....also since they open $0 on advertising the media companies are less than nice and extremely forgiving of a 'cash cow' like GM. Plus Musk's larger than life personality (like Job's) polarize people almost as much as (silly) politics does.Well there's a lot of rich people out there who want to see Tesla fail and they actually invest money into it (including paying "reporters" to circulate exaggerated articles) but that's a whole other topic
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Student fined $400 for Distracted Driving with Apple Watch
- Thread starter barkomatic
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It depends on how you implement the fines... In countries like Finland, the size of the fine is dependent on your level of income for at least some traffic offenses (not sure if it's universally true), leading to some mighty impressive speeding tickets for example.
Some seem to be focused on the ‘fines’. Its way more than that. Monetary fines are just associated with the actual traffic infraction. Where it really inconveniences drivers is with increased insurance rates, court time that will inconvenience them from missing work or other personal activities, and if to many demerit points are deducted from the license, then they’re facing suspension. So it’s not just about a “Fine”, there is *a lot* more to follow the traffic violation.
Also it is about the SUPER LOW odds of getting caught. Keep in mind that speeding, reckless driving or running a red light require a cop to be close enough to see you do this. And this can be usually only seen from a couple of blocks away at most. So the chances of being caught are low. Now add that for a cop to see you on your phone they must be VERY close to you to notice this. Often they would need to be in the next lane or right behind you. So the odds of getting caught on a phone are exponentially lower than getting caught speeding which are already low.
People are becoming MORE addicted to being connected all the time and will not go back to LESS information/connection. It is a simple FACT that the problem will continue to get WORSE and the only real solution is to get people off driving.
Not necessarily. Law-enforcement doesn’t always have to be present. You can have a viable witness who makes a written statement coborrating what they witnessed, which can be sufficient for law-enforcement to take action. The witness has to be willing to participate in the investigation and cannot be anonymous.
For example, if you take texting while driving, all law-enforcement needs is some form of reasonable suspicion of a traffic violation to legally stop the driver (I.e Operating left of Center, following to closely, unsafe lane deviation) , if the driver admits they were texting while driving, {which in my state is against the law}, then we can take action for this specifc violation. But the *driving behavior* would be the reason for the stop [Which the Officer should witness first hand], however there is a caveat; if I asked the driver while they driving and using their phone, I was observing their erratic driving, if the driver admits they were texting while driving, that’s a violation. If they admit they were “Reading an email” on their phone while driving, that is not a specific violation, at most, Its inattentive driving. (Every state my vary here.) Even if the driver is lying, I would have to be able to prove (And articulate in my report) that the driver was doing something otherwise like texting while driving.
Absolutely. Smart phones, Apple Watches, all these safety features and tech inside vehicles, they’re all distractions in some form or another if the driver *allows* it to be. If it was up to me and somebody caused an accident because they were distracted by their Apple Watch or iPhone, I would suspend them and have them take a remedial driving course at minimum.
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I take my watch off when I drive, and my phone goes into the centre console. I'm not allowed to use Bluetooth hands free while driving as I am a green Provisional driver.
I get sick to death seeing people distracted while driving, swerving, driving over and under the speed limit, crossing lines during roundabouts etc. No one's text conversation is that important that you need to endanger other people's lives.
I get sick to death seeing people distracted while driving, swerving, driving over and under the speed limit, crossing lines during roundabouts etc. No one's text conversation is that important that you need to endanger other people's lives.
I think it's a great policy.
I remember talking on my cell phone (the Razr lol) while driving to work and often times I don't remember if I actually ran red lights or stop signs.
It's like driving home from the bar really drunk and don't remember how you got there safely when you wake up the next morning
I remember talking on my cell phone (the Razr lol) while driving to work and often times I don't remember if I actually ran red lights or stop signs.
It's like driving home from the bar really drunk and don't remember how you got there safely when you wake up the next morning
This Is a great analogy. Because it’s so true. What happens is you have drivers who are so immersed into the actual phone call or the distraction of whatever tech device they’re using, they literally cannot focus on the roadway. Also, I took a law enforcement training course back last year about multitasking, and it’s literally impossible for the brain to multitask, where we literally focus on one task, even though we can “Do two things”, it’s been proven that the brain can focus on one primary, and everything else is secondary. The Example being, the driver puts their main multitasking focus on their Apple Watch/smart phone, and driving is now prioritized second (Where Inhibitions are lowered, reaction times, ect). Ultimately, resulting in a crash.
My friend has a newer Nissan Altima. It won’t let you mess with the touchscreen if the car is moving. It’s annoying when the passenger can’t but it’s there for good reason IMO. The current fines for driving distracted or whatever it’s called aren’t near high enough. Make them high enough to make people stop doing it.
For me, the worst was when they forced people to conceal the phone in their laps. Before when people held phones up on the top of the wheel at least their eyes were ‘up’.
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I see that lane assist ad on TV where it takes over control of the steering to get the chick through a ‘scary’ gap in a road construction zone. Sorry, but you have no business being behind the wheel if you are not capable of doing it yourself. Sorry, but my opinion.
After more than 40 years I’ve stopped riding motorcycles and no longer ride a bicycle in traffic. It’s gotten too dangerous, and it has as much to do simply how lousy and ‘entitled’ drivers have gotten now, along with using devices while driving.
Driving should be privilege not right.
I know it’s tough riding a bike but it’s also hard as a driver of a car when the bikes go wizzing in and out, inbetween us. Especially when we’re going to make a lane change and “hello” there’s a motorcycle there and we had our turn signal on. My boyfriend drives a bike, I’m not prejudice of them and a friend was hit by a car, so I get it but I’ve also seen a guy driving a motorcycle with a girl on the back, nail the back of a car because he wasn’t paying attention! And I also know they have electronic/iPhones/iPods tapped into their helmets for music and their phones, so they can answer them. So please don’t get too high on your horse about bikers being always the innocents and the vehicle drivers being the ones at fault...
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We have the lovely traffic cameras, so no cop needed for running red lights!!! Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think anyone should run a red light, but when you’re passing in the yellow and still get one, that hurts... So I’ve heard!
Having your turn signal on does not give you any right of way to change lanes if that lane is occupied. If you change lanes and hit a motorcycle already in that lane, you would be cited for failing to yield regardless of your turn signal being on or off. More importantly, you could seriously injure or kill the motorcycle rider.
Was the motorcycle rider playing with his Apple Watch at the time of the incident? Was the motorcycle rider playing with his iPhone at the time of the incident? Did the motorcycle have a mechanical problem? Did his brakes malfunction? Was he having a medical emergency? How do you know the motorcycle rider wasn’t paying attention? Did you interview the the motorcycle rider after the incident and he admitted to you he wasn’t paying attention?
And you just described what a hands-free device is. While studies have proven hands-free devices do not eliminate distracted driving incidents, I know of no law in the U.S. which outlaws the use of a hands-free device in a car, truck, boat, spaceship, horse-drawn carriage, or even on a motorcycle.
According to the NHTSA, motorcycles account for 3% of the vehicles on the roadways. Two out of every three motor vehicle accidents are caused by distracted drivers in cars, with a majority involving the physical handling of a mobile electronic device.
Yeah, motorcycles are the problem