Texting

[JasG]

Even though you see this in the news, this problem seem to continue to get worse. Why do people who can probably not even walk and chew gum at the same time think they can drive or operate machinery and text at the same time. Some sites claim that well over 20% of auto accidents have a cell phone as at least in part the cause of the accident.

80% Of College Students Text And Drive Even Though It's Worse Than Driving Drunk - seattlepi.com


Driving while Texting Six Times More Dangerous than Driving while Drunk

This site has some great information.
Texting and Driving Statistics

Isn't the whole point of a text that it can wait? You don't need an answer right away.

 

[JasG]

Here a woman killed a guy on a motorcycle due to she was texting while driving.

Woman, 20, Accused Of Texting While Driving Faces Up To 10 Years For Fatal Crash « CBS Baltimore

 

[JasG]

Study: Texting while driving now leading cause of death for teen drivers

Texting while driving has become a greater hazard than drinking and driving among teenagers who openly acknowledge sending and reading text messages while behind the wheel of a moving vehicle.

The number of teens who are dying or being injured as a result of texting while driving has skyrocketed as mobile device technology has advanced. Researchers at Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park estimate more than 3,000 annual teen deaths nationwide from texting and 300,000 injuries.

The habit now surpasses the number of teens who drink and drive -- a hazard that has been on a dramatic decline in recent years, researchers say.

 

[NorTracNY]

Generally there is a parent that is behind the purchase of a cell phone for a teenager as well as aiding them getting a car and license. There is a reason that you need to be 18 to do most things in this country. It's believed that a "responsible" adult would know the child enough to make the proper choice for them.

I had a neighbor that had a teenage daughter. She pulled up in the driveway one day when we were talking. She was on her cell phone. Months later the topic of teens and cell phones came up. He made a comment how his teen didn't talk on the cell phone while driving!!!!!

Also keep in mind that they believe "hands free" talking on cell phones really doesn't help much, but some states will explicitly outlaw talking unless it's "hand free."

 

[JasG]

Generally there is a parent that is behind the purchase of a cell phone for a teenager as well as aiding them getting a car and license. There is a reason that you need to be 18 to do most things in this country. It's believed that a "responsible" adult would know the child enough to make the proper choice for them.

I had a neighbor that had a teenage daughter. She pulled up in the driveway one day when we were talking. She was on her cell phone. Months later the topic of teens and cell phones came up. He made a comment how his teen didn't talk on the cell phone while driving!!!!!

Also keep in mind that they believe "hands free" talking on cell phones really doesn't help much, but some states will explicitly outlaw talking unless it's "hand free."

Even though my links are mostly for teens, I see people of almost all ages doing this.

 

[grsthegreat]

Personally i have disabled texting on all of our phones. its an incideous evil that has stupefied an entire civilization. But i digress.

Heres proof that texting doesn't affect anyone s concentration

Guy Walks Into Giant Bear While Texting - YouTube

 

[NS Gearhead]

its an incideous evil that has stupefied an entire civilization.

Yup, that and Facebook. Don't ask me how I know...

 

[JasG]

Along similar lines as to how people get so absorbed by their phones.

About a month ago on a commuter train everyone was so absorbed with their "dumb" phones and tablets. They didn't notice that one passenger kept pulling out a gun and point it at people. the train car camera caught it. Then he shot one.

Police: San Francisco rail commuters on phones didn't notice shooting | 7online.com

That's according to authorities who have reviewed footage from a surveillance camera on the San Francisco Municipal Railway car on Sept. 23.

And what those videos also show, authorities say, is that the suspect Nikhom Thephakaysone, 30, had already pulled out his gun three of four times while aboard the crowded car, but the dozen passengers aboard were so hypnotized by their phones and tablets they failed to notice; not when he pointed the .45-caliber pistol across the aisle, nor even when he wiped his nose with the hand holding the gun.

"There are people facing in his direction, you can see them on smartphones and their tablets, highly distracted," District Attorney George Gascon told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "And you can see the suspect pulling the gun with his right hand, bringing it up to his face at least three or four times, parallel to his face and no one sees this going on."

District Attorney's office spokesman Alex Bastian said some passengers have told investigators they didn't know the suspect had a gun until they heard a gunshot. And they said after the shooting, the train's doors closed and it started to move; passengers alerted the driver and it slowly came to a stop, he said.

Bastian said that some passengers told investigators that they were looking down while on the train, but they did not say specifically whether they were looking at their mobile devices.

But Bastian reiterated that on the surveillance video it appears that many passengers were looking at their phones or tablets.

Gascon said that while he's not suggesting if people had been more aware, the shooting could have been prevented, the incident highlights the dangers of increasingly living in a virtual world, with less human interaction.

"If you're sitting in a public space such as a bus and something happens, you have a social obligation to be part of a community," she said. "Adults are now so entrenched in using their devices, there's something wrong with our values."

New York psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert, who is increasingly seeing issues related to digital devices, is even more blunt: "Texting and reliance on devices has bred a culture of social retardation."

 

[Mace Canute]

Sometimes karma gets it just right!

Girl Falls In Mall Fountain While Texting - YouTube

 

[rd_macgregor]

...and wants to sue the mall because the security guards laughed at her (when she could have been hurt). No doubt it was against policy for the video clip(s) to be released to the internet, but nobody would have known who fell in the fountain if the lady hadn't come out with a plan to sue. Self abuse, I'd say.