Texting while driving

[PILOON]

"Old-school advice was to allow 1 car-length for each 10mph you're traveling, but anymore that can vary widely by whether one is typing or reading at a given moment."

Do that today while going 60 and 6 cars will cut in, look in your mirror and see the color of his eyes.

 

[kevin37b]

I hate people running up my *** , backing off and here they come again ! On a 2 lane , most morons cannot judge distance to pass safely . Instead they ride your *** . I like giving them a real hard brake light reality check . I do it when I see they are not texting or on the phone . May not be right , neither is tailgating .

 

[the old grind]

... if you catch up a car or cars going speed limit or only slightly over you get stuck behind them.

But isn't there always someone in front of you not going enough over the speed limit just to wreck it for everyone else?

(oh wait, that's me ... sorry ...)

:laughing:

"Followers" ride your butt b'cuz they're texting or talking and really trust you to guide them forward and look where you're both going so they don't have to. How 'bout the ones that tail you, then roar past you 1/2 mile before getting off at the same exit. They give you such funny looks when waiting in line at the top of the ramp as though you tried to make them late....

 

[bcp]

It is easy to spot a fast driver. They are in the car behind the slow driver, going the same speed.



Bruce

 

[hawkeye08]

It has probably been 20 years ago that I commuted about 13 miles to work, just 2 lane most of the way, usually not bad traffic, but over a few years traffic got heavier and I saw many of the same drivers every morning. There was a lady that put her makeup on, ate cereal from a bowl, did her hair, etc while driving. She did not pay close attention and often had to hit the brakes hard to avoid rear ending the car in front of her. I don't think anyone appreciated her lousy driving. One morning I was watching her tailgate me and noticed her eating her cereal, she would look down each time she took a bite and then look up.

I timed it just right so she was not looking when I touched brake pedal (didn't slow down, keep foot on gas pedal) enough to turn on brake lights and watched as she reacted when she looked up. I think she dumped the whole bowl. I don't recall seeing her eat cereal again in traffic. I was hoping she would come behind me when she was doing her lipstick but never did.

 

[turnkey4099]

In many countries, when passing, you can go over speed limit. In fact in many countries passing is possible only if you go over speed limit. In the US you can't do it without risking a fine. So if you catch up a car or cars going speed limit or only slightly over you get stuck behind them.

Depends on the state, it is ligal in many. Legal in my state, Washington, with a catch, that person you pass has to under the posted limit. I don't think any cop has ever issued a 'speeding while passing' ticket here. I have one from Canada. Got it in Osooyoos enroute to Kamloops. Decided to pay it in Kamloops. Desk seargeant when he saw it "what idiot wrote this?". Still made me pay it though.

 

[turnkey4099]

But isn't there always someone in front of you not going enough over the speed limit just to wreck it for everyone else?

(oh wait, that's me ... sorry ...)

:laughing:

"Followers" ride your butt b'cuz they're texting or talking and really trust you to guide them forward and look where you're both going so they don't have to. How 'bout the ones that tail you, then roar past you 1/2 mile before getting off at the same exit. They give you such funny looks when waiting in line at the top of the ramp as though you tried to make them late....

As long as you are aware that you piss people off...not something to be proud of.

 

[the old grind]

As long as you are aware that you piss people off...not something to be proud of.

Proud to drive '5 over' ahead of someone who won't pass me?? Ever doing that to p__ them off? ok (wow)
Admit I'm not ashamed to drive '5-under' when no one is in sight behind me. :confused3:

I doubt if you've ever seen me on the road, sir!

A few things I learned from Mr Chambers in '66 that have stuck with me ever since. (paraphrased)

- "While at an intersection you're obliged to proceed cautiously and safely, but also to get out of other drivers' way!" This is common courtesy everywhere else on the road. (50 yrs riding m'cycles ... I don't just use the mirrors ...)

- "When in doubt, the person on the right is never obligated to exercise 'right of way'." I look for eye contact ... not all are paying attention at a 4-way stop. A wave usually gets a return smile around here and I uh enjoy the anonymity of that 'positive attention'.

- "When someone goes to pass you let off the accelerator to help them get by sooner." So obvious, and the older I get the more I wish 'em swift & safe passage.

Honestly, what I'm proud of is how few folks in an obvious hurry on the road honk or shake their fist or finger at me.

Anyway, I'm all for texting OR driving ... never both ... not OK just 'cause "no one is looking" ... good reason to leave the phone at home ... "sorry, voice mail not set up"...

 

[turnkey4099]

Proud to drive '5 over' ahead of someone who won't pass me?? Ever doing that to p__ them off? ok (wow)
Admit I'm not ashamed to drive '5-under' when no one is in sight behind me. :confused3:

I doubt if you've ever seen me on the road, sir!

A few things I learned from Mr Chambers in '66 that have stuck with me ever since. (paraphrased)

- "While at an intersection you're obliged to proceed cautiously and safely, but also to get out of other drivers' way!" This is common courtesy everywhere else on the road. (50 yrs riding m'cycles ... I don't just use the mirrors ...)

- "When in doubt, the person on the right is never obligated to exercise 'right of way'." I look for eye contact ... not all are paying attention at a 4-way stop. A wave usually gets a return smile around here and I uh enjoy the anonymity of that 'positive attention'.

