Texting While Driving

[Nathan]

[FONT="Arial"]I do not text while I drive and other than to have my phone set so I can see who called, I don't answer it either. If it's important, I prefer to pull over if possible. The only thing I do is drink. I have one of those holders for soda or bottled water.

I didn't think much of it initially, but after working as a paramedic for well over five years now, I've responded first hand to accidents caused by such carelessness. It's the same with wrecks caused by drunk driving. It's just not worth risking the consequences. [/FONT]

[SunfallE]

[FONT="Lucida Sans Unicode"][COLOR="RoyalBlue"]I can honestly say I've never done texting while driving. And the few times I have answered a call, I have one of those blue tooth headsets. But I prefer to not use it. I may have gotten a commercial license and therefore quite a bit more training for driving, but I still think using it is foolish.

I may have more experience driving, but it doesn't take away or make one immune to how deadly driving while distracted can be. Though that could be on account of literally seeing some form of wreck, every single day, when I was a truck driver. I've seen some pretty gruesome wrecks. x_X[/COLOR][/FONT]

[Boo]

[size=1]You'll get a mighty fine if you try calling or texting in a car here. Just get a freaking hands-free set already.[/size]

[eleanor]

[font=trebuchet ms] I take calls while driving, I honestly have never felt like I would ever lose control of the car due to talking to someone via cell. shrug

I also text while driving, because I've memorized the texting pad and can just text with one hand on the cell, one hand on the wheel, and both eyes on the road.[/font]

[Kimmeh]

[COLOR="Green"][SIZE="2"][FONT="Tahoma"]The only time I'll text is if I'm at a red light, otherwise I'm pretty good about not using my phone on the road. I don't like talking on the phone while I'm driving because it feels awkward. o_O

A few months ago I saw the most idiotic texter though. There was a guy riding a Yamaha bike and easily going 60 mph. I looked over when I was passing him to notice he was texting. Yes. His hands were completely off the bike.

Parts of me wanted to honk my horn to scare the crap out of him, but then I probably would've gotten hit too. ^^;[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Raiha]

[quote name='Kimmeh'][COLOR="Green"][SIZE="2"][FONT="Tahoma"]Parts of me wanted to honk my horn to scare the crap out of him, but then I probably would've gotten hit too. ^^;[/FONT][/SIZE][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

[COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Oh no, see this is where you get Fast and the Furiousy on him. You get behind him going his speed and a little under, then you speed up quickly, honk the horn, and then ease off the brakes. His momentum should carry him forward and not backwards onto your car hood. Although that would probably mean you survive as long as you don't panic.
[/FONT][/COLOR]

[ChibiHorsewoman]

[color=#9933ff][font=monotype corsiva][size=4]My current blue tooth is a POS and I need to take it to a Verizon store to get it looked at. I'm really bad when it comes to talking while driving. I just did it tonight on my way home from work right down to driving with my elbow because I was putting my window up (I have power everything in that car so it wasn't THAT bad) I think that first ticket didn't really get me.[/color][/font][/size]

[Rachmaninoff]

[QUOTE=Raiha][COLOR="DarkOrchid"][FONT="Times New Roman"]Oh no, see this is where you get Fast and the Furiousy on him. You get behind him going his speed and a little under, then you speed up quickly, honk the horn, and then ease off the brakes. His momentum should carry him forward and not backwards onto your car hood. Although that would probably mean you survive as long as you don't panic.
[/FONT][/COLOR][/QUOTE]Why can I easily imagine you doing something like that if the opportunity came up? ^^ Though I have to admit, the few times I'm driving and I see people doing really stupid crap like that, the thought does cross my mind. I just don't do it since I figure they'll crash if I do.

[Red]

[quote name='ChibiHorsewoman'][color=#9933ff][font=monotype corsiva][size=4]My current blue tooth is a POS and I need to take it to a Verizon store to get it looked at. I'm really bad when it comes to talking while driving. I just did it tonight on my way home from work right down to driving with my elbow because I was putting my window up (I have power everything in that car so it wasn't THAT bad) I think that first ticket didn't really get me.[/color][/font][/size][/QUOTE]

If that's your attitude nothing you do in the car to distract yourself will be 'that bad' until you hit something, or someone.

