Distracted driving is getting worse

This is one reason why networked, self-aware/self-driving cars can't come soon enough.

One of the reasons I drive a manual gearbox. I don't have time to be fiddling with other stuff

Tell me about it! Last week I saw a women doing her mascara! I nearly dropped my razor into my cornflakes. Luckily the book I was reading whilst driving stopped it going in the bowl.

Apple fanboy said:

Tell me about it! Last week I saw a women doing her mascara! I nearly dropped my razor into my cornflakes. Luckily the book I was reading whilst driving stopped it going in the bowl.

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Yeah, people should be putting on make up while driving.

I hate it when people drive slowly because they are talking on the phone. Even though it against the law in some states, the cops are doing it... I want to know what is so important that they must disrupt the flow of traffic. Its a shame how "waiting" and "patience" seems to be a skill now

sonicrobby said:

I hate it when people drive slowly because they are talking on the phone. Even though it against the law in some states, the cops are doing it... I want to know what is so important that they must disrupt the flow of traffic. Its a shame how "waiting" and "patience" seems to be a skill now

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I agree. Why do you need to drive slowly when on the phone? Just put your foot down. Texting is a little more trick.......

Sorry had to swerve to get round that lorry!

I think people who text while driving should be fined $500 for first offense. Second offense should be revocation of driver's license.

Mr. McMac said:

I think people who text while driving should be fined $500 for first offense. Second offense should be revocation of driver's license.

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3rd is revocation of their cellular plan

sonicrobby said:

I hate it when people drive slowly because they are talking on the phone. Even though it against the law in some states, the cops are doing it...

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Yep. I was driving on an expressway and pulled up next to a city police car. The driver was looking down at his left hand, and I saw some thumb movement. When he noticed me looking at him, he put his hand down. I said, "Are you kidding me?" He couldn't hear me, but I made sure he could read my lips. He glared at me, then followed me for a short distance. I figure he was running my plates, or, hopefully, his partner was.

The other day I'm driving in the right lane, and a big bus converted to a camper came down the merge lane. Well, this lane is much longer than your typical merge lane. I'm wondering, do I hang back and let him in, or speed up and get ahead of him? I did the former, and then decided to try speeding up. That's when the driver decides to move over, of course. I braked and changed lanes. When I passed him, I saw that he was holding a phone to his face. More engaged in talking than driving...

I usually take advantage of the time my longer commutes give me to get a little nap in.

But yeah, I've had similar experiences as the OP. I've had at least 5 hits or near misses caused because someone wasn't paying attention or thought their apparently important phone conversation took precedence over looking down the damn street.

What's even worse is when they have the pure, unbridled audacity to get pissed off at me for their mistake. I remember this one guy who pulled out right in front of me from a side street. He was literally screaming at the top of his lungs at the cops, who he demanded I call because he was, in his words, "going to have my license for this", insisting I be arrested for what I had done.

"I could've been KILLLLEEEEDDD", he screamed.

When the cops asked for my part of the story, I just pointed to the skidmarks, the street, and the position of the cars, and said "I'm pretty sure the situation explains itself. I was driving along, he pulled out in front of me, and I hit him". Long story short, he didn't go down without a good fight, but he was deemed to blame for the incident in the end.

Though I can't claim I'm a perfect driver. Just a couple years back, I got myself into a really stupid fender bender that was totally and completely my fault. The worst thing about it, other than the fact I mushed up the back end of a 2010 Shelby Mustang, was that I had just received notice of my 10 year accident free insurance discount in the mail earlier that morning. It was tragic on all kinds of levels.

I have seen all kinds of stupid things that people do while driving. I actually think a majority of the drivers in Atlanta are on their phones while driving.

One of the worst I've seen is a guy driving down the interstate at night with his iPad on his steering wheel, reading. Keep in mind that this was at night, and the Atlanta interstates for the most part have no street lights. It's black out there. So this guy has a beaming bright white iPad right in his face. This means that he can only keep on track by using other brake lights to follow. Scary, scary thought.

