Cell phones and driving
 

I say its time to ban the practice.

I was almost killed by an idiot who was on his goddamn cell phone while driving.

Picture this:
I'm driving northbound on East Main Rd. in Portsmouth.I'm in the left lane approaching the McCorrie Lane light which is green for me.I see this guy in a gray BMW suv,he's on the phone.This %$%$%$%$%$%$%$ without even looking pulls out(right hand turn) and because he's doing this one handed can't make the turn ends up in the left lane.I had to pull a third laner into oncoming traffic to avoid this idiot.So I now slow it down to about 5mph so this ass would catch up to me but because he's such a coward he proceeds to drive even slower while putting on his turn signal to try to fake me out.Eventually he realizes that I'm not fooled and makes a left turn into the Cumby's across from St.Barnasba's Church,but I kept going because if I'd turned around I'd at the very least being held for vandalism because I would've crushed his phone and at the worst charged for murder because I would've plunged my filet knife into his freakin neck!I'm still kicking myself in the ass for not turning around.

I've had way to many incidents with idiots on their phones while driving and I'm %$%$%$%$ing tired of it.Its time to ban handheld phones while driving.

To the %$%$%$%$%$%$%$ who almost killed me:
If your pathetic life is so self-important that you need to talk while driving and put lives like mine at risk...GET A %$%$%$%$ING HANDS FREE UNIT!!!

Some people just don't get it Basswipe. Prob., for the best you didn't turn around.

Your signature is how I feel about this.

We have a law like that in Arizona but its for texting. Its not enforced till there is an accident. Still theres no excuse. The things I've seen people do on the road is unbelievable. Some people can't walk and chew gum at the same time and think nothing about putting a 4,000 pound car on auto pilot while they make a call. It must be an epidemic across the U.S.

It has nothing to do with the phones, or the use of headsets. There are a good percentage of people who can't talk and drive at the same time.

How many times have you been in a car with a driver who can't carry on a conversation without taking his/her eyes off the road, and turning their head to face you--while you sit there grabbing the edges of your seat as you close in on the car ahead of you?

When I was about 30 years younger, I was with someone who ran a cyclist into the weeds trying to light his pipe :rollem:

You folks are kidding yourselves if you think "hands free" is the answer......the problem is not the fact people are holding a phone....the problem is they "zone out" when they are speaking on the phone! You ever get on the phone in the car and drive about 10 minutes and when you arrive at your location you barely remember the ride????

It has everything to do with the phones.Your very last statement says it all Mike.Trying to light the pipe and driving with your knee is no different than trying to make a right hand turn onto a highway phone in one hand and the other trying to turn the wheel.No difference except puffing up while driving is illegal.

As far as your initial statement I know I can most certainly carry on a conversation with a passenger and keep both hands on the wheel and both eyes on the road,its called common sense.Common sense also dictates STAY OFF THE %$%$%$%$ING CELL WHILE DRIVING.My life is worth more than some a-holes conversation.Period

Negative BF.Both hands on the wheel and both eyes on the road is EVERYTHING!Nothing can substitute that.Nothing.

I've seen it all and I'm done with a-holes who can't keep both hands on the wheel and both eyes on the road.

You believe what you will.....ever sit in your living room and talk on the phone in front of the tv and not remember what you were watching??? Problem is people are distracted and yes...I agree they need to focus on the number 1 task at hand....driving the damn car! Not putting on makeup, not reading, not scratching scratch tickets, not talking on the phone, not texting, not fumbling for butts!!!!:doh:

I was almost KILLED by someone who didn't have both hands on the wheel and both eyes on the road.Simple.What's not to understand here?

Ever been killed in your living room because you were on the phone and forgot what you were watching?Of course not.Forgetting what you saw on TV because of a telephone conversation in your living room can't be compared to forgetting how to drive because of a phone call.I avoided death by milliseconds,literally.

Time to ban handheld cells and driving.Period.After today you will not change my mind.

I love people talking on cell phones while driving !!!
It keeps me employed !!!:eyes:

Tow truck driver or EMT?

Auto body tech

Cells are definitely your friend($)!

But the person was on a cell phone? You say tomato and I say tomatoe.:huh: People have been careless driving for years....and yet the rate of death and accidents has grown by leaps and bounds since the inception of the cell phone??:huh:

Gotta disagree Larry.
Things were MUCH worse (and deadly) in years past with drinking and driving !

I am betting there are more deaths and injuries due to cell use than alcohol??:huh:

There was no doubt.This guy was on his cell ,I saw the whites of his eyes as my truck swerved to avoid him.He was on the goddamn phone.

No tomatos or tomatoes here.This dousch almost killed Jane and I because he was on the phone and could not properly drive his vehicle.

And yes BF the accident/death HAS grown by leaps and bounds since the inception of the cell phone.Time to ban handheld cells while driving.You won't change my mind.

No way Larry, I've seen it both ways!

I am not sure if you realize that we are on the same page BW?? I agree cell phones should be banned from use while driving...but hands free is not the answer! Talking on the phone while driving is as much a distraction as reading, putting on makeup, etc. People need to focus...we agree there also!

And this means what?? I know you see the result of both drinking and driving and cell phone use while driving....but I would bet just about anything (if you can prove it beyond a doubt) that there are more drunk driving mishaps then cell phone mishaps! I will see what numbers I can dig up.....if I can figure out where to start!

Of course not.Why would you make such a comparison?DUI is already illegal,yet the penalties for it in the US are a joke.

