Cell phones and driving

[basswipe]

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!!!

[The Iceman 6]

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

[basswipe]

Originally Posted by The Iceman 6

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.

[BW from AZ]

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.

[Mike P]

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

[BigFish]

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????

[basswipe]

Originally Posted by BigFish

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????

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.

[BigFish]

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!!!!

[basswipe]

Originally Posted by Mike P

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

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

[fishbones]

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?

[FishermanTim]

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.

[wheresmy50]

It's all BS. Politicians create these silly laws to get votes. Bad driving is dangerous and is already illegal. What difference does it make if you're driving poorly because you're talking on the phone, or drunk, or eating, or putting on makeup or whatever?

We have checkpoints to see if people are drunk because we argue that merely being drunk is proof that you will drive badly, even .08 or .05 or whatever it is now. Should we have sandwich checkpoints, or cell phone without hands free device checkpoints? It's all stupid.

I read that they're going to make it illegal to text message while driving. Brilliant.

[FishermanTim]

It's all pure conjecture until you are either the one causing an accident or the one on the receiving end.