Danger of USING Digital devices while driving

[rudym]

I noticed some interesting and disturbing responses on a different forum / thread that was morphing so I am starting this thread in spyder land to address these issues straight up.

I feel and lots and lots of behavioral research agrees that:

People who fiddle with their phones and other gadgets while operating a vehicle are three things:

1) self absorbed

2) selfish and thinking only of themselves

3) dangerous to other people and themselves

As people whose lifes often cling to a fraction of a second we can ill afford to support (in any way) people who drive while distracted, especially with devices which take significant visual resources and shift them away from the primary task of operating a vehicle.

9 years ago I was hit by a car doing 50 mph from the year - she was texting. The damage as you might imagine was significant and life altering.

I am also a neuro-muscular therapist who works with accident victims everyday; and everyday these patients who have been seriously harmed tell me their tales of woe about being hurt by a distracted driver - primarily phone use / texting etc.. but fiddling with GPS devices or anything else that requires split focus of hand eye coordination is also part of the mix.

My daughter who was told "NO - texting while driving" did not heed my warning and slammed into the back of a car that pulled up short to avoid a blow that occurred in front of her, creatied a chain reaction that not only destroyed her right foot but several other people lives. for the last 7 years she has limped around pathetically and in pain - a horrible reminder that she could have easily prevented her pain and the pain she caused others by doing one of two things:

1) wait till you are off the road - meaning - pull over if it is that important, and it never is.
or
2) wait till you get home.

Science has shown over and over again that people who are fiddling with their digital devices while driving are every bit and sometimes more dangerous than drunk drivers - they used race car drivers in these tests to prove their point.

I realize that you can't change people who have these impulsive character flaws; the best we can do is make them aware of how dangerous they are behaving. Yes it is a behavior guided by a poor choice.

RANT:
If you are one of those people (WHO THINKS) you can operate a vehicle of any kind safely while playing with digital devices that require your eyes and hands - you are for warned that you are only fooling yourself mentally while putting yourself and others physically in harms way. It not if, rather just when.

It can wait - if it can't pull off the road.

Peace out

[Chupaca]

My GPS is in the frunk and I only take it out when needing to find an address. If traveling I only use audio. Phone is bluetoothed to the comm and requires no hands or visual. I feel if anyone needs to be instantly connected to what friends are saying and doing they should be passengers...:lecturef_smilie:

[rudym]

My GPS is in the frunk and I only take it out when needing to find an address. If traveling I only use audio. Phone is bluetoothed to the comm and requires no hands or visual. I feel if anyone needs to be instantly connected to what friends are saying and doing they should be passengers...:lecturef_smilie:

Enjoy the link:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbjSWDwJILs

[rudym]

http://www.nbcdfw.com/investigations/series/driven-to-distraction/Distractions-Lead-to-Frequent-Police-Crashes-in-Texas-164342516.html

[Bob Denman]

While I appreciate the message: you ARE "preaching to the choir"... :banghead:
It's getting this information out to the idiots who are so self-absorbed... that's the tough nut to crack! :gaah:

[SteveP]

I was rear ended in my full sized Ram truck 8 months ago .... by a 17 year old young man who admitted he was texting . I only ended up with a stiff neck and $3500 damage to my truck . If I was on my Spyder with my wife on the back ...... 3 lives changed drastically in an instant :(

[SPECTACUALR SPIDERMAN]

I don't have smart phone so i don't text, my phone & gps go into my sena & phone auto picks up on 2nd ring.

[Bob Denman]

Smart choice! :thumbup:

[bushrat]

While I appreciate the message: you ARE "preaching to the choir"... :banghead:
It's getting this information out to the idiots who are so self-absorbed... that's the tough nut to crack! :gaah:

Might help, though, if more people would RANT. Yes, there are idiots who can't seem to leave hand-held devices alone while driving and may never become convinced of their reckless behaviour, BUT, there are also a bunch of gutless/brainless politicians who won't take the legislative step to outlaw such stupid practices. At my last count, only 15 US states actually make it an offense to text or use a cell phone while driving. Rather incredible, given there is sufficient evidence showing human brains are just not capable of the multi-tasking ability required to do both safely at the same time. There are those who don't believe in helmets, either.

Somewhat like Steve P., I got rear-ended by a guy on a cell phone several years back. I was stopped at a light; he went half-way under my Dodge Caravan in his compact car. Tore my rear axle off, crushed my rear end, and accordion-ed his front almost to the windshield. He hit me hard enough to punch me 35' across an intersection; the whiplash was strong enough to actually break the metal tube side supports in my seat back. He got out and walked away dazed, still holding his phone and talking on it. I spent several months getting deep massage and chiropractic treatments, to say nothing of headaches and inability to work at my desk for weeks. Only good thing was that I had dropped off my daughter and her 3-week old baby only 5 minutes earlier. Glad they didn't have to get bounced about.

Rant on good people, and perhaps some political minds can be influenced for the better. Make texting/calling/using handheld devices illegal while driving; lay on the heavy fines. Perhaps that will help educate the ignorant and idiotic types.

