I can't tell whether you're being sarcastic because you support being allowed to text whilst driving or not?[TW]Fox;15929141 said:
I think the good man is encouraging you to use your own brain here. Come on, you can do it.
Texting while driving.
- Thread starter thedoc46
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![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
So you're saying the video is not possible at all? Of course it all.
The video is extremely unrealistic in order to hammer home the point. How many people who send text messages whilst driving do so by balancing the phone on the steering wheel whilst negotiating a corner on an A Road?
Thats not simply texting whilst driving, its extreme and monumentally reckless driving. The whole thing is so over the top it cannot be taken seriously, as the completely random Fiesta which smashes into the wreckage on the WRONG side of the road clearly shows. Was he texting and driving too? You half expect the air ambulance to crash as well because hey, the pilot was texting.
What I actually think is that its far more complex than 'eating a sandwich is bad!' or 'texting is for baby murderers!'
As always there is a degree of rationality to things. Sending a text message whilst driving at speed is beyond bone headed. It's hugely stupid and as a result of this its also pretty rare, only the most idiotic of drivers do it and its fair to say if they are idiotic enough to do that in the first place, if it was banned they would either:
a) Do it anyway
b) Find some other utterly stupid way to crash
What I object to is the blanket demonisation of something. Here we go..
Sometimes, I read the odd text whilst driving (on private roads). OMG! I am a reckless moron? Well no, because I only do it when I'm sat in a tailback on the M5 or I'm at that annoying set of lights that seems to stay red for 5 minutes - ie, the handbrake is on. But no, there is no shade of grey, its black and white. TEXTING WHEN DRIVING IS BAD YEA?
Common sense is missing from the roads today. Why have common sense when you can just ban... everything? It's the reason why most decent roads have 50 limits because once a year a complete dunderhead does 90 and dies in a fireball...
I don't know. Does doing something which distracts your attention from driving and reduces your reaction rates make you a reckless moron? Perhaps. Simply because you're not threatening anyone else's life doesn't preclude you from the possibility of being a reckless moron.[TW]Fox;15931875 said:
Why are people assuming drivers look at their phone while they text, I'm far from the best texter in the world but I can easily do it one hand without looking at my phone, and I drive an automatic so can do it with no hassle whatsoever. I only do it occasionally though as I usually wait
Edit - Also for the record, I can drive fine even while I take my eyes of the road for a second or two, in fact I regularly do this when I have a passenger or to look at the scenery. For some reason when I glance away from the road my hands actually stay in position and don't steer me off the road, strange that. Oh yeah, I'm not retarded.
Edit - Also for the record, I can drive fine even while I take my eyes of the road for a second or two, in fact I regularly do this when I have a passenger or to look at the scenery. For some reason when I glance away from the road my hands actually stay in position and don't steer me off the road, strange that. Oh yeah, I'm not retarded.
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Most people these days can probably text by feel. Looking at your phone has nothing to do with it. You are not giving the road your full attention, and it's been proven that it affects your reaction times, whether or not you look at the phone.
The problem with something like this is that you either have to ban it completely, or not at all, and obviously it can't continue being legal, due to the idiots that do cost lives.
Again though at the end of the day if you pass someone texting you can't exactly do anything about it, if they're texting in traffic it's easy to be distracted for a brief second and then bump the car in front for example. I've seen it happen quite a few times on the car park that is the A14, and I've had it happen to me.
Are people that text whilst driving reckless morons, to use Fox's phrase? Not really for me to say - I do however consider them inconsiderate road users, and the less we have of them the better.
Isn't it the same as the man who's daydreaming about what he's going to do when he gets home, or glancing at his stereo/ipod/satnav? Most people know when concentration is needed I'd hope
I feel I can judge when is safe to lower my concentration for a second or two to do something, but I do a lot of driving on country roads where there's rarely anybody behind or in front. I think the problem is lack of common sense on some people's behalves, not phones/sat navs/drinks etc
[TW]Fox;15929572 said:
It's a dramatization not some CCTV footage
If you honestly think that txt'ing while driving hasn't caused hundreds if not thousands of serious accidents over the years then your being extremely naive imho.
We had the fire brigade come up the youth club only a few months back to give a talk to the kids about fires and general keeping safe, they said that one of the biggest causes of care accidents now is people fiddling with phones and mp3 players.
txt'ing while driving is extremely dangerous and the selfish idiots that do it deserve significant punishment.
texting while driving is dangerous, having half your attention on the phone and half on the road isn't really enough IMO. anything could happen in the few seconds you take your eyes off the road to make sure you've spelt correctly, or sending to the right person, or whatever. over here, even having your phone in your hand can get you an on the spot fine of £60 i believe.
Of course it's the same, but you cannot legislate against someone daydreaming! You can however legislate against someone texting, with the intent to remove some of the dangers on the road. It's about minimising risk, not removing it because you obviously can't.
You feel you can judge when it's safe to lower your concentration? You can't. And the problem occurs when your normal behaviour is to check your phone or text for just a few seconds because it's ok as you normally do it.
Good point on the first one, I guess you're right.
Hm, I'm often on stretches of road where I can see for hundreds of metres with nobody in sight, providing I can keep my hands firmly on the wheel and not spin off the road I'm usually ok. I have never checked my phone in traffic though as that's asking for trouble. I imagine many people do it though and that gives the government every right to make it illegal I suppose.
I don't oppose it anyway I guess as I'll never get caught, I'd try and avoid looking at my phone if there were cars close, never mind police cars.