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When I was an active LEO, my policy was to confiscate the phone as evidence. I made sure that I saw a driver using a cell phone and verify that it was captured on my dash cam. In order to get the phone back, the offender had to appear in court.
Ok, let me TRY to understand your logic here. The presence of a police officer (or a "super unsafe road" are the ONLY real deterrents that keep you from texting while driving...and possibly getting in a fender bender or worse, vehicular manslaughter?
I'm guessing these texts are work-related and business critical, if you MUST do the voice respond thing immediately.
I'll challenge you that these voice texts read through your car speakers may distract you from being fully alert and hearing/seeing something more much important that may be occurring while driving.
You're focusing on the content of the text message and the accuracy of your reply...so is your FULL attention REALLY on your driving and your surroundings (cars around you, motorcycles weaving & bobbing around you, cops or paramedics travelling from behind at a high rate of speed, kids who chase a ball into the street and multiple other behind the wheel scenarios) ??
If you have to do the voice text respond thing, why not just send a simple "Ok", or better yet, just have an auto-reply that says "I'm driving now, will respond to your text when I can safely do so".
It's hard to get a fender bender or commit vehicular manslaughter when there are no cars or people around and I am in control of my vehicle.
My texts are not business critical. If I feel like the text is urgent enough to warrant an immediate response, I will respond. If I don't feel I'm in an area where it's safe enough to respond immediately, I will either wait or pull over and stop my car.
I think you just missed the point where I stated that I don't text in situations in which I feel it would be unsafe to do so. If motorcycles are weaving around me, people are crossing the street, and kids are outside playing, paramedics are flying up behind me, etc. I won't text. It's really just as simple as that.
I just learned that in California, it's legal to use your cellphone if it's GPS. So that's the excuse I'll be using if I ever get pulled over.
I use speech to text to send and read msgs via Bluetooth system. if you don't have it, then that S*** can wait. nothing more annoying than watching ppl yapping on their phones and driving dumb or texting and driving dumb.
It's hard to get a fender bender or commit vehicular manslaughter when there are no cars or people around and I am in control of my vehicle.
My texts are not business critical. If I feel like the text is urgent enough to warrant an immediate response, I will respond. If I don't feel I'm in an area where it's safe enough to respond immediately, I will either wait or pull over and stop my car.
I think you just missed the point where I stated that I don't text in situations in which I feel it would be unsafe to do so. If motorcycles are weaving around me, people are crossing the street, and kids are outside playing, paramedics are flying up behind me, etc. I won't text. It's really just as simple as that.
what you fail to realize is that driving requires your full attention, even if there are no cops around, or the road is running straight and empty. you never know what will happen when you take your eyes off the road even for a couple of seconds.
No, I do not text with cops in plain sight. I have a feature of my new phone that allows any incoming texts to be read aloud through my in-car bluetooth and gives me a chance to reply by voice. Still, I have to verify that the reply is actually what I said and make changes if it isn't. I tend to only do this on straighter roads with no cars or pedestrians close by or at stoplights. If it's super unsafe or I need to use Google Maps, I will pull off into a parking lot. It really isn't a big deal at all for me. Some people simply cannot operate a car and a cell phone at the same time, while others of us do it with no issue.
Translation: "I haven't killed anyone so far, so obviously it's completely safe to do."
No, I do not text with cops in plain sight. I have a feature of my new phone that allows any incoming texts to be read aloud through my in-car bluetooth and gives me a chance to reply by voice. Still, I have to verify that the reply is actually what I said and make changes if it isn't. I tend to only do this on straighter roads with no cars or pedestrians close by or at stoplights. If it's super unsafe or I need to use Google Maps, I will pull off into a parking lot. It really isn't a big deal at all for me. Some people simply cannot operate a car and a cell phone at the same time, while others of us do it with no issue.
Can I nominate this for one of the top-5 most idiotic posts on C-D of all time?
I am stunned that anyone can do something so stupid and say it "really isn't a big deal at all."
Last edited by karen_in_nh_2012; 04-28-2014 at 05:58 AM..
Can I nominate this for the top-5 most idiotic posts on C-D of all time?
I am stunned that anyone can do something so stupid and say it "really isn't a big deal at all."
Seconded.
When I was MUCH younger (1970s and '80s) I remember making comments like "I think I drive better after having a few drinks." I absolutely cringe when I think of the times I drove home from a bar or party. The fact that I have never had a DUI or gotten into an accident as a result was pure luck, not as a result of my mad drunk driving skillz.
I am sure everyone who's been involved in a texting/cell phone-related accident has smugly maintained at least once that they are a superior breed of driver who can handle texting and driving, unlike the majority.
Billy, I'm in my 40s, but I've never understood why teens and twenty-somethings take the brunt of the criticism for cell phone use while driving...
Well look at it from the insurance companies point of view. Historically teens and young people have statistically had more accidents (insurance claims).
Now add to that texting and that they are not looking where they are going... That statistically is going to make the accident rate (and insurance rates) even higher for that group.
And THAT is what counts! (For traffic safety - deaths. For insurance - claims.)
Can I nominate this for one of the top-5 most idiotic posts on C-D of all time?
I am stunned that anyone can do something so stupid and say it "really isn't a big deal at all."
Thirded. My jaw dropped when I saw that post. Arrogant and dangerous behavior that sadly puts the lives of others at risk. Any driver with any experience knows that there is no time when it is safe to do such things and that unexpected hazards can come out of nowhere when you are absolutely sure there's no such thing around.
And if you have to take your eyes off the road to proof and correct outgoing texts, then your blue tooth is useless as a texting safety measure. Shame on you for even pretending to think that isn't the case.
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