[MercerLake]

I spent a second career of ten years as a Fire Service Captain attending many "accidents", and almost all of them involved either alcohol or cell phones or both! Any distraction at all, even spirited conversation slows down response time as much as being at or above the legal limit for alcohol.:yikes: Now add GPS and Pot to the mix and it becomes even more dangerous. :yikes::yikes:

[JayBros]

Nanny Government is a royal PITA, but distracted driving has become such a serious problem the Feds should dictate to the states that there will be no federal funds for roads until states pass: (1) mandatory hands free phone laws and, (2) minimum fine of $1,000 for first offense of hand use of a phone for anything​ and subsequent fines increasing in $1,000 increments.

[Bob Denman]

Rather than fines: why not just start with a year's loss of driving privileges? nojoke
Then: go to five years... :2thumbs:

[jcthorne]

The trouble with this topic is what YOU think is fiddling with a gadget, someone else thinks is a driving aide.

I get the whole texting while driving thing and agree with it.

On the other hand, is reading a digital speedometer wrong? How about the in dash display for the HVAC system?

There is a whole range of 'digital devices' along that scale. Where do you draw the line?


Google asked exactly that question when designing Android Auto. No action in android auto can allow more than 6 screen touches, including the one to open the app. Not sure its the right number but its the one they chose. Still, a diffecult question to answer. The world is not going back to an analog speedometer and a hot / cold lever in the dash.

[jcthorne]

Nanny Government is a royal PITA, but distracted driving has become such a serious problem the Feds should dictate to the states that there will be no federal funds for roads until states pass: (1) mandatory hands free phone laws and, (2) minimum fine of $1,000 for first offense of hand use of a phone for anything​ and subsequent fines increasing in $1,000 increments.


The trouble with that is, driver interfaces for phones are developing FAR faster than the onboard electronics that are only updated when you buy a new vehicle.

I can tell you unequivocally that using the combo of voice control and minimal screen taps of android auto to navigate is FAR and away safer that any attempt to use the abomination of a nav system that is Ford Sync in my wife's Explorer.

Any laws written around the devices will be obsolete long before it could be passed.

I think its better to just hold the driver responsible for the actions. No need for more outdated laws we do not enforce anyway.

[JayBros]

Rather than fines: why not just start with a year's loss of driving privileges? nojoke
Then: go to five years... :2thumbs:

Bob, I don't know how things are up in your neck of the woods but down here there are a lot of badasses who get their licenses revoked, DUI, etc., and it doesn't stop them from driving at all. Impoundment of the vehicle is a better solution but legislators and judges are too soft for such punishment to ever become law.

[Bob Denman]

Okay: we'll break every bone in both hands and wrists... :2thumbs: nojokenojokenojoke

[loisk]

We have a law against texting or using non-hands free phone while driving ... And heavy fines ... And gory ad campaigns

Doesn't seem to have changed the number of texting drivers I see... Sometimes a law is not the answer.

[JerryB]

Hi Lois,

Re: We have a law against texting or using non-hands free phone while driving

Here in Oregon the law was just revised to include any hand-held device. The previous law only mentioned making phone calls; people then argued that they were not making a call, they were Googling, etc.

I see as many today using hand-held as I did before the new laws; no reduction IMO.

It is what it is; and it is going to be a damned hard thing to change.

Jerry Baumchen

PS) Non-hand-held is legal here.

[loisk]

Did you see the new thingo where police can plug in to someone's phone, after they've pulled the driver over, and see whether they were texting, calling or googling?
According to the news I saw, this needs some kind of parliamentary approval due to privacy concerns.
They are talking about it here, too, with some debate...

Of course, we have speed cameras, red light cameras etc etc, but hardly any actual police cars on patrol, so ...

[Cleg]

Rather than fines: why not just start with a year's loss of driving privileges? nojoke
Then: go to five years... :2thumbs:
As much as I tend to agree with this thought, people in that situation don't care and will driven anyway. License be damned if needed. Same goes for those with a DUI...they don't care if they have a license they drive anyway so let's really get tough and when caught...hmmm

[WA5VHU]

If anyone hits me while texting and if I am still able to get to them I will give them a choice of which hole they want their phone shoved into, their mouth or the other end. They tried to kill me so I will give them their choice of how they want to die.

[vampyregirl]

This past Friday, a Michigan State University coach (I forget which sport, but it wasn't football) was "distracted driving" on US23. Ended up killing a mother and her 5 year old. Also involved a couple of other vehicles. He now has to live with this the rest of his life. Even when stuff like this happens, people will keep on using their phones, gps, etc while driving. Hell, I've even seen someone using a laptop computer (not the police) in their car while driving!!!

[PaladinLV]

I'm SOooooooo glad $$$ is being spent to research the . . . OBVIOUS!

AJ



I feel and lots and lots of behavioral research agrees that:

[ruralgirl]

Society's 24/7 umbilical cord to the almighty cell phone can have other consequences from the driver's seat. My friend, whose husband had been stressed and depressed for several months, was recently summoned to Child Protective Services for what, within several hours, would be retracted as totally false charges against her husband. Instead of waiting the 15 minutes that it took her to drive home so she could deliver the upsetting news in person, she hopped on her smart phone the moment she left the parking lot and proceeded to text her husband about the insane accusations.

It put him over the edge. As his texts became weird and then ceased, she suddenly realized where his brain was going. Gunning her truck to get home, she endangered everyone on the road. And then, running across the backyard to his workshop, she heard the single gun shot which instantly made her a widow and their 8 year old daughter fatherless.

[SteveP]

http://www.cp24.com/news/toronto-paramedic-partner-identified-as-2-killed-in-crash-near-haliburton-1.3505669