Senseless deaths -- what are YOU going to do about it?

[goldenankh]

Very, very well said. I live in Brighton, and heard about this accident after work yesterday. I agree with you 100%.

[mutant chicken]

I drive for a living( truck sits up a bit higher than most cars) and I will tell you that I see some scary stuff out there... people talking on the phone, texting, putting on makeup, shaving, reading the newspaper, drinking beer, smoking pot... it's really scary !

Here in CA. they have made it illegal to use your cell unless it's handsfree or text but it doesn't seem to slow people down. What is wrong with people ???

Car and Driver has a good article this month on the danger of texting while driving, and all they did was a quick test on reaction time while texting vs. just driving, they also did a test vs drunk driving, the scary thing was that the drunk drivers had better reaction times ! Not that you should drive drunk ! But, it just goes to show how bad it is to text while driving !

Here is a link to the Car and Driver story online :

http://http://www.caranddriver.com/f...on+id-112.html

Hope that works, that's my first link ....

Good grief people, we need to take driving seriously ! I'm 44, been driving since I was 16, long before seatbelts were required, but I have never driven a day without one, and I will not let anyone ride in my car without buckling up. Driving is a privelage not a right !

[Z28 Mike]

Originally Posted by fbodfather

I’m tired of seeing people ‘yammering’ on their cellphones while driving…..

…………and don’t EVEN get me going on those who think it’s their God-given right to ‘text’ while behind the wheel...

...(and don’t try to tell me that you or anyone else is capable of talking on a cell-phone and driving at the same time….I’ll bury you with facts and video!)

I'm a truck driver, so I'm going to pull the professional driver card out for this one... I want to know why there's such a big hub bub about cell phones causing accidents nowadays. What about back in the days of CB's. What makes talking on your cell phone any different from using your CB? I personally don't think it's the object to blame so much as it is the person. Maybe it was how not everyone had CB's in their vehicles, but everyone, their mother, and even their little brother has a cell phone so it seems now.

Why is it that truckers can talk on cell phones and/or CB's, use laptops for logging/mapping/etc., eat a meal with one hand, finding a new local radio station playing our favorite music because we're some place we've never been before, and other various tasks that most people find distracting all at the same time while driving without incident (or at least at a very small fractional ratio) compared to some other people?

Heck I've driven down the NJ Turnpike in a snow storm where you could barely see the lights on the vehicles 50 ft in front of you with my girlfriend on my personal phone and my company talking to me on the company phone seemingly every 5 miles or so making sure I'm doing alright. To this day I still talk on my cell while driving whether in my work truck or my personal vehicles.

As for texting; I text in my vehicle, but only at red lights where I know the light pattern and how long I'll have to sit or at weigh stations, but I refuse to text while actually moving. I don't even look at the screen anymore since Ive gotten the pattern down. I type up my message blindly and then when I know I'll be stopped for more than 5 seconds I'll glance to confirm it's correct and hit send and sit the phone back down.

I admit that I drive fast too. My usual is 75-80 in 50-65 zones, but only on interstates and other roads that use on/off-ramps as the only means of access. Though I do not drive faster than 25 or 35 in school zones or neighborhoods even if the speed limit is higher. I ALWAYS use my turn signals, and not just for a split second, but for a good three to five flashes before I make my move and only after making sure it's clear even if the other driver(s) isn't paying attention. At stop signs I always stop completely. If someone is waiting to cross the street and it's only traffic going my direction, I don't care how many cars are behind me, I'll hold up traffic to let them cross. And if it's children, I'll literally position my car so the cars behind me can't try and swerve around me like some idiot did one time when I was letting an elderly lady cross. Luckily she was walking too slow for the moron to hit her, as she wasn't even to the middle of my front bumper as the guy gunned it going around me.

Seatbelts: Every time, no matter what! I will not start my car until everyone is belted, and I will even pull over if I see someone unbelted.

