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Location: Georgia, on the Florida line, right above Tallahassee
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Texting driver killed in head-on crash, say troopers - Local News - Seattle, WA - msnbc.com (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41676885 - broken link)
I got a chill when I saw this. I saw a young lady texting near Olympia at the end of December, in a black Mazda. It looked like that one shown in the article. She looked about 22, too.
Well, I didn't see her at first, my eyes were on the road. My wife saw her and said, "Hey, look at that stupid girl." I agreed. Pretty stupid.
We were doing about 60 miles per hour in medium traffic. She was about 1 - 2 car lengths behind the car in front of her.
You know, almost everyone thinks they are a great driver. I'm a cautious one, 1 car length for every 10 miles per hour, etc., don't drive drunk, if I'm sleepy, I pull over and get a room. I see people doing this and I think that it's unlikely I will kill myself. It's probably someone like this, making a bad judgement call who will kill me. Just like my uncle. He got killed by a drunk driver who crossed the center line. My aunt and cousin made it. He ate the steering wheel.
In the first tenth of a second, the front bumper and grille collapse.
*The second tenth finds the hood crumpling, rising up and hitting the windshield as the spinning rear wheels lift from the ground.
*Simultaneously, front body work begins to wrap around the solid object (assuming it's a tree or telephone pole).
*Although the car's frame has been halted, other parts of the car are still going 90km/h. instinct causes the driver to stiffen his legs against the crash, and they snap at the knee joint.
*During the third tenth of a second, the steering wheel begins to disintegrate, and the steering column aims for the driver's chest.
*The fourth tenth finds almost a meter of the car's front end wrecked while the rear s still traveling at 55 km/h. The driver's body is still moving at 90 km/h.
*In the fifth tenth, the driver is impaled on the steering column and blood rushes into his lungs.
*By the sixth tenth, the driver's feet are ripped out of highly laced shoes. The car;s frame buckles in the middle. The driver's head smashes the windshield, and the rear wheels fall back to the ground.
*In the seventh tenth, the rear seats break free, striking the driver from behind, but he does not notice: he is already dead.
About a year and a half ago I was involved in an accident (was rear-ended) likely caused by a texting driver.
I was stopped in the left lane with my signal on for about 10 seconds as I was waiting for traffic to clear in order to make a left turn into a Bowling alley when some girl slammed into me from behind. Considering it was sunny out (with the sun in the other direction so no glare), the roads were so she had nothing to obstruct her vision, and the fact I didn't just stop short and was indeed stopped for a few seconds made it clear that she was likely texting. Granted could have been doing something else, and not paying attention, but texting was the likely culprit.
Hit pretty hard to (about 40-45 or so), she was injured in the crash, as was a guy who then hit her (neither one serious, though both did go to the hospital) Other than being a little sore I escaped and injury, my car was totaled. The impact of the accident broke the back rest of my seat causing it to lie flat and onto the back seat, saving me from a likely concussion as I jolted forward and back from the impact of the accident.
If roads were privately run, the business would determine the rules of the road. And those rules would actually be enforced. And the roads would be secured.
However this is sadly not the case, and we have the tragedy of the commons. Where everyone is free to use the roads and do whatever they want. Not even a law will stop people from acting irresponsibly.
So stop fooling yourselves into trying to cure a symptom (texting) when the disease is the ownership itself.
Why do people do something that they themselves know is dangerous, and down right stupid. This act has killed so many innocent drivers, because of texting. People know the consequences, less then a split second and you could be in another lane, or verring off of the highway or freeway, or hitting the car in front of you, or to the side, it takes less then a split second. A car itself is a weapon in the wrong hands we all know this don't we. Now add someone not paying attention to the road, texting, that is all it takes, to hit someone head on. Don't do it, or you may be the person who suffers the consequences of texting, or you may be the one to kill someone innocent. If it is so dang important to you to text, pull off the side of the road. Other lives depend on the balance of someone who is texting while driving.
we all agree that texting while driving can be stupid. However, many people do it every day, and only a tiny percent of a tiny fraction have an incident with it.
If we are going to make a huge deal out of an accident b.c of texting we might as well ban automobiles all together. There were deadly accidents before texting, in case you people hadn't read the newspapers back in the day.
I hate to sound crude , I haven't read the links in the OP, and I am not making this post out to be an emotional strive to legislate like others. I am only stating reason and logic.
