The absolute stupidity of texting while driving!!!!

R

RX1Jim

Registered
Let me start by saying I am sorry to bring this up again if it has been covered before but I need to vent. It never ceases to amaze me how absolutely stupid and self-centered it is to text while driving. Today, with all the publicity on the number of accidents and deaths caused by texting while driving, it is amazing how STUPID some people are. Everyday on my route to and from work I see people tailgating at 75-80 MPH in rush hour traffic holding the steering wheel with their knees so they have their hands free to text!!!! I have seen so many, way too many close calls and collisions due to texting. A local teenagerin my town recently died due to a car wreck. Her phone records show she was texting at the time of the collision, such a waste of a precious life. The state of NY has installed "text stop" signs for all the rest areas. We really needed to spend thousands of tax payer's dollars to tell people what common sense should tell them? Does the state actually think people will pay attention to these brilliant new signs???? These idiot texters don't pay attention to the law, forget the signs. The problem is texting while driving is socially acceptable, people look the other way. If every text while driving jerk got a dirty look, comment or gestures (not obscene but just a gesture to keep ones eyes on the road), maybe it would decline. Instead we rely on the police to catch the offenders. NY state has significantly raised the penalty for getting caught texting while driving but I doubt it has made a difference. The idiot texters put themselves at risk along with the everyone around them. If and when one of thees jerks runs over me while on the bike, the first thing i want my family to do is to obtain the phone records of the driver than ran me over to build a criminal and civil case against them. It is crap like this that made me give up commuting to work on the Busa, if i do ride to work, I shift my commuting times to off peak. Observing someone texting while driving annoys the hell out of me while I am in my car but makes my blood boil when I see it while on the bike. Bikers being so much more vulnerable to the stupidity of the "cagers". I don't get the whole texting thing anyway. End of rant and thanks!!!!!!!!!

Jim
 
i can never understand the reason for texting , other than being in a meeting and info needs to be given that is really important.. other than that.. \?

call the person or park in a tim hortons an text away...

i definitely let the person i catch in a car texting or holding there phone to their ear that it is dangerous and illegal in Quebec..i can be very expressive with my hands when need be..:laugh:
 
i get you bro - its damn near an epidemic... i cant think of a solution tho - (darwinism??) - i just hope that it ceases without too many more fatalities... just ride aware.
 
What can be so important that all these people need to respond to while driving? If the topic is that important ( such as a physician describing a critical procedure to a colleague to save a life) doesn't deserev a person's full attention by pulling over?? Dam does this crap piss me off. How many people must be killed or crippled due to people texting about nonsense? We survived just fine for thousands of years without having to respond to texts rights away, what makes instant communication a priority now!!! I did see a clever sign in the back window of a car last week, it read in large bold letters: "Hey stupid, Put down the phone". The problem is the people who need to see this sign are too busy to see it since they are using their phone.

Jim
 
Covered a few times here. We all errr ok 99.5% all can agree that its dangerous and shouldn't be done. No matter who you are or what you do.
 
Only way to combat it is to make the law strict enough to where people are afraid of what will happen to them if they are caught.
 
I wud suggest investing in one of them air horns like the big rigs have or a train horn and scare the chit outta someone when on their phone textn and blow it right next to them. that will get their attention pretty quick and instinctively think twice about doing that again. tickets don't deter chit!
 
Strife said:
Only way to combat it is to make the law strict enough to where people are afraid of what will happen to them if they are caught.
Click to expand...

The fines can be as high as you want. It will do no good unless LEO's enforce said laws and write tickets. If I remember correctly, in the state of Kansas it is a $250 fine. If in a commercial vehicle it is a $2750 fine.
 
I got rear ended last Friday in my truck @ an intersection :banghead:

Can't say 4 sure that the chick was texting but it was a situation where the light was green but I could hear sirens in the distance and I seen the cars in front of me come 2 a stop so I did as well anticipating the ambulance/cop car 2 come thru. Next thing I know BANG!!! I get rear ended.... I was livid!! I got out my truck and told her 2 pull over into the parking lot. I quickly moved my truck out of traffic but making sure she followed me and didn't try 2 take off on me. Roll pan and tail gate was smashed. She was maybe mid 2 late 20's with a child in the back seat!! I asked her as calmly as my emotions allowed..." what were you doing??? you didn't see me directly in front of you?? Didn't you hear the sirens and see the long line of traffic stopped!!!??? Her reply was "Umm no... I'm sorry" :wtf: ???

I barely said 2 words 2 her after that. I knew she had 2 be texting how else would you not see what's going on directly in front of you less than 10 feet away? Got her license and information and proceeded 2 call my insurance immediately. Is my truck gonna get fixed yeah but I sat there and wondered what if I had been on 1 of my bikes?? Would she had been so non chal ant about the whole situation with me and my bike folded up under her car!! :banghead:
 
Sorry to hear about that, 1Busa. Glad you are okay and wish you safe journeys.

