It’s horrible that this happened...
but honestly.. would it have made a difference if she was eating a big mack, tuning the radio, or checking her makeup when she crashed?
There is an endless list of things which can distract you from driving, why the focus on this? oh yeah... because it’s new, and new is scary.
I think texting is much more of a distraction than those other things.
When I say “texting”, I mean actually typing and sending texts, not glancing quickly at an incoming text or at your gps, etc.
Exactly. Or searching for a dropped lipstick or paying attention to the 9 inch flat screen in the dashboard or any number of other distractions. I almost got smacked twice the other day by some assclown on his phone. Mrs. rktman was out the window yelling at him. LOL! She’s gonna get my ass kicked one of these days. Then again I’ve seen cops on their phones while driving too. But they’re “trained” pros. Right?
you are correct, but if i had to put them in order of how much they distract you, i would put texting at number one
I tyhought it was harmless myself, at first... until i looked up from a text once and saw a mailbox and ditch dead ahead of me.
I swore off texting while driving and will not do it. it scared the crap out of me at how MUCH i was distracted
I think texting is more distracting than almost any other activity. It distracts your mind as you carry out a conversation, it distracts your eyes to read, and your hands to write. Also those distractions go on for greater lengths of time than say taking a bite or changing the radio station. I can think of few activities that require more of one's attention other than actually driving.
I see no need for additional laws as we have statutes for distracted driving but texting while on the road is probably more foolish than drinking and driving.
I think it’s the ubiquity that’s really causing it. Cellphones are everywhere, and texting is one of their primary uses, and these accidents are happening a lot.
Actually, texting is the worst of the distractions.
I watched a guy have an accident because he leaned forward to fiddle with the CD player.
Maybe the real difference is not the technology but the sense of entitlement that people, especially young people, possess nowadays.
On the road when I see someone looking down at their groin while driving I honk as policy. Whatever they are doing is not driving related.
And yeah, it’s mostly chicks who do this and meander across lanes. Their parents failed.
I believe nothing quite engages a driver to the extent texting does, and I think stats might bare that out.
It seems a conversation and/or texting can totally remove drivers from their surroundings.
People have been doing those things for years. I even knew someone who crashed while tuning his radio. But it is only recently that distracted driving seems to have become such a major problem. And it is quite common now to spot people who are driving in a screwed-up fashion while talking or texting on their phones.
Texting takes a person’s eyes off the road
MUCH longer than eating, drinking, or tuning the radio. (And radios no longer require “tuning.”)
Uhm, no. It’s because text messaging removes your concentration and attention from the road for MUCH longer periods than any of the activities you mention.
Look at the size of the viewscreen and keyboard on a phone. Texting and driving is like reading the newspaper on microfiche and writing a letter to the editor simultaneously. All at 70 mph.
Not conducive to overall road safety, ya think?
Texting is much more distracting than any of the things you mentioned.
Well I assume that putting on makeup is distracting (I never wear makeup) but even then you can flick your eyes from the mirror to the road and back again endlessly.
The very act of typing induces you to stay focused on the phone until you finish your text. And at +70MPH you are covering the length of a football field in less than 3 seconds. A lot can go wrong in a fraction of that distance. And then there’s those pesky stop signs and red lights...
Texting is a good way to die. That’s your business if you do it....except you are likely to also kill innocent people.
The difference is that people think that it’s terminally offensive not to respond to a text the instant that it arrives.
All those other things you cited are optional and can wait, but that text MUST be answered right away.