Location: Georgia, on the Florida line, right above Tallahassee
10,471 posts, read 15,831,906 times
Reputation: 6438
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1bright_future
we all agree that texting while driving can be stupid. However, many people do it every day, and only a tiny percent of a tiny fraction have an incident with it.
If we are going to make a huge deal out of an accident b.c of texting we might as well ban automobiles all together. There were deadly accidents before texting, in case you people hadn't read the newspapers back in the day.
I hate to sound crude , I haven't read the links in the OP, and I am not making this post out to be an emotional strive to legislate like others. I am only stating reason and logic.
The article does take a few seconds to read. Your logic makes some sense, I suppose. You are arguing for people to have the right to choose to be distracted and kill people in the process.
If I follow your argument, we should ban automobiles because some people drive drunk or stoned. And lawn mowers, for that matter. Stoner mowing!
I think the law against this should be the same as a DUI. That would deter someone. Then again, eating a sandwich can be distracting. I've eaten a lot of sandwiches in my car. Drank sodas, too. Texting someone involves too much brain power. I took cell phone calls in my car when my job required me to have one. I pulled off into a parking lot, though.
I wonder if anyone has ever driven in rough weather with a partner or kids, and told them not to talk while you drive. Or turned the radio off when things got rough. Maybe that is just me.
I found it enlightening that you assume people don't read things when you say you didn't read the link.
Distracted driving, regardless of the activity causing distraction, is selfish and dangerous behavior.
Cars are lethal weapons and if a person is not willing to accept the gravity of the responsibility with all that entails, just as though he/she were carrying a loaded firearm, then they have no business behind the wheel, period.
1bright_future, if you text and drive your future may not be so bright as you think. The person you kill might not be yourself but someone's mother, father, daughter, son, grandparent or love. Are you willing to take responsibility for that? Wise up and don't make excuses for bad behavior.
The article does take a few seconds to read. Your logic makes some sense, I suppose. You are arguing for people to have the right to choose to be distracted and kill people in the process.
If I follow your argument, we should ban automobiles because some people drive drunk or stoned. And lawn mowers, for that matter. Stoner mowing!
I think the law against this should be the same as a DUI. That would deter someone. Then again, eating a sandwich can be distracting. I've eaten a lot of sandwiches in my car. Drank sodas, too. Texting someone involves too much brain power. I took cell phone calls in my car when my job required me to have one. I pulled off into a parking lot, though.
I wonder if anyone has ever driven in rough weather with a partner or kids, and told them not to talk while you drive. Or turned the radio off when things got rough. Maybe that is just me.
I found it enlightening that you assume people don't read things when you say you didn't read the link.
You are not understanding my first post in the thread. No law is going to stop this from happening. Just as drunk driving still happens by the minute.
Private roads are the only thing that will stop his almost completely. It is the tragedy of the commons we are dealing with. There is no way to solve the issue of texting on "public" roads.
I found it enlightening that you think just because you can't talk and drive that someone else doesn't have that ability. It's a skill like anything else, and we shouldn't make laws just to make illogical persons happy.
1bright_future, if you text and drive your future may not be so bright as you think. The person you kill might not be yourself but someone's mother, father, daughter, son, grandparent or love. Are you willing to take responsibility for that? Wise up and don't make excuses for bad behavior.
my phone doesn't even allow texts currently. You guys are not even arguing with my stated points, you are still just using a straw man argument.
Uh...texting while driving just makes no sense unless you want to do it oin the middle of the desert.
I realize that this message falls on deaf ears and actually few of those who would do texting/driving...these 'ppl' don't frequent these fora but are in another space of the 'tech' world all their own.
IMO ALL accidents should be investigated to determine if texting OR phone use was a factor (by accessing the records of the drivers phone/texting device)... If it is determined to be a factor, penalties should be like DUI and insurance actions (increased rates...possibly no payment of drivers property damage etc) should also result.
I also acknowledge this is unlikely to happen because of powerful forces such as telecom lobbies who encourage texting and 'apps' etc. that drive profits, coupled with a techie culture fascinated with being able to say 'hey where are you now' at 70 mph in traffic ....and being self important enough to think they should tell Twitter where THEY are now...and thinking that because they scored well on parlor video road race game they can control a real vehicle in traffic while they do something else that requires their attention.
Anyone notice the increase in "unexplained single car accidents" and "crossed over the median" accidents in the last few years ? Keep an eye on the daily papers and local news and see if you do.
Oh and be sure to wear your seat belts at all times and don't assume the other car will stop or stay in its lane. .....
Good luck to all.
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