There is a Netfix Documentary called "From one Second to the next" and I am having a hard time completing it in one sitting.
It is very hard hitting and makes me cringe to watch due to the many times I have witnessed this type of behavior going on right next to me on the bike!
I think everyone who thinks texting, talking, or being distracted is an acceptable way to drive should have to watch this film in order to get a license.
Just my 2!
 
Texting and driving. Drinking and driving. It's all the same. And it's not only tiny portion of the population. It's a significant portion. Who's to blame? We all are. You. Me. The laws. The cops. Everyone. I will concede, some more than others. How?

Ever kept silent or pretended not to notice when a family member eyed their phone for a "quick second" while driving?
Ever rationalized that a co-worker or a friend ONLY had X number of drinks and was fine to drive/ride?
Ever rationalized your own ability to drive/ride after drinking? Or, OMG, lack of sleep and/or being exhausted/tire/run down?
Ever advised an acquaintance AGAINST driving due to the amount they drank and they somehow managed to drive away from you anyway?
Ever ridden to the end of the block and back without a helmet, even though you KNOW what can happen in the event a mishap at low speed?

I would guess that most of us, if not all, can answer yes to at least one of the above questions. If you're the exception, hats off and more power to ya! We need more like ya! For the rest of us, we've either learned to make smarter decisions or NEED TO NOW! The trouble is, there is less and less social accountability. EVERYONE is quick to point out the stupidity of a behavior in conversation and discussion about what they've seen but how many are willing to make that point in the moment, right then and there, in a calm and rational and compelling manner to the individual or group that's making or about to make a bad decision? How many are willing to be the first to take someone to task for the sake of public safety? How many are willing to risk a friendship, a family relationship or the respect of their peers for such business? Even more challenging, who would risk taking someone to task if that someone is their boss? Or a cop? Or a politician? Or their landlord? What about a child? A teen? Young adult? Disciplining children that aren't yours can bring about ALL KINDS of legal issues. Heck, even disciplining YOUR OWN children can be problematic in this day and age. EVEN if you're IN THE RIGHT!?!?!?

Ya see, this stuff is tricky. The concept of what's smart/stupid and right/wrong is easy. Policing one-self, I find, to also be easy. But calling others to step up and be responsible...well, that's a trick that I've done many times and I still find it difficult. And I've managed to talk myself out of it more times than not. Why? Well, ironically, its b/c it seems that one thing that folks ARE NOT afraid to do is to attack someone who’s trying to tell someone else what to do or not do....even if it's the right thing. :(

So I'm afraid that, until society as a whole decides that it's more important to be safe than to be "free" from accountability to each other, these issues will persist.

That said, I'll continue trying to do my part by a) holding myself accountable and NOT mixing drinking and/or texting while driving, b) encouraging the same in my friends and family and co-workers and c) making my opinion on the matter KNOWN to anyone that I witness being irresponsible in a very (this is VERY IMPORTANT) diplomatic, factual, calm and intense manner. Remember, the goal is to get them to listen, think and change their behavior and that's NEVER gonna happen if you're being aggressive, insulting or otherwise freakin' out - they'll just write you off as "some *******". But if you can make the point in a way that is not attacking and gets them thinking, they just might start to revise what they're doing.

Best of luck and be careful out there!
 
Strife said:
Only way to combat it is to make the law strict enough to where people are afraid of what will happen to them if they are caught.
Click to expand...

Nope. People will still do it. Look at drunks, they are still all over the road.

People(especially young people) have a complex that they do not believe it will ever happen to them. THey are good drivers, even if they are texting.

There is only one thing that stops people from doing stuff like this, and it is usually 6' long, made of wood and goes in the ground.

Unfortunate but true.
 
MelodicMetalGod said:
Ever kept silent or pretended not to notice when a family member eyed their phone for a "quick second" while driving? No
Ever rationalized that a co-worker or a friend ONLY had X number of drinks and was fine to drive/ride? No
Ever rationalized your own ability to drive/ride after drinking? Or, OMG, lack of sleep and/or being exhausted/tire/run down? No
Ever advised an acquaintance AGAINST driving due to the amount they drank and they somehow managed to drive away from you anyway? No
Ever ridden to the end of the block and back without a helmet, even though you KNOW what can happen in the event a mishap at low speed? Yes, when I was 12.
Click to expand...

I got 4 out of 5.:)

My girlfriend used to text and drive and also talk on the phone while driving.

I have changed her ways, now when she is driving, she is driving.
 
I hope they sue the living chit out of her and they do file felony charges but the reality of it is half the time drunk drivers get away with murder literally.... so I doubt she'll do any real time.

Drunk drivers seriously injure people sometimes fatally and get sentences that total less than 2years of actual time served :banghead:
 
I see it constantly, as easy as it is to spot, I don't understand why the cars aren't being stopped 24 - 7.... hell, I coud be top cop....

I think that technology is the only real solution, wheels turning should black out the vehicle to service.
 
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