[Curve63049]

taddley wrote:

Finally, see below.

I've read some materials suggesting that Insurance companies have determined that the best predictor of whether a person is *likley* to have an automobile accident in the future is the number of past accident that person has been involved in - regardless of the person's attributed fault for those past accidents.

That is, a person who has had several accidents in the past - even though not his/her fault - is *likely* to have more accidents in the future.

I'm not saying it's true (or that I'm convinced by the research) . . . just tossing it out there.

[taddley]

Oooo ... Curve, good point!

Based upon this data, we should quickly move to enact legislation that makes it illegal for anyone to continue to drive that has had more than 3 accidents in two years. Lifetime ban kind of thing. Don't you think?

I swear, these people who think they are entitled to drive just burn me up.

[Curve63049]

Lifetime ban kind of thing. Don't you think?

Not only that . . . but because *men* have more accidents than woman, our roads would be safer if men didn't drive at all.

And people with low credit scores - they have more accidents than people with high credit scores!! Let's get them off the road too. To drive on our roads, you have to have a credit score of 800 or better.

And people who drive a low number of miles per year have fewer accidents than people who drive a lot miles per year - so, to save lives and protect property, you can only drive 10,000 miles per year.

Yes, we live in much, much different world if ALL we consider is the benefit of enacting a law that reduces accidents and saves lives.

By the way, this is an interesting read discussing the argument that past driver fault (i.e., negligence) is predictively irrelevant to future automobile accidents.

http://www.centspermilenow.org/Reprints/753.pdf

[Blkbear]

That was said about the seat belt law as well. As far as other distractions are concerned - studies have shown that cell use when driving equates to drinking and driving. At some point laws need to be made for the common good - I believe this is one that desperately needs to be enacted.

With the seat belt law, you have to get pulled over for a driving infraction, or something else, before you get tagged for not wearing a seat belt, which means people still drive un-belted, with the strap just pulled over to look like it's buckled. I know folks that will never buckle up, because they think it's their right not to. And if they were pulled over would rather pay the fine, than buckle up.

Talking to kids is one of the most distracting things a person can do in a car.
But there will never be a law outlawing talking to people that happen to be in your car.

If talking on the phone equals drinking and driving, according to those studies, then talking to anyone in the car has to be the same, especially with head turning to face the person being spoken to (which most people do). I would say that there are far more people talking to passengers than have ever talked on cell phones.

Granted I have seen a few cell phone drivers weaving in their lanes, but I have seen many more drivers talking, fighting or being very animated with their hands as they talk to the people in their cars. I still say distracted driving is distracted driving, no matter what the cause of the distraction, be it your kids, your pets or hangnails. I won't even count the food and drink related crashes as well as lane weaving I have witnessed, due to distracted driving.

Personally I don't want the police looking for just cell phone drivers. I want them looking for ANYONE that is driving in an distracted and unsafe manner.

And to me, if your head is not facing the road in front of you and is bobbing below your trunk line (as viewed from the rear), your distracted.

[Blkbear]

Not only that . . . but because *men* have more accidents than woman, our roads would be safer if men didn't drive at all.

And people with low credit scores - they have more accidents than people with high credit scores!! Let's get them off the road too. To drive on our roads, you have to have a credit score of 800 or better.

And people who drive a low number of miles per year have fewer accidents than people who drive a lot miles per year - so, to save lives and protect property, you can only drive 10,000 miles per year.

Yes, we live in much, much different world if ALL we consider is the benefit of enacting a law that reduces accidents and saves lives.

By the way, this is an interesting read discussing the argument that past driver fault (i.e., negligence) is predictively irrelevant to future automobile accidents.

http://www.centspermilenow.org/Reprints/753.pdf

It's really too bad that with the laws already on the books, that people without drivers licenses can still drive. Repeated convicted drunk/impaired drivers can and do still drive, until pulled over again, and again and again.

[minnesota_yoda]

I say we increase speed limits excessively in high density areas to discourage people from being able to do anything but romp on the gas and scream with both white knuckles squeezing the life out of the steering wheel.

[LGillyBR]

This issue is worse that Drinking and Driving.
Drunk Drivers are typically looking at the road - texting takes your eyes completely off the road - you wont eve know what you have hit!!??

[T�nis]

I drive down the road while on skype video calls all the time. I also use my Bb, sometimes with Bluetooth, sometimes without BT, sometimes on speakerphone.

How many people would like to wager that the pigs and other "important" government jerks would be exempt? Or, if they were not outright exempt, that they would be exempt by virtue of the fact that they don't give themselves, their families, and their other cronies tickets, as is the case now with speeding and other offenses. Some of the worst offenders I witness on the roads are cops. Following too close, failing to signal, speeding -- I see cops doing these things regularly.

