Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
68,329 posts, read 54,363,738 times
Reputation: 40731
Advertisements
Quote:
Originally Posted by KittenSparkles
I had an experience today which made me wonder how others would have handled it. I was driving behind a woman for quite a while today. She had her driver's side window rolled down and it was sunny out, so i could see her quite clearly in the left-side mirror. She was driving slightly erratically, slamming her brakes too hard when stopping, swerving out of her lane and then jerking back into it. And I could see her repeatedly looking down into her lap. I could not see a cell phone, but she was acting like someone who was texting.
She was driving a company vehicle, so the name and phone number of the company she worked for was in plain sight on the back of it.
I found myself feeling tempted to report her to her company. If I knew that she would only get a reprimand, I might do it. But I would not want someone to lose their job over such a thing.
I wondered if anyone here would report it, or have you reported someone in such a case?
I had a friend who was rear ended on his motorcycle by a distracted driver, confinement to a wheelchair and premature death were his reward for doing nothing but sopping for a red light so yeah, I'd have no problem at all reporting someone.
I spent a few years driving 40-50 hours a week and saw far too much idiocy on the road to believe a distraction like texting could ever be considered safe. And if .0000000001% of the phone calls/texts made by drivers are worth maiming/killing someone for I'd be astonished.
On my way back from a college football game this weekend, a young gal with KU sticker in her back window zoomed by me and another car. I was in the slow lane going about 78 in a 70 and the other car was in the fast lane going a bit faster but she split between us and I was like "wow" that was a little dangerous given the space involved.
Fast forward 5 miles or so....she is now going 70ish in the slow lane and I've caught up and moved to the fast lane to pass. Just about got up to her back bumper...and on comes the turn signal simultaneous to an aggressive lane change...and I mean AGGRESSIVE.
I hit the brakes, hit the horn and she missed me by about 2 feet and then whipped it back over, almost losing control and spinning her car god knows where.
Pretty sure she was texting after the fact. She putted along at 65mph after that as I got the heck away from her. Ever wonder what happened when you see news stories about area kids getting killed in car accidents on the interstate in broad daylight in perfect driving conditions?
Phones.
I hope her having to change her underwear taught her a lesson....she almost killed the parents of 6 kids.
I work with someone who does this... she gets annoyed when people are in the passing lane and wont immediately move over for her but then shell go looking for something on her phone and be sitting there in the passing lane going 5 under with people on her tail.
I admit to being guilty of phone use mostly while on the interstate and only when no other cars are nearby (rural area out here) .. most of it is geocaching stuff I do...
Its human nature .. actually animal nature to not change unless something life threatening happens. Its the reason dogs will continue to run in front of cars until they get hit.. then in my experience it causes them to be more cautious if they survive... its why yelling at a kid to keep their hands away from the stove or whatever may not work while being burned does work... animals in general learn more by actions than by words or threats. A slap on the wrist wont do it.. a large fine or accident might.
However, it only applies to dogs and children . . . definitely NOT to adults or those claiming to be adults since just one little mistake could be your last.
Even worse, the last for a number of innocents as well. Do you want to live with that for the rest of your life?
Are you going to take your eyes from the road to write down or call the number printed on her vehicle? How long do you focus on her vehicle to read the name, phone number and vehicle identification? Then waht are you going to do about it?
While I favor reporting such activity, unless you have an excellent memory I would suggest you continue to focus on keeping your driving safe instead of worrying about reporting others. IN all likelihood she will get a verbal slap on the hand at worst, or they will just all joke about it. Meanwhile, you are risking your life to report it.
If you have a passenger, by all means, have them call it in.
Are you going to take your eyes from the road to write down or call the number printed on her vehicle? How long do you focus on her vehicle to read the name, phone number and vehicle identification? Then waht are you going to do about it?
While I favor reporting such activity, unless you have an excellent memory I would suggest you continue to focus on keeping your driving safe instead of worrying about reporting others. IN all likelihood she will get a verbal slap on the hand at worst, or they will just all joke about it. Meanwhile, you are risking your life to report it.
If you have a passenger, by all means, have them call it in.
I was driving behind her car for apprx. one mile on Friday afternoon.
The name of her company was in large bold font across the back of the SUV. Here it is three days later and I can still remember the name of the company, the color of the SUV, the time I saw her, the street I was on, etc.
So, no, noticing all of these details and then remembering them did not impair my driving in any way.
...there are indeed people who can text and continue to drive perfectly safe while doing so...
HOGWASH!
Try taking a driver's education training class where they test your reaction time... While not looking at the light and instead looking at a cell phone!
I'm afraid you will fail the class miserably!
Things can suddenly happen when driving. If you are not watching the road during that second of time, the consequences can be DEADLY!
Many times I barely was able to stop when watching the road and instantly slamming on the brakes. Had I been looking away for just a second, I would have smashed into other cars, people, animals, etc.
I've avoided hitting a LOT of things by constantly keeping my eyes on the road. THAT is "safe" driving [FYI].
I would not report someone just because I see them texting, because - surprisingly - there are indeed people who can text and continue to drive perfectly safe while doing so. Of course the vast majority could not, but if you just see someone texting then you never know if they may be one of those people.
I would DEFINITELY not report THIS woman, because you don't even know if she was texting or not... and from your post it looks like this appeared to be happening while not moving!
One can't text AND keep eyes on the road simultaneously.
Seriously.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