Why do you or the wife wear a seatbelt?Answer...in case of something happening.Something almost happened to me and mine today because of someone on a cell.Time to ban handheld cell use while driving.You won't change my mind on this.

No.Hands free is the answer.It allows for both hands on the wheel and both eyes on the road.Very simple.After today you can't convince me otherwise, its time to ban handheld cells while driving.

I'm done with this one.I've already said it...my life is worth more than some a-hole's conversation.

Done and out.

You are not making much sense?? I understand you but not sensing that you are comprehending what I am saying. I am however finished here....we have our own beliefs on cell phone use while driving. You think hands free is the way to go......seems odd to me as I think cell use while driving should be banned outright. :)

How can I post a link?? Maybe someone can do this.....google statistics on cell phone/auto accidents and the info to prove my point is in the first link!

http://www.newsdial.com/technology/c...tatistics.html

WOW! Can't believe I did it! Here ya go! Chew on these stats for a bit......stats are the same for hands free or traditional cell use. Have a safe night.

basswipe--next time you're behind the wheel, hold your empty left hand to your ear for 3 minutes and see if that makes you drive with your head up your ass :doh:

NY has had a hands-free law for years--it was the first state to enact one. I wish I had a buck for everytime I got stuck behind some numbnuts driving 45 in the left lane, wrapped up in his/her hands-free conversation. I wouldn't have had to move out of there in the first place.

Didn't realize that MA law required one hand on the wheel at all times...guess that means no more practicing on the duck call while driving! :eek: :hidin:

I have at least 2 times a week that someone crosses the the center line at me. Cel phones are bad while driving.

Mike if I take my left hand off the wheel for 3 mins for any reason that's 3 mins I'm driving at a disadvantage.Two hands on the wheel simply put is safer than one on the wheel.Period.

As far as being behind some "numbnut" on a handsfree unit going 45mph with both hands on the wheel,I'll take that over some a-hole pulling out into traffic anyday with only one hand on the wheel any %$%$%$%$ing day.

Better yet fvck the hands-free device...pull over and get your a$$ of the road altogether.Your conversation will never be as important as a life.

Done....again.

Dig a little deeper and find out who owns that site.

Oops.DOH!!!:doh:

Now I'm truly done with this thread.I WILL not be killed by a conversation that can wait.

I am not going to get involved in this one.

Everytime I pass an officer or trooper they're yapping away...

-spence

Me either:wave:

Sorry guys my intent was not be an ass,though I came across that way but between my dad's health,work and wondering what happened to my MIA crack-head brother the last thing I needed was a bad commute home.

Apologies to all.Hope things are still good?

Spence, I especially like the officers who stand in the middle of an intersection at a construction site talking on the cell phone. They make us look bad.

Oh I said I was going to stay out of this.

They should institute a LAW that the driver of any vehicle cannot use ANY phone while driving... PERIOD.
Any phone, be it hand held, headset or ONSTAR are all distractions.
You can be the safest driver in the world, but if some idiot HAS to make thier worthless, drivel-ridden phone call while driving, how safe are you?
I have a cell phone, and I yelled at my brother for calling me while I was driving. I don't care if HE has a hands-free setup, I don't and I hate anything that will disctract me while I'm cruising around in a 2 ton projectile. I drive with my hands at 10 and 2, will reply to question by talking to the windshield (eyes on the road) and will leave my radio alone until I am stopped at a light before taking my eyes off the road, unless some idiot is swerving into my lane and I need to see where I can go to escape an accident (happened on Rt 128 south near the Rt 24 merge a few years back).
Fortunately I had worked for an executive driver service back in the early 90's, and part of the hiring process was taking a defensive driving course. It has saved my skin a number of times.

Bottom line: Any distraction is a major distraction, and can result in a serious accident.
If a driver is on his cell phone while driving, and hits you, you should request a copy of his cell phone record to verify your claim. It may not be possible in minor fender-benders, but I can't see why it would be used in major accidents.

Occasionally I have to answer a cell call when I'm in the car. Because I drive through Providence every day which has the worst drivers in the country, I always use my bluetooth headset. And I keep those calls short because I think I look like a self absorbed jackass with that thing on my head.

The people in that city are terrible drivers without distractions, never mind when they start using the phone, putting on makeup, lighting the crack pipe, fiddling with the radio, etc.... I actually saw a guy driving on 95 South earlier this week with the newspaper spread out across his steering wheel while driving. Are these things really that important that you can't wait until you get out of the car?

Then there's the issue of new drivers that just don't have the experience on the road.
It is my firm belief that many driviing instructors are using the MCAS method of schooling: They only teach enough to pass the test.
How many of you have experience drivers doing things that make you scratch your head, thinking "What the hell was that person thinking?"
I've seen enough from my visits to the DMV for a couple of parking ticket appeals (which I won) to put 2 and 2 together.

All I can say is make sure you have a camera in your vehicle, even if it's a disposable one. Pictures really do help when an accident comes down to you said/they said.
My younger brother was involved in an insurance scam accident where he ended up rear ending another vehicle at a stop sign.
He had the presence of mind to call the police and proceeded to take pictures of the scene, vehicles and persons in the other vehicle. THEY tried to prevent him from doing so, but the police intervened and let him proceed. He also got the officers name and badge number and a copy of thge report. Later, when the insurance company began processing the other drivers claim, they stated that there were 3 more people in their car than initially stated.
My brother told the insurance investigator that he needs to speak with Officer Smith because based on the report filed, and his pictures, there were only 2 persons in the car, and that they were lying.
Bottom line, the claim was rejected as insurance fraud.

You've got to protect you own butts in this crazy world we live in.