Anyway, if such an idiotic rule were to go into effect, I would make sure that I stare at every piece of tail I see walking, while I drive, and that I weave excessively behind the rule's proponents while doing it. I don't care much for the nanny state or for the nervous Nellies that worship it.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[txaggie84]

This issue is worse that Drinking and Driving.
Drunk Drivers are typically looking at the road - texting takes your eyes completely off the road - you wont eve know what you have hit!!??

I agree.. Just yesterday a lady in Houston was sentenced for an accident which resulted in death and recieved 30days, 10yr probation and lost Dl for 10 years.. for being on the phone at the time... harsher than most DWI's.

people just need to stay away from both....Nothing is that improtant that it cant wait,, and if it is, pull the **** over...

[txaggie84]

I drive down the road while on skype video calls all the time. I also use my Bb, sometimes with Bluetooth, sometimes without BT, sometimes on speakerphone.

How many people would like to wager that the pigs and other "important" government jerks would be exempt? Or, if they were not outright exempt, that they would be exempt by virtue of the fact that they don't give themselves, their families, and their other cronies tickets, as is the case now with speeding and other offenses. Some of the worst offenders I witness on the roads are cops. Following too close, failing to signal, speeding -- I see cops doing these things regularly.

Anyway, if such an idiotic rule were to go into effect, I would make sure that I stare at every piece of tail I see walking, while I drive, and that I weave excessively behind the rule's proponents while doing it. I don't care much for the nanny state or for the nervous Nellies that worship it.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

May not be a problem up there, but try driving in Houston, LA, ChI. etc.. I do believe that it should be state to state. Howerever even if the Fed govt doesnt make it law, they can make all states adopt one or they will lose highway money...saw that with the speed limit....

[Radius]

I drive down the road while on skype video calls all the time. I also use my Bb, sometimes with Bluetooth, sometimes without BT, sometimes on speakerphone.

How many people would like to wager that the pigs and other "important" government jerks would be exempt? Or, if they were not outright exempt, that they would be exempt by virtue of the fact that they don't give themselves, their families, and their other cronies tickets, as is the case now with speeding and other offenses. Some of the worst offenders I witness on the roads are cops. Following too close, failing to signal, speeding -- I see cops doing these things regularly.

Anyway, if such an idiotic rule were to go into effect, I would make sure that I stare at every piece of tail I see walking, while I drive, and that I weave excessively behind the rule's proponents while doing it. I don't care much for the nanny state or for the nervous Nellies that worship it.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Skype video call while driving? You need to curb that. I've almost been nailed a few times on crosswalks with people texting, I can't imagine video.

[T�nis]

Skype video call while driving? You need to curb that. I've almost been nailed a few times on crosswalks with people texting, I can't imagine video.

Skype, yahoo, and AIM video calls, lol. So far, so good. Rhode Island to Florida and back, incident-free, not to mention tens of thousands of miles locally. Besides, I have insurance (the minimum required by law) in case I hit you, inflict suffering, and be deemed responsible for my negligence. (And, just to be on the safe side, I have no exposed assets either. Well, except my hide, should I be deemed criminally negligent if there's a fatality.) Anyway, I'll bet more people are hit by drunk, illegal aliens with no licenses and no insurance than by Bb enthusiasts. Nevertheless, all kidding aside, I will be careful.


"Posted while operating heavy machinery on public ways."

[wiBBred]

Even bluetooth and handsfree is distracting these days.

[sick_boy_88]

You can get pulled over and ticketed for being on the phone while driving in my area. With that said driving around town the worst offenders of this law are the police officers. There is always a cell phone glued to their ears while driving. WTF?

[ndnoutlaw]

Theres a difference between the people who are working professionals using their devices or laptops while traveling in a car and the iphone ***** doing an exagerated scroll finger motion while doing 80 on the freeway not paying attention to the construction zone.....the idiots who use their device for entertainment purposes are giving the rest of us a bad name. I say, NO BAN....we could use the population control....just get off your phone around me in traffic....

[Radius]

Skype, yahoo, and AIM video calls, lol. So far, so good. Rhode Island to Florida and back, incident-free, not to mention tens of thousands of miles locally. Besides, I have insurance (the minimum required by law) in case I hit you, inflict suffering, and be deemed responsible for my negligence. (And, just to be on the safe side, I have no exposed assets either. Well, except my hide, should I be deemed criminally negligent if there's a fatality.) Anyway, I'll bet more people are hit by drunk, illegal aliens with no licenses and no insurance than by Bb enthusiasts. Nevertheless, all kidding aside, I will be careful.


