Texting While Driving

[Rachmaninoff]

I've always considered texting while driving a bad idea. The few times that I do drive, I always ignore my phone. I figure it's just not worth the potential problems that can occur, like this deal here:

[URL="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32232659/ns/technology_and_science-wireless/"][U]Cops: Texting, talking tow-trucker hits car, pool[/U][/URL]

It's pretty easy to do around town since most trips in the car are pretty short, it's only when I'm off on a long trip that I'm more tempted to actually answer a call. In cases like that, I'll actually turn my phone off so I can't get a call. Mainly because I agree with this paticular article here:

[URL="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32106221/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/"][U]Hey stupid! Drop the cell phone and drive[/U][/URL]

So what about the rest of you? Do you use that phone while your driving? Or do you turn it off instead?

[Raiha]

[COLOR="darkorchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Well, unlike the majority of the population, I drive a stickshift car. That means that in traffic, if I have a phone in one hand and I need to downshift into a turn, I'm...out of hands. I'm too short to feasibly use my knee to steer like some people do.

So in short, I only use my phone when I'm on long lonely stretches of highway that are relatively straight. I don't like using it while I'm doing city driving with a lot of turns. And I can't text for crap even when I'm not in motion so unless I'm stuck in completely stalled traffic on the highway or at a stoplight behind a few dozen cars... I usually don't touch my phone. And no, I don't have a bluetooth because I'm not made of money. I had one of those wire things for the headset, but my car's A/C broke down so there's no point because my friends can't hear me via the speaker because it sounds like I'm driving through a wind tunnel.

Alas.[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Horendithas]

[FONT="Arial"][COLOR="Indigo"]Well I'd kind of need a cell phone for that, but when I finally break down and get one, I don't plan on using it while driving. Nathan would never let me hear the end of it if I did. lol[/COLOR][/FONT]

[DeathKnight]

[color=crimson]I can talk on the phone adequately, but I try to keep it to a minimum. Txting I only do at red lights since, well, I've dealt with avoiding cars whose drivers are texting while driving - those guys drive terribly, jesus.

Haha, my best buddy received two tickets for running the same stop light twice in two different cars in under two weeks - both times he ran the light while talking to me on the cellphone.

Poor guy.[/color]

[Petie]

[COLOR=Blue]I'll occasionally answer a call while driving (though I need to stop doing it since it's now a primary offense in NJ) as I tend to drive with one hand anyway but texting while behind the wheel I tend to stray away from. It just seems like a terrible idea - you're usually looking at the phone while writing a text message and that means it's very easy to miss anything that may be in front of your car.

On a related note, I believe texting while driving is also a primary offense in NJ now, which I fully agree with.
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[Cat]

I can barely texts while walking. Me texting while driving would be a disaster. I don't answer the phone while driving either. Luckily for me rarely do I get called on the cell or texts nowadays. Most people just call my home phone and I get back to them.

[akemiii]

[SIZE="1"]I can hardly even take my hand away from the wheel to adjust the air conditioning in my car (although this is partly just due to nerves), so I think it would be quite a disaster if I tried to text. If I really need to talk to someone, I have a bluetooth earpiece~ >.<;[/SIZE]

[Aaryanna]

[FONT="Tahoma"][COLOR="DarkGreen"]I don't. I've seen too many people driving like complete morons while talking or texting. o_O

One guy, side swiped my sister's car since he was too busy playing with his phone. So yeah, no calls or texting for me.[/COLOR][/FONT]

[silpheedpilot]

[SIZE="1"][COLOR="SlateGray"]Yep. I call and text and mess around on my phone when I drive. Who cares? If I get into a wreck, I get into a wreck. I'll deal with it when it happens but so far I've stayed on the road and paid enough attention.[/COLOR][/SIZE]

[DeathKnight]

[quote name='silpheedpilot'][SIZE="1"][COLOR="SlateGray"]Yep. I call and text and mess around on my phone when I drive. Who cares? If I get into a wreck, I get into a wreck. I'll deal with it when it happens but so far I've stayed on the road and paid enough attention.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/QUOTE]

[color=crimson]There have been plenty of deaths related to texting while driving.

You know, the kind of thing you get convicted for.[/color]

[Yookie1]

I can text without looking at the phone but I still will hardly ever text or talk while driving(unless I'm getting directions.) It only takes a second for tragedy to strike.....

[Sangome]

[SIZE="1"]My dad texts while driving all the time.