[Aaryanna_Mom]

I don't text while driving for a couple of reasons. The first being that I rarely drive and the second being that until a few years ago, my vision was too poor to be able to read it well enough to even send a text message.

[Binxy]

[SIZE="1"]I can honestly say that I'm an extremely unsafe driver who takes precautions. I text, eat, talk on the phone, mess with the radio, do my hair, etc while driving. However, I do all of these things at low speeds and in low traffic.

If I'm on an unfamiliar road I usually avoid doing any of these things (unless I'm really hungry) and I keep two hands on the wheel and both eyes on the road. If I'm on a very familiar road, which usually lacks any traffic in my town, I lean back and take both hands off the wheel and put them behind my head, tuck one leg under me controlling the wheel, and the other on the accelerator. Needless to say, it scares the hell out of my friends when they're riding with me. And I'm usually texting and singing loudly while doing this. I usually decrease my speed by about 5-8 mph so if I do lose control, it wouldn't be nearly as hard to regain control even though it still would take a little work. Surprisingly, it's never happened.

Also in bad weather I don't do any of these. I know it's not the best thing but I'm too laid-back to actually care I think. Curse my non-chalantness.[/SIZE]

[ChibiHorsewoman]

[color=#9933ff][font=monotype corsiva][size=4]I probably can't redeem the fact that I have talked on my hand held device (because the hands free one is a POS) never mind just talked- I've held screaming rants where I repeatedly redial people.

I change radio stations too, or even CDs while going about 70 MPH (120 KMH) down the thruway. Sometimes I eat or drink (did that a lot when I was an HHA because some people didn't get that I was friggin' starving!) Of course I also read about 5 chapters of [B]Fallen Angels[/B] by [B]Walter Dean Meyers[/B] on the I-71 in Ohio, but that was because some crazy guy got out of his car and chased down an Ohio state trooper with an axe and traffic was at a snail's pace, but that dears is another story altogether.

I guess Red's right, until something besides the 100$ ticket happens to me I'll probably keep doing it because obviously money isn't a deterrant and I've seen pleanty of other people doing it.

On the bright side I'll be off the roads of Rochester from the 18th to the 27th of September and I don't feel right driving in the mountains of British Columbia. So you all can breathe easy then.[/color][/font][/size]

[AnbuKira13]

Eh I leave my phone on while driving but generally dont text unless I need to like if Im trying to find a place or whatever. As far as phone calls go, yeah I do it, though that generally happens by use of speakerphone since I dont see getting a blue tooth as worth it. Always hear stories of them dying or flipping out on people.

Biggest road annoyance for me are people who ride the tail end of my car, or women who find the most appropriate time to do their makeup is while going 45 with the mirror down so they can get that mascara on just right... >.>

[Rachmaninoff]

[quote name='ChibiHorsewoman][color=#9933ff][font=monotype corsiva][size=4]On the bright side I'll be off the roads of Rochester from the 18th to the 27th of September and I don't feel right driving in the mountains of British Columbia. So you all can breathe easy then.[/color][/font'][/size][/quote]Oh it's not a matter of breathing easier or wanting you off the roads. I can't speak for the others, but I'd hate to see anything happen to you, or anyone for that matter.

[John]

[quote name='Chabichou'][URL]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ttNgZDZruI[/URL][/quote] My prof showed that to my typography class a few days ago. I think that kind of advertising, well-meaning as it certainly is, is inappropriate, insulting, and maybe even morally questionable. Still, if some people really find it meaningful then far be it from me to condemn them for it. So needless to say, when the car crash turned into a pileup and I unthinkingly said "You've got to be kidding me" loud enough for at least a few people to hear, I felt like an *** for a while afterward. [spoiler]Seriously though, when the third car slammed into the other two I figured they may as well top it off by having a flaming helicopter smash into the wreckage from above. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU TEXT AND DRIVE.[/spoiler]

[Nathan]

[FONT="Arial"][quote name='John]My prof showed that to my typography class a few days ago. I think that kind of advertising, well-meaning as it certainly is, is inappropriate, insulting, and maybe even morally questionable. Still, if some people really find it meaningful then far be it from me to condemn them for it. So needless to say, when the car crash turned into a pileup and I unthinkingly said "You've got to be kidding me" loud enough for at least a few people to hear, I felt like an *** for a while afterward. [spoiler']Seriously though, when the third car slammed into the other two I figured they may as well top it off by having a flaming helicopter smash into the wreckage from above. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU TEXT AND DRIVE.[/spoiler][/quote]Maybe you'd like something like this a little better?