I never experienced it, but apparently my cousin's wife was well known for putting on her makeup while checking her email while driving.

One of our more prolific past posters here, who has since been removed it appears, fully supported texting while driving (actually, I think he said it was more dangerous to ban it), saying that it is perfectly okay because he's never had a crash while doing it. Of course, this is the same malformed logic that could lead you to believe that smoking is healthy because it hasn't killed you yet. This same person also claimed super-human abilities to fully read and type on a phone while staying fully aware of everything that was going on around him while driving. Some people do believe that they have those abilities.

Almost every time I see erratic driving, the person is on their phone talking or worse, texting. Usual examples are drifting into adjacent lanes or off the edge of the road and varying between fast and slow speed.

And people want tighter iPhone integration with their car. That's only going to make the distracted driving problem worse.

samiwas said:

One of our more prolific past posters here, who has since been removed it appears, fully supported texting while driving (actually, I think he said it was more dangerous to ban it), saying that it is perfectly okay because he's never had a crash while doing it. Of course, this is the same malformed logic that could lead you to believe that smoking is healthy because it hasn't killed you yet. This same person also claimed super-human abilities to fully read and type on a phone while staying fully aware of everything that was going on around him while driving. Some people do believe that they have those abilities.

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Yeah, multi-tasking ability is a myth, insofar as the ability to perform more that one task at the optimum level. Sure, you can talk on the phone and eat a banana at the same time, sort of, but neither of those tasks requires 100% of your attention. If you're performing a task that does, then that needs to be the only thing you're doing.

Gregg2 said:

Yeah, multi-tasking ability is a myth, insofar as the ability to perform more that one task at the optimum level. Sure, you can talk on the phone and eat a banana at the same time, sort of, but neither of those tasks requires 100% of your attention. If you're performing a task that does, then that needs to be the only thing you're doing.

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Part of the problem is that folks don't realize that driving requires 100% attention. The ability to maximally focus attention requires some energy expenditure, which many seem reluctant, or incapable, of doing.

Yeah, it's ridiculous. Under the best circumstances, most people drive around completely oblivious to what's going on around them, but people on phones drive like they're drunk—weaving all over the place and driving way under the speed limit (usually in the passing lane ).

Gregg2 said:

Yeah, multi-tasking ability is a myth for men

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Fixed that for you!

It's very disheartening to be going down the highway on your motorcycle and look over at people texting. It's so extremely selfish to have no regard for other's lives.

Apple fanboy said:

Tell me about it! Last week I saw a women doing her mascara!

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What you saw, sir, was a woman farding in her car.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/farding

sjinsjca said:

What you saw, sir, was a woman farding in her car.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/farding

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As opposed to farting, which, depending on how bad the smell is, can be equally distracting.

My All-Time Greatest Distracted Driver Sighting!

I'm in a parking space outside a strip mall store in Santa Barbara, CA., waiting for my son when I observe a woman driving through the parking lot with her cell phone cranked between chin and shoulder while eating take out from a carton with CHOPSTICKS!

I couldn't find the more focused thread on texting while driving, but I heard an interesting report on the topic today.

3 young adults
a behind the wheel driving simulator
smart phone
beer

First test, "drive" while texting.
Second test, drink enough beer to be over the legal limit, then "drive".

Not surprisingly, all three focused on the simulator better while drunk without a phone to distract them. The time it took to "crash" or "run off the road" or just "cross the center line" was 50% less with the phone than the failed alcohol test.

You see distracted drivers all the time in the north, best one I saw is a woman eating breakfast, knee holding the wheel, putting makeup on while texting on the phone with the other hand at 65 mph

CaptHenryMorgan said:

This is one reason why networked, self-aware/self-driving cars can't come soon enough.

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Unfounrty that will more than likely not happen in our lifetime.

One way to fix some issues is to make automatic transmissions and hybrids illegal.