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This is very sobering. I have flat out refused to talk to my grown daughter while she is stuck in traffic in Atlanta either to or from work. I will send this to her. I think all people but especially TEENS need to be aware of the repercussions for texting while driving.
This is very sobering. I have flat out refused to talk to my grown daughter while she is stuck in traffic in Atlanta either to or from work. I will send this to her. I think all people but especially TEENS need to be aware of the repercussions for texting while driving.
I saw this story on the news a few days ago. I thought he was going to be acquitted for lack of evidence on the texting issue--obviously Deveau caused the crash that killed the other driver, regardless. After reading the article, I still think there's a lack of evidence that Deveau was texting at the time the crash occurred; a minute or so passed between his last text and the time of the crash. That's a lot of time. I was expecting the prosecution to come back with evidence that he was texting immediately before the accident. To me, it doesn't sound like he was.
Yes, Deveau caused the collision, but I think it's inconclusive that they can pin it on texting. They can prove that he was texting while driving at some point, such as while stopped at a red light, and that may carry some misdemeanor charge. From what was presented here and in the news story I saw a few days ago, two possibly unrelated events were linked. I believe that this charge carries heavier sentence time than a "regular" accident would, such as instinctively swerving to miss a squirrel or, as Deveau claims, simply not paying attention. If Deveau received the same punishment that he would have without the texting charge, I guess it would make no difference to him, but it sets a precedent that I do find sobering indeed.
This is very sobering. I have flat out refused to talk to my grown daughter while she is stuck in traffic in Atlanta either to or from work. I will send this to her. I think all people but especially TEENS need to be aware of the repercussions for texting while driving.
I think there is a huge difference between texting, which takes your eyes off the road, and talking to someone either in person or on the phone. Drivers are distracted by many things and it's necessary to focus on the ones that take eyes from the road and not vilify everything.
I have no problem with hands free phone calls and for some people who commute or travel a lot it's a common way to keep up with life.
I think there is a huge difference between texting, which takes your eyes off the road, and talking to someone either in person or on the phone. Drivers are distracted by many things and it's necessary to focus on the ones that take eyes from the road and not vilify everything.
I have no problem with hands free phone calls and for some people who commute or travel a lot it's a common way to keep up with life.
Except again studies have proven there is no difference at all. Distracted driving is dangerous driving, period.
I've told my loved ones that should I ever die in an accident caused by someone fiddling with a cell phone...be it texting, hands free, or chatting...I want them to go after them with everything they've got. None of this 'oh, I forgive...everyone makes mistakes..." nonsense. This is not an accident. It was a choice.
Except again studies have proven there is no difference at all. Distracted driving is dangerous driving, period.
I've told my loved ones that should I ever die in an accident caused by someone fiddling with a cell phone...be it texting, hands free, or chatting...I want them to go after them with everything they've got. None of this 'oh, I forgive...everyone makes mistakes..." nonsense. This is not an accident. It was a choice.
Your study us talking hands free vs holding a phone, not about texting though.
Driving is never going to be risk/accident free. We can't "zero tolerance" it away and have to use common sense. You say "fiddling with a cell phone" but what about all the other things people "fiddle" with while driving, it's always been and always will be there. We have to concentrate on the big stuff. Texting is a big stuff, a game changer, along with anything else that takes your eyes off the road on a regular basis and for a long period of time. But I'm for restrictions, yes. Heck, I didn't even have a good working radio in the cars my kids learned to drive in! Young drivers need more restrictions than experienced ones.
I am completely capable of talking hands free in the car, especially where and how I drive. I don't think that will ever come under the same scrutiny as texting and it's unlikely to be a target for something like this. I'm ok with you going after whatever you want though, no matter what the circumstances.
My BIL died earlier this year because a girl was on her phone and not paying attention to her driving. She's been charged with vehicular manslaughter as well as several other charges.
Your study us talking hands free vs holding a phone, not about texting though.
Driving is never going to be risk/accident free. We can't "zero tolerance" it away and have to use common sense. You say "fiddling with a cell phone" but what about all the other things people "fiddle" with while driving, it's always been and always will be there. We have to concentrate on the big stuff. Texting is a big stuff, a game changer, along with anything else that takes your eyes off the road on a regular basis and for a long period of time. But I'm for restrictions, yes. Heck, I didn't even have a good working radio in the cars my kids learned to drive in! Young drivers need more restrictions than experienced ones.
I am completely capable of talking hands free in the car, especially where and how I drive. I don't think that will ever come under the same scrutiny as texting and it's unlikely to be a target for something like this. I'm ok with you going after whatever you want though, no matter what the circumstances.
That's true, I misread the post. Still, talking on a cell phone (or using one hands free) DOES result in distracted driving, which is always dangerous. How it compares to texting I'd have to research more.
And one of the things that makes it so dangerous is that people don't realize its dangerous at all. Begging your pardon, but your brain works no differently than any other person in that study. Using a cell actually shuts down the part of the brain that processes visual information.
It's like people who think they actually drive better just a little drunk or high because they say they pay closer attention. That's simply not how the brain works.
In 2008 I was rear ended while at a dead stop. I was waiting to make a left hand turn into the parking lot of the veterinary hospital where I worked. A man in an SUV served at the last instant around me while on a cell. The woman behind him was caught unprepared and slammed into my car at close to 50 miles an hour.
She had two children in her car, but luckily they were both in the back seat. Her airbag went off and left her with serious burns and a long gash down one arm. I was left with cervical issues that I'm still undergoing invasive treatment for today. I also had to leave the field I'd gone to college for, as the job was very physical and I could no longer wrestle the dogs or lift heavy feed bags.
All this because someone couldn't wait to make a phone call.
To me distracted is distracted. I would not put up with one iota of misbehaving from my children when they were small and I was trying to drive. All it took was one time of pulling to the shoulder of the road, turning the car off and refusing to say one word before they got the message that they were not to act up in the car.
When I was in high school a friend caused a serious accident because she was messing with the cigarette lighter in her car. As I remember, she was charged with something pretty serious.
I think the thing so many people today don't understand is that life does go on without having to pay immediate attention to a cell phone. They can't even imagine ignoring a text or a call. How on earth did the earth spin before cell phones?
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