cases (and there are many) where somebody get's killed, for some dorks the message, not by text, doesn't get through. Lenient court sentencing doesn't help. To cause an accident that takes somebody's life just because a person wants to yack on the cellphone is not manslaughter, it's murder, and should be punished as such. There have been cases where police have pulled over truckers because of a 'bluish' glow from the cab - flippin mini TV. There is stupid, and there is real stupid. Such people should be banged up for life.

<...not manslaughter, it's murder...>

Ahah! in UK law, murder requires some prior intent towards the slain individual. Manslaughter doesn't.

More often than not, though, the offence label is "causing death by dangerous driving". Why there is any distinction between that and manslaughter is abstruse.

You're quite right, but the legal distinction is an absurdity in relation to the topic. Any fool with half a brain knows that being distracted while driving may result in death, and personally knowing the victim is semantic balls. A death might occur in a quite honest 'I didn't realize what I was doing was negligent' situation (in which case 'manslaughter' is a justified verdict), or it may be due to somebody doing something (eg Texting) which they know to be completely reckless. Perhaps there should be some sort of definition inbetween manslaughter and murder, though in the context of this convo I don't think it's much different to murder. Driving a vehicle with an ' I don't give a ***** about anybody else's life' approach is about as crass as it gets. Never been affected by such an event, but it makes me want to puke when I hear somebody gets a petty sentence for driving with such reckless disregard for others. Legally, yes, it's mansluaghter, but in any common sense definition it's murder.

I think a bumper sticker I saw recently says almost everything.

HONK IF YOU LOVE JESUS

TEXT WHILE DRIVING IF YO WANT TO MEET HIM

It doesn't advise on how to avoid an accident while reading it.

Before texting while driving was made illegal in the state of Maryland, I would sometimes send or receive a message or two when on the road. My theory for texting was that, as long as it was done in short spurts, where my eyes were never off the road for longer than they typically would be if, let's say, checking a mirror, it was okay. Driving texts were short, sweet, and built during a series of spurts of texting, interspersed with plenty on eyes-on-the-road time. And, they were only texts that were pertinent to that moment, such as "On my way" or "On rte 97, where turn?".

Now that texting is illegal, I'm less apt to do so, but when I do need to, I hide the phone down under the wheel, making it so that I no longer have the road in direct "background vision". Probably not the safest result of this new ruling. Beyond simply texting, I am worried that I will get pulled over for dialing a phone number, or entering the code for my voice mail, causing me to hide my phone in these situations as well. How is a passing police car to tell the difference between those actions and texting?

I have certainly noticed many more people pulled off on the side of the road to do their texting/phone call business since the legislation passed.

-This guy's daughter

I have seen people walk into light Poles and fall off the curb while texting and walking. I had to take my granddaughters phone because she insisted on riding her bike and texitng.

You see people driving down the freeway and reading newspapers and books. I once observed a young women driving 10 feet behind the car in front of her while she was playing on a game boy.

I believe that reading,texting, playing electronic games watching DVDs or TV should be a felony.

I like technology. I think that better control of technology can make this entire problem just go away. If the built in GPS acquisition rate is fast enough to determine a cell phone's velocity, then disconnection from the net for moving faster than 15mph (24kph) will stop texting and talking. Short of this is the financial possibility that might happen now from places where texting while driving is illegal. I don't think that many insurance policies will refund a property owner for damages to that property while committing a crime. It is called insurance fraud. So insurance companies will subpoena the cell phone and network records. If you were texting at the time of the accident, your damages will not be covered.

I don't disagree with the points you make, but hang on - let's do a reality check; If a driver neglects to watch the road, that are fully culpable. Driving a vehicle (of any sort) and attempting to dp sonme other activity is crass stupidity. I often walk into my local town, and almost every other car will ignore a stop light. It's as though they think amber is a hint, and red is a suggestion. The way of things in Britland is that such people don't get punished. Insurance is no fecking good if your nearest and dearest are dead. Don't take this a rant against you, redfred, I simply want to try make a point. I am sick of hearing in the media about uninsured/non- licenced divers who kill pedestrians and get off with no more then 5 years in pokey. Money be buggered - the issue is lives lost. No disrespect intended, just my 10 cents.

Thank You Kris, you permit me to highlight a few points I did not make clear but that are in my proposals.

Laws do not prevent people from doing stupid things, technology can. Technology that permit a new stupid thing to be done, I believe have an obligation to mitigate doing the new stupid act. Thus my first suggestion of velocity disabling a cell phone. But unless service providers and cell phone designers are coerced into preventing these stupid acts, these stupid acts will happen regardless of legality. Now onto my insurance suggestion and something I did not make very clear. Those injured physically or just materially by somebody else doing a criminal act should certainly be covered by the owner's insurance policy. But any damage to the criminal's property should not be covered.

But you are quite correct, lives are being lost by these egotistic people. This is why I prefer my first suggestion. It prevents people from doing stupid things.

prevents people from doing stupid things.

You are right on the spot - no disagreament there. If even one person does a double take after reading this thread, we have done a service. Kudos to you for highlighting the point of this thread.

"disconnection from the net for moving faster than 15mph (24kph)"

Will this not also stop people from using cell phones on the train, bus, or passengers in a car, or even a high speed elevator?

We will never out-tech the idiots I'm afraid

If the bus, train, or high speed elevator do not have a traveling cell network onboard that permits moving communication this will stop these people from making a connection during their commute. Some trains are already providing mobile net access to permit communication in tunnels. So this capability is possible.

The problem with having cell phones automatically disabled based on their velocity is that it would prevent passengers in the car from using their cell phone as well. Since they have made it illegal to use cell phones in Saskatchewan, Canada, I will just get my passenger to answer my cell phone if it rings or to make phone calls or send text messages as required. It would make no sense to prevent this. I'm not sure what the right answer is.

Starting Feb first, 2010 , it's illegal to use a cell phone or any other distracting device while driving in the province of Ontario, Canada. It's about time....

I still see Idiots violating the law almost everyday and wish I could make a citizens arrest sometimes . I will leave it to the law enforcement officers to take them off the road and the Darwin awards to eliminate these fools from the gene pool.

I don't text at all, but I did use the cellphone while driving until one day when I pulled right out in front of a young lady who soundly cursed me out for using the cellphone while I almost caused an accident. I was amazed that I had not seen her. One lesson was good enough for me, and now I do not use the cell phone at all while driving. If it rings, I just let it take a message.

When using a knife, never cut toward your member.