"Posted while operating heavy machinery on public ways."

I;ve never been hit by a drunk diver, but I got hit by a sober one and bumped twice by people who were on cell phones.

The dent I left in the doors each time gave them a little reminder to pay attention.

[ComfortablyNumb]

I think people should be able to talk on the phone while driving as long as they don't forget to pay attention to the road too.

[txaggie84]

I think people should be able to talk on the phone while driving as long as they don't forget to pay attention to the road too.

Talk and pay attention, ok, but texting and driving borders insanity......

[JoelTruckerDude]

I think people should be able to talk on the phone while driving as long as they don't forget to pay attention to the road too.

I agree with you completely except in this day and age only 1% do that while the other 99% don't pay attention at all.

[davidnc]

There is no law here restricting phone use that I am aware of yet and would be tough to enforce if there was .I am to sneaky to get spotted for that but I agree everyone can not do 2 things at once so some people shouldn't and those people should realize their limitations .I can tho so everyone can not be thrown into the same group.

PS: I can rubb the top of my head and my stomache at the same time as well

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[txaggie84]

^^^but can you do it standing on one foot??

[MissJennell#IM]

Well that would just have to be a sacrifice you were willing to support in order to keep our highways safer. Got a long trip coming up? bring a PSP and a pillow.

I would not support this law at all. If I am the passenger on a long trip, which I am quite often (5 to 15 hours or more), there is no way I am giving up my cell. I should be able to use it if I am the passenger. And what if the call is an important one? I should be able to answer it as the passenger in the car. Like, for example, when I was driving to work and my dad called to tell me my grandpa had a heart attack and was life flighted to a hospital 4 hours from where he lived and that I needed to go home and pack and get on the road to the hospital where he was. Or, when on that trip to the hospital (5 hours from me) when my dad called to tell me that my grandpa had died. I was his power of attorney and they couldn't do anything without me there. Or when I went into labor and was home by myself and needed to call my ex who happened to be the passenger in his sisters car at that time. Should he have not been able to answer the phone. I probably would have given birth by myself in my house. How safe is that? There is no way I would make the sacrifice of giving up my cell when a passenger in a car.

[ace587]

i use a BT headset while driving and its way better than holding your phone. i can freely talk with keeping my hands both on the wheel. seriously, unless you have godly driving on one hand you should have both on the steering wheel

[berryite]

A story out today that the National Safety Council is calling for legislation to ban *all* cell phone use while driving a vehicle - even "hands-free" calling. Thoughts and comments?

Mostly agree but it needs to be done on the state level, not the Federal level.

There are rural areas all over the country where using a cell phone really isn't much of a distraction. The guy tootling along on a back country road in Wyoming probably isn't much of a problem.

Here on the highways of Los Angeles it's a different story and *ALL* cell phone use should totally be banned by all drivers period. The roads here are simply too jammed and it requires 100% of your attention 100% of the time to drive here. There are too many cars on the roads and there are too many opportunities for serious and/or fatal accidents because of negligent driving related to distractions caused by cell phones. If no other law was passed, I'd pass a law requiring 48 hours of jail time for any driver sending text messages while driving in Metro LA.

States should handle this. In California, the legislature could identify high density areas like LA and the Silicon Valley where cell phone use is simply prohibited on the highways. In rural areas, using a cell phone could still be permitted.

If a black or white vote was required either banning all cell phone use altogether on the nation's highways anywhere ... I'd vote for it. There are simply too many idiots talking on their phones or text messaging and not paying attention to the road and they are causing far too many accidents.

[Xopher]

There are rural areas all over the country where using a cell phone really isn't much of a distraction. The guy tootling along on a back country road in Wyoming probably isn't much of a problem.

I would say it's not a problem for him - there would be no cell phone coverage out there.

All kidding aside, I definitely think that textign while driving should be banned for sure. I think a complete ban is a little overboard, but yes, in congested areas, it does make sense to either restrict it, or give authorities the ability to ticket someone who isn't paying full attention to what they are doing.

I know here in Tennessee, there is a state law that already has fines for driving while "distracted", which is open to pretty much any distraction that interfears with driving a vehicle. That pretty much includes cell phone use, shaving, applying makeups, changing clothes....

What gets me is the person we saw this weekend, driving down the road with her cell phone in one hand, and waving her other hand around while she talks (I see people talk with their hands all the time, but while on the cell phone... and driving...?). I'm sure she has mastered the art of knee steering, but it sure deas give you a strange feeling driving up beside them.... and she had a passenger.