I've been driving since I was 15 going on 16, I'm now 26 and still have never had an accident. In fact, it's nothing for me to drive 10,000 miles a month between work and personal vehicles. To sum up how I feel about cell phones and driving; It all comes down to maturity, experience, and caring about other's lives. I'll put my cell down while driving when others quit their vices (even the ones not done while driving), be it drinking, smoking, gambling, whatever. Yes I do believe that some people are simply more skilled at driving and talking on their phone. If you're one of them and still choose not to talk and drive, more power to you, I commend you. But when you have a driving job where your dispatcher likes to keep in contact with you multiple times an hour, it becomes second nature. Police officers can do it, even during high speed chases to give updates to dispatch.

I know this seemed more like a rant than a proper response, but I had to let it out. Feel free to disagree with me.

[TJ91]

Rolling stops piss me off. The average persons driving habits are despicable. One person can make a dent on driving impressions but if everyone begins to folow, we could change this. I hope that as i become a police officer in the next year or so, that i can actually change people perceptions on their drivng habits and that they can actually deep down understand why there are laws in place.
I dont understand why this driver decided to try to do this.
I have to give Scott a pat on the back for creating this thread and for poiniting out that this is NOT an age matter

[djgrind45]

Im sorry but some people are so hard headed and especially kids and teens, i know because my high school is full of them, i am not one of them i think road saftey is one of the major things out there.

And a couple of kids from my school have died because of their negligence on the road, they think they could go fast and do what ever they want, but they are not invincible and they also hurt other innocent bystanders around them.

[songsj]

While many accidents could clearly be avoided and were caused by intetional recklessness, most are not. This is
why they call them accidents and not intentionals. No matter what we do accidents are part of the human condition.

[songsj]

Why do todays parents think a fellow adult would waste time making up stories about their angels?

Because the parents are idiots and usually worse than the kids!!!! In most cases if you see a bad kid now days, you don't have to look much farther than the parents to see why. Your story is just one example. There are exceptions where wonderful parents just seem to end up with a bad seed and try everything with no luck, but this usually is not the case.

[Mason44]

Well said Scott! I live in a town of 25k people (yes I know not that big) and they just seem to love to run through stop signs and run a red light. I almost got t-boned because of a guy talking on his cell phone. I'm only 19 and I always stop and use my turn signal and its not very hard to do. Just seems like people don't want to take a little bit extra time to follow some very simple rules.

[divvichild]

Here is the video from onboard the train:



and the video from the nearby camera:



I agree with the officer in the video, how stupid do you have to be to endanger and take the lives of 4 other people? Plus the horrifying experiences of those who have to respond to the crash.'

If it was just the driver who was killed, I'm sorry but I would say he deserved it. But to be selfish enough to do it with 4 other people in the car, it's just hard to swallow.

[PieNsky]

http://www.camaro5.com/forums/showth...ght=louisville
Unfortunately this was moved and less people have seen it. I was hoping that it would make people think how their actions can affect others.

[levi1922]

how awesome would it be, if 5th gen camaros had thebest driving record?

[fastball]

Originally Posted by Z28 Mike

I'm a truck driver, so I'm going to pull the professional driver card out for this one... I want to know why there's such a big hub bub about cell phones causing accidents nowadays. What about back in the days of CB's. What makes talking on your cell phone any different from using your CB? I personally don't think it's the object to blame so much as it is the person. Maybe it was how not everyone had CB's in their vehicles, but everyone, their mother, and even their little brother has a cell phone so it seems now.

Why is it that truckers can talk on cell phones and/or CB's, use laptops for logging/mapping/etc., eat a meal with one hand, finding a new local radio station playing our favorite music because we're some place we've never been before, and other various tasks that most people find distracting all at the same time while driving without incident (or at least at a very small fractional ratio) compared to some other people?

Heck I've driven down the NJ Turnpike in a snow storm where you could barely see the lights on the vehicles 50 ft in front of you with my girlfriend on my personal phone and my company talking to me on the company phone seemingly every 5 miles or so making sure I'm doing alright. To this day I still talk on my cell while driving whether in my work truck or my personal vehicles.