[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1M74j8LvX6k[/url]

I can see the point in the other, but at the same time, I prefer it to be realistic instead of being unnecessarily melodramatic to get a point across. Real life stories have better impact, in my opinion.[/FONT]

[ChibiHorsewoman]

[quote name='Nathan'][FONT="Arial"]I can see the point in the other, but at the same time, I prefer it to be realistic instead of being unnecessarily melodramatic to get a point across. Real life stories have better impact, in my opinion.[/FONT][/QUOTE]

[color=#9933ff][font=monotype corsiva][size=4]If you prefer real life stories all you have to do is look at my local news (rochester New York) two years ago when five recent high school graduates died because the driver of one of the SUVs they were in was texting while driving.

New York State is making texting while driving illegal as of the first of October of this year. But the problem with the state wide law is that the officer has to spot another traffic violation before issuing a ticket for texting while driving. This however isn't the case statewide and in Wayne County all the officer has to do is see you texting while driving.[/color][/font][/size]

[Nathan]

[FONT="Arial"][QUOTE=ChibiHorsewoman][color=#9933ff][font=monotype corsiva][size=4]If you prefer real life stories all you have to do is look at my local news (rochester New York) two years ago when five recent high school graduates died because the driver of one of the SUVs they were in was texting while driving.

New York State is making texting while driving illegal as of the first of October of this year. But the problem with the state wide law is that the officer has to spot another traffic violation before issuing a ticket for texting while driving. This however isn't the case statewide and in Wayne County all the officer has to do is see you texting while driving.[/color][/font][/size][/QUOTE]I don't need to watch the news, I work as a paramedic and often see it first hand. Accidents caused by carelessness and irresponsibly behavior, texting being one of those behaviors. There was one last month, close to where I live, where two people died in a head on collision since one driver was texting at the time and didn't realize that she was in the wrong lane. [quote name='Chabichou][COLOR="#004a6f"]This may seem overdramatic, but it gets the point across. The fact of the matter is, serious car crashes like this can happen, especially when the driver is impaired. Some people only have minor car crashes, or no one gets hurt, but something worse can happen, and that is what the main concern is. [I]Texting impairs a driver even more than drinking[/I']. People need to understand how serious the consequences can be.[/COLOR][/quote]You don't need theatrics or drama to get the point across. Real life stories work better because it's not a case of 'this [U]might[/U] happen' but rather one of 'this [B][U]DID[/U][/B] happen'

I don't need to understand it myself, since responding to accidents is what I do for a living. However for others, I feel it's important to keep the advice and warnings grounded in reality. Fake melodramatic videos lack the impact of those true stories or videos where people really [I]did[/I] die or get hurt on account of someone's careless behavior. [/FONT]

[ChibiHorsewoman]

[color=#9933ff][font=monotype corsiva][size=4]Everytime I see someone texting while driving I want to slap them. Like yesturday on my way to work when I was waiting for a light after getting off the expressway. I saw a lady in the car next to me in the DRIVER SEAT texting while driving. I wanted to get out and slap her before going to work. Instead I just hurried on my way away from her because I didn't want to be near her.

And yes I've stopped talking on my hand held while driving. :animesmil I'm trying to be a good girl now.

Nathan- The story I was talking about from where I live was big enough to make national news. I don't doubt you've seen aome terrible accidents as a paramedic. I went with my cousin once on some EMT calls- not pretty.

The most recent one I can think of though for my area was that guy in Buffalo talking on one phone and texting on another. Thank God no one was hurt in there. [/color][/font][/size]

[Mokona]

Sadly I am guilty of texting and driving. But like Lunox i can text without actually looking at the keypad too. I consider myself a good driver, and i can still be watching the road and have one hand on the wheel. If i catch myself looking down though i will stop texting, so I make sure it's not a priority over paying attention to driving.

[Rachmaninoff]

[quote name='ChibiHorsewoman][color=#9933ff][font=monotype corsiva][size=4]Everytime I see someone texting while driving I want to slap them. [/color][/font'][/size][/quote]I know the feeling, I saw someone earlier today with three kids in the back seat texting while she was driving. That's a disaster just waiting to happen.