Scares the crap out of me, especially if I'm in the car with him.[/SIZE]

[Kenso]

[quote name='silpheedpilot'][SIZE=1][COLOR=SlateGray]Yep. I call and text and mess around on my phone when I drive. Who cares? If I get into a wreck, I get into a wreck. I'll deal with it when it happens but so far I've stayed on the road and paid enough attention.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/quote]

[COLOR=SeaGreen][FONT=Comic Sans MS][SIZE=1]The problem there is that if you've gotten in a wreck, chances are decent someone else is part of it, and they may not have been doin' a thing wrong.

That said, I do not text while driving, ever. I didn't when I lived in PA, and I certainly don't in AZ (as they apparently passed a law 2 or 3 years ago making it illegal). Just seems stupid. I have been known to talk on the phone, but I do not own a stickshift. Plan on making my next car one, and then I'll make sure to start remembering my Bluetooth headset, because driving a stick while talking on the phone is just plain stupid (and scary as hell for the passengers, as I've learned, having been in the car when both my father and brother have done it).
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[SaiyanPrincessX]

[SIZE="1"]I do neither. If I get a call while I'm driving, then they will have to wait.

I hate when people talk on the phone and drive, or text...especially texting. Its one of the stupidest things a person can do while on the road.

I was driving to the mall with my brother and I was exited 71 onto 480 and the lane we were in became an exit, and I wasn't able to get over because the moron in the car beside me wouldn't move(as he was talking on his phone), and I had no room in front or behind him so I was forced to get off on that exit and basically do a loop to get back onto 480..I was furious. Idiot, pay attention to the damn road.[/SIZE]

[Akieen Cloud]

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][COLOR="Navy"]I only txt if its on a road I know like the back roads around my home, and if I'm talking, its on a one of those hands free head sets they have now. [/COLOR][/FONT]

[Charles]

[quote name='silpheedpilot'][SIZE="1"][COLOR="SlateGray"]Yep. I call and text and mess around on my phone when I drive. Who cares? If I get into a wreck, I get into a wreck. I'll deal with it when it happens but so far I've stayed on the road and paid enough attention.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/QUOTE]

A sardonic reply--one I would hope is meant only to be satire.

As Kenso pointed out, it's important not to view the situation too one-sidedly. A car wreck also involves another party. It's unfair to risk other peoples' lives for the sake of carelessness. Children could be involved. Furthermore, as a driver, I have learned to drive defensively. Never underestimate the stupidity of other people. I have had to avoid people running out into the street, crossing when they were not supposed to. People, without looking, slowly pull out of parking lots while traffic is coming at them full speed. If you're not watching carefully, you could easily take a life. Even if it is not your fault, I still can't imagine that being an easy experience to deal with.

People tend to neglect the weight of responsibility that accompanies driving. I have seen people fixing their hair, eating meals, texting, driving drunk--and they probably have an "I'll deal with it when it happens" attitude. However, when "dealing with it" involves paralysis, or the death of one or more people, those individuals will probably find that "dealing with it" will be harder than they bargained for.

If one must communicate via phone while driving, a hands-free device is probably the way to go. Either that or just pull over.

[Mr. Maul]

[FONT=Verdana][SIZE=1][COLOR=DimGray]What the hell is a cellphone?














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[Zen]

[color=royalblue][size=1]

I hate to say it, but I do often.

But that doesn't top the time that I watched my Sergeant text while behind the wheel of a military humvee.

Respect.[/color][/size]

[silpheedpilot]

[quote name='Charles']A sardonic reply--one I would hope is meant only to be satire.[/QUOTE]

[SIZE="1"][COLOR="SlateGray"]Sorry Charlie.

Granted, this does beg the question that regardless of using a cell phone and despite how many members here are, basically, saying; 'Ooooohhhh my god, like, texting on the cell phone and calling people while driving is SOOOOOOOO idiotic!' how many of them eat, drink, mess with their radio stations, or do other things while driving. It's not just cell phones that can take your attention away.

What's that in my teeth?
Does my hair look okay?
Man, I really want to take a bite out of this cheese burger.
Uh oh, I dropped something.
I lost my way. Let me just remap my coordinates on the GPS.

Basically, like a cell phone, these things can be done at a stop but rarely are. Let's face it. Most people, maybe not you upstart citizens, take driving for granted and/or are in a hurry and/or, like me, just plain don't care.
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[Rachmaninoff]

[quote name='silpheedpilot][SIZE="1"][COLOR="SlateGray"]Basically, like a cell phone, these things can be done at a stop but rarely are. Let's face it. Most people, maybe not you upstart citizens, take driving for granted and/or are in a hurry and/or, like me, just plain don't care.[/COLOR'][/SIZE][/quote]This is true, most people always assume that they are fine doing it and that only the other person sucks.