- "When someone goes to pass you let off the accelerator to help them get by sooner." So obvious, and the older I get the more I wish 'em swift & safe passage.

Honestly, what I'm proud of is how few folks in an obvious hurry on the road honk or shake their fist or finger at me.

Anyway, I'm all for texting OR driving ... never both ... not OK just 'cause "no one is looking" ... good reason to leave the phone at home ... "sorry, voice mail not set up"...

My apologies. I had you confused with the guy who refuses to use cruise control.

As for your philosophy on driving, my take is identical "don't cause problems for others and be courteous. One problem I have is living on a busy 2-lane highway. I hate having to hammer a cold engine to get up to speed after pulling out into the traffic going around 65.

 

[mark02tj]

A few things I learned from Mr Chambers in '66 that have stuck with me ever since. (paraphrased).....

Mr. Reed (my driver's ed instructor) must have taken Mr. Chamber's "How to Teach Kids to Drive" class! :laughing: :thumbsup: I remember the same things from him.

Another thing that's stuck with me since that class in 1978 was the concept of a "stale green light". In other words, you should have an idea how long the light has been green as you're approaching an intersection. The light turning yellow (and then red) shouldn't be too big of a surprise to you.

Something else he taught was to just "drive the car" in case something unexpected happened. One example that he would give in class was that your toddler (riding in the front seat back then ) reached over and turned the ignition off while you were driving. He went through the drill - don't panic, tranny in neutral, restart the car, put it back in drive and go - all without slamming on the brakes. Sure enough, one day I'm at the wheel with him in the passenger seat and three classmates in the back seat. I'm doing 55mph on the highway and he reaches over and turns the danged car off! Shot him an annoyed look and went through the process to restart. Fortunately, I kept my kids in the back seat so it never actually happened to me after that. :laughing:

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Interesting story. Forgive me for sidetracking the thread but had to tell mine:

Back in the day, I drove an old '41 Chrysler that oddly enough, had the light switch on the passenger side of the dash. One Saturday night my date and I were headed for Enid to go to the drive-in, and she somehow managed to inadvertently turn off the headlights. She finally managed to figure out what she had done and turned them back on. Needless to say, about fouled myself before the lights came back on, but it otherwise turned out OK.

 

[mark02tj]

I was heading home from TSC on Saturday around 11:00 a.m. There was a car about 75 yards ahead of me on a fairly quiet road - speed limit 35 mph. I noticed the car drifting off the right side of the road and thought "that's a strange way to turn into a driveway". All of the sudden, I see a big cloud of dirt fly up (as the car drove up, over a driveway) and the car swerved over to the left side of the road, went into a ditch, hit a tree in the ditch and then spun around about 90 degrees!!

I pulled over, grabbed my phone and went running back over there. I heard crying that sounded like a child was in the car, but it was actually the 29 year old mother of two. She wasn't wearing her seatbelt and was sitting in the passenger seat with her legs still over on the drivers side. She scooted herself back into the drivers seat and was crying. As I was going into the ditch, I flagged down another car and had him call 911. There was some minor smoke coming out from under the hood, so I grabbed my fire extinguisher out of the Jeep as well. The squad showed up and put a collar on her and pulled her out on a backboard.

Not 100% sure, but in talking to the cop on the scene, we figured she was texting. Unless there was some sort of "medical emergency", there was no other good explanation for what I saw.

Interesting thing was that she wanted me to call her boss - at Pizza Hut - to let her know she was going to be late.

Be safe out there!!

 

[ovrszd]

The car manufacgturers are also adding to the problem. Cramming more and more 'digital' in front of the driver. It isn't going to bet better until the NTSB bans any screen display of any kind or renders them inoperative if the vehicle is moving over 5mph. Same goes for phones and other 'play toys'. "But I need to make a call". SO PULL OVER YOU ROLLING ACCIDENT.

I believe their are some cars built today that parameters can be programmed regarding using electronics while driving. I think this will be more common in the future.

 

[Redneck in training]

The car manufacgturers are also adding to the problem. Cramming more and more 'digital' in front of the driver. It isn't going to bet better until the NTSB bans any screen display of any kind or renders them inoperative if the vehicle is moving over 5mph. Same goes for phones and other 'play toys'. "But I need to make a call". SO PULL OVER YOU ROLLING ACCIDENT.

I rented a Mazda few months back where even radio touch screen was locked while the car was moving. The controls on the steering wheel such as volume and scrolling through the pre-selected stations kept working.

 

[turnkey4099]

I believe their are some cars built today that parameters can be programmed regarding using electronics while driving. I think this will be more common in the future.

It is 'programmable' by the owner, it will accomplish nothing.

 

[Howling]

It is 'programmable' by the owner, it will accomplish nothing.

My new truck has programmable restrictions by key. Can prevent kids from doing the crazy things the adults are allowed to do.

 

[Retiredguy2]

What turnkey4099 says: "Pull over, you rolling accident'....to my knowledge it is illegal to pull over on most freeways UNLESS you have a real emergency. But yes, he makes an excellent point. I have programmed my phone to give me a notice of REALLY important calls through a series of vibrations and I ignore anything else while driving. A priority call, I will take the next exit on a freeway to check the meaning or pull over on a two lane road.

 

[ovrszd]

My new truck has programmable restrictions by key. Can prevent kids from doing the crazy things the adults are allowed to do.

Yeah, thats what I was talking about.