As for texting; I text in my vehicle, but only at red lights where I know the light pattern and how long I'll have to sit or at weigh stations, but I refuse to text while actually moving. I don't even look at the screen anymore since Ive gotten the pattern down. I type up my message blindly and then when I know I'll be stopped for more than 5 seconds I'll glance to confirm it's correct and hit send and sit the phone back down.

I admit that I drive fast too. My usual is 75-80 in 50-65 zones, but only on interstates and other roads that use on/off-ramps as the only means of access. Though I do not drive faster than 25 or 35 in school zones or neighborhoods even if the speed limit is higher. I ALWAYS use my turn signals, and not just for a split second, but for a good three to five flashes before I make my move and only after making sure it's clear even if the other driver(s) isn't paying attention. At stop signs I always stop completely. If someone is waiting to cross the street and it's only traffic going my direction, I don't care how many cars are behind me, I'll hold up traffic to let them cross. And if it's children, I'll literally position my car so the cars behind me can't try and swerve around me like some idiot did one time when I was letting an elderly lady cross. Luckily she was walking too slow for the moron to hit her, as she wasn't even to the middle of my front bumper as the guy gunned it going around me.

Seatbelts: Every time, no matter what! I will not start my car until everyone is belted, and I will even pull over if I see someone unbelted.

I've been driving since I was 15 going on 16, I'm now 26 and still have never had an accident. In fact, it's nothing for me to drive 10,000 miles a month between work and personal vehicles. To sum up how I feel about cell phones and driving; It all comes down to maturity, experience, and caring about other's lives. I'll put my cell down while driving when others quit their vices (even the ones not done while driving), be it drinking, smoking, gambling, whatever. Yes I do believe that some people are simply more skilled at driving and talking on their phone. If you're one of them and still choose not to talk and drive, more power to you, I commend you. But when you have a driving job where your dispatcher likes to keep in contact with you multiple times an hour, it becomes second nature. Police officers can do it, even during high speed chases to give updates to dispatch.

I know this seemed more like a rant than a proper response, but I had to let it out. Feel free to disagree with me.

The problem with cell phones is that you have them up to your ear and holding it with one hand, while carying on a conversation, while driving with the other hand and your feet. You drive a rig, I take it it's a manual - can you honestly expect anyone to believe you when you say you can talk safely on a cell phone while shifting gears in an 18 wheeler in traffic? I drive a manual transmissioned car, and I have tried to talk on the phone while driving and shifting A CAR, and I've decided a few years ago not to ever do that. I have a bluetooth earpiece but I still talk sparingly while I drive, and I NEVER drive while holding a phone to my ear.

CBs are a very different beast - you are listening to it without holding anything to your head, just like the radio, and you only grab the transmitter when you want to talk.

The act of talking on a cell phone without hands free is what takes people's concentration away from driving. Not just operating the vehicle, but paying attention to the road and surroundings.

I have no problem with anyone using a hands free device like bluetooth or a similar system built into their car. It's the physical hold the phone to your head which takes away the concentration.

And don't even get me started on texting while driving - Car & Driver did a study on it, and it's worse than driving while intoxicated. That's all I'm gonna say to that.

[Spiv]

Well said. I got into the habit a long time ago that if I'm driving, I don't touch my cellphone. I spread the word among my contacts that I would no longer answer while I was behind the wheel, now, if they know I'm heading somewhere, they wait until I contact them. If somone calls several times while I'm driving I know it's an emergency, I pull over and take the call. Sure it's a "waste" of time, but it lets me focus on what they are saying, which I should, being it's an emergency. It also prevents me from killing myself and someone else, plain and simple.

I don't have kids now, but when I do, sure daddy will help pay for the drive testing, and the car, and the insurance, oh but oops! Little me doesn't think they should abide by traffic laws - insurance cancelled, car sold.

I've had numerous friends (and I mean NUMEROUS) killed by these kind of acts.

[PieNsky]

Try flying a plane! You use not only both feet and hands while you are carrying on a conversation but you also have a 3rd dimension (altitude) that you don't have to worry about in a car.
It is all about awareness and dividing your attention. Some can not do it as they get all wrap up in the cell phone.