It's easy for me to avoid since I share a car with other siblings and use our light rail system for everything else. So yeah, I'm guilty of doing all of that when I'm using that. But I'm not driving so to speak, so I don't quite see that in the same light.

Also, back in 2006, some idiot doing this kind of crap, ran a red light and wrecked the car my friends and I were in. I got a broken leg and multiple surgeries to correct it as a result. So sure I'm going to say it's dumber than hell, because I got to pay the price for someone else's stupidity.

[Kenso]

[quote name='silpheedpilot'][SIZE=1][COLOR=SlateGray]Granted, this does beg the question that regardless of using a cell phone and despite how many members here are, basically, saying; 'Ooooohhhh my god, like, texting on the cell phone and calling people while driving is SOOOOOOOO idiotic!' how many of them eat, drink, mess with their radio stations, or do other things while driving. It's not just cell phones that can take your attention away.[/COLOR][/SIZE][/quote]

[COLOR=SeaGreen][SIZE=1][FONT=Comic Sans MS]I'll admit I'm guilty on eating, but I don't put my food down, so there's no reason to look away from the road. I only drink at stop lights/signs. And my father got me in the habit of memorizing the exact setup of any vehicle I own, so I can actually adjust my radio stations and heat controls without looking at my radio (and I'm tall enough to reach my radio without moving in my seat).[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR] [COLOR=SeaGreen][SIZE=1][FONT=Comic Sans MS]I do pull over to use GPS when I need to though. And the only time I go after something I dropped is if it's rolling around underneath my feet, as having anything rolling around underneath your feet while you're driving is dangerous as hell,[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[ChibiHorsewoman]

[color=#9933ff][font=monotype corsiva][size=4]I hate to say it but even with the 100$ ticket I got last year, I still talk and drive. But hey at least I don't text and drive.... out of the parking lot. My state (New York) recently passed a ban on texting and driving- you'd've thought we'd've done it more recently seeing as two years ago six high school graduates died on a summer trip because one of them decided to text while driving. Coincidentally you'd think that yokel from Buffalo would've known better than to try to use two cell phones at the same time. But sadly common sense isn't all that common (else I'd've stop talking on my phone while driving after that pesky ticket) and you have to really pay attention.

I talk and drive- my blue tooth is crap and won't re-connect anyway and my speakerphone is useless when I have the air conditioning on. But honestly I've never seen much of a problem when I do that- I put on my cruise control and keep one hand on the wheel. I'm probably pretty bad to brag about this and am most likely jinxing myself, but I drive better talking on my phone than some people drive with both hands on the damn wheel!

You know what? This post just made me want to get my blue tooth looked at. I'm gonna need it in about two weeks when I meet up with my friend and her boyfriend then in two months when I drive four hours to see her. I shouldn't really talk on the phone with my daughter in the car- which by the way I don't do. See I do have redeeming qualities.

As for eatting while driving- I did that when I was a home aide, but now unless I'm extremely hungry I can wait til I get to work. But I DO drink and drive. My drink of choice is usually an iced green tea latte or juice or water. (Had ya going didn't I? I'm usually rushing from place to place so I'm taking meds in the car and I need something to wash them down. The thing that scares me though is people who read and drive or apply make up and drive and once while driving through Cinncinnati I saw a guy SHAVING while driving. Just wake up earlier for Christ Sake![/color][/font][/size]

[Horendithas]

[FONT="Arial"][COLOR="Indigo"][quote name='ChibiHorsewoman][color=#9933ff][font=monotype corsiva][size=4]I shouldn't really talk on the phone with my daughter in the car- which by the way I don't do. See I do have redeeming qualities.[/color][/font'][/size][/quote]Just one question really, who takes care of her should something happen to you? [/COLOR][/FONT]

[ChibiHorsewoman]

[quote name='Indi'][FONT="Arial"][COLOR="Indigo"]Just one question really, who takes care of her should something happen to you? [/COLOR][/FONT][/QUOTE]

[color=#9933ff][font=monotype corsiva][size=4]Oh lord... you know I don't like to think of it.... her father would most likely get her in a court case even though my parents have helped raise her for the past nearly five years :animeblus But I don't really have it all sorted out.

That's it that Blue tooth is getting back in commission tomorrow.[/color][/font][/size]

[Sabrina]

[FONT="Tahoma"]I'm guilty of answering a call while driving, though I try to avoid doing it, but I never text while I'm behind the wheel. I have if someone else is driving, but not if I am. o_O I'd have to look, but I'm pretty sure texting and driving is prohibited here. Even if it's unlikely that you'd be caught, I rather not risk that kind of distraction while I'm driving. [/FONT]