Some thoughts about the dangers of phones and driving

[2Loud]

In an age of speech to talk and vice versa, the keyboard should be removed from texting. Yes i know that sounds funny, but it should just be "Siri send a text to saying""...blah blah blah...". Then when you get a text back, ask if you want it read to you. No hands needed. No clue why this is even still a problem.

[jimazee]

These threads pop up every few weeks and always go the same way. Lots of anecdotes and comparison to other examples of bad driving historically or today. Somehow this is apparently thought to exempt electronic device intrusion/distraction.

It's obvious (from simple objective observation, reading statistics and scientific studies) that these devices...voice powered/hand held or not... cell phones, GPS systems , texting, even the 'modern' radio/music systems which often require much more attention than the old simple push button radios are distracting (screens are everywhere in vehicles!! and making it worse they all operate differently car to car...require frequent eyes/concentration off the road ...butt of course there are many inexperienced, ignorant, people who never even drove (or lived) without all this crap (and maybe grew up with decades of video games) who will goto the grave claiming they are not distracted (because they have been distracted their whole lives).

I really don't give a crap at all EXCEPT when I can see them constantly putting others (especially me and my family/friends) in danger...and hearing/reading that they are immune from this. It is the other guy/gal.

• Auto and communications systems lobbyists must be very powerful.
• The government's priority isn't on saving lives...which equal/exceed gun related deaths including suicides (which are 60% of gun deaths) despite the MUCH safer vehicles now in use).
• Laws are frequently ignored and unenforced (cops often use their cells while driving).
• I don't recall hearing of so many mid afternoon sunny day single car accidents or crossover median head ons.
• I'm amazed insurance companies aren't more aggressive at fighting this problem.

Butt anyway, this is why everyone is scrambling to increase driver less involvement (automatic braking, lane containment, auto cruise, etc. anyone?) and perfecting fully autonomous vehicles ASAP...it is the only cure for driver ignorance and can't get here fast enough.

My advice is to look at every driver you encounter...especially in your rear view mirror and at intersections... butt this is distracting too.

ramble off

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by Ziggy100

People tend to have rose colored glasses when it comes to recalling the way things were. Drivers today are the same as drivers yesterday, they just have other things to get distracted by.
People weren’t meant to just sit in a steel box alone with their thoughts, hence the market for “infotainment” started the day they stuck the first AM radio in the car.

There was never a time when people just drove with their hands at 10 and 2, checked their mirrors every 7 seconds and paid full attention. People sitting in a car long enough get bored.

Agree. Back in the '60s and '70's there were free road maps offered at most gas stations, and it was very common for people to glance at the maps while driving, at leasts people who were driving in areas they were not familiar with. Nowadays a lot of drivers use displays of various kinds (cellphones, tablets, and other GPS units) instead of old road maps. And I bet that sooner or later some of the drivers would, for whatever reason, sneak a peek at their receiver's display, or cellphone, and so on.

[Ziggy100]

Originally Posted by jimazee

• Auto and communications systems lobbyists must be very powerful.
• The government's priority isn't on saving lives...which equal/exceed gun related deaths including suicides (which are 60% of gun deaths) despite the MUCH safer vehicles now in use).
• Laws are frequently ignored and unenforced (cops often use their cells while driving).
• I don't recall hearing of so many mid afternoon sunny day single car accidents or crossover median head ons.
• I'm amazed insurance companies aren't more aggressive at fighting this problem.

It’s not that auto and communications systems lobbies are powerful, it’s that they’re lazy. Every year a much better yet insufficient attempt is made to simplify and integrate smart phones and infotainment.
It started with in car navigation, then people found the maps on their phones were far more up to date and didn’t cost $250 a year to update. They added satellite radio, but people found Pandora to be much cheaper. They later added Pandora and smartphone integration like Carplay and Android Auto, but their integration usually requires plugging in the phone while driving and 90% of apps don’t get integrated, so people use their phones anyway.

Not sure what gun control has to do with distracted drivers

You’re correct about laws not being enforced. It’s pretty tricky. I saw a driver staring at her phone for at least 8 miles, maybe looked up at the road twice. What I’m I supposed to do, call 911?

You probably didn’t hear about so many head on collisions before because news wasn’t always a 24/7 information overload. There was never a time where life was safer than it is now, yet people think otherwise because there wasn’t CNN and Fox News news alerts popping up on your smartphone every 20 minutes.

Insurance companies don’t have a lot of tools at their disposal to crack down on it aside from not paying out of your accident was texting related. That won’t do anything because people only regret it after the accident.

[rstevens62]

Originally Posted by 2Loud

In an age of speech to talk and vice versa, the keyboard should be removed from texting. Yes i know that sounds funny, but it should just be "Siri send a text to saying""...blah blah blah...". Then when you get a text back, ask if you want it read to you. No hands needed. No clue why this is even still a problem.

Yes, we should not still be texting in the same way as when it first came out.

When cell phones first came out, I remember they changed drastically about every 6 months, sise was getting smaller and smaller, and all kinds of new features were being added all the time.

Then around 2005/06, it all stopped pretty much and from them on, cell phones are basically the same thing year after year, only very slight changes made to them, NOTHING really groundbreaking in a quite long time. the phones and technology have plateaued.

[fisheye]

One distraction that can never be legislated is emotion. You put a backseat driver in a car, screaming at the driver, and accidents are very possible. Even with texting and cellphone use emotion takes the danger to another level; it is the ultimate distraction.



There are other 'distractions' that we seem to overlook like bees. Many people drive with their windows down when the weather is nice. If a large bee or hornet comes into vehicle; it is hard to ignore. Some people like to smoke to help keep them alert. But if a smoker drops the cigarette on the seat; then it becomes a distraction. Some drivers like to drink coffee to help keep them awake. But, if they spill hot coffee in their lap, that becomes a major distraction.


Many motorcycle drivers have argued against helmets. This time of year the June bugs are coming out. One time I caught one right between the eyes at 65 mph - it left a welt that lasted more than a week; it almost knocked me out (I was not expecting it). While it did not cause me to have a accident my driving could have been a distraction to any close cars. I have also had bees go down the opening in my shirt while driving a motorcycle and that could have lead to an automobile accident.



I am not in favor of fines for texting or using a cellphone while driving. I am more in favor of forcing the companies to install software that automatically cuts off the signal if they detect movement at highway speeds. If your phones do not work; then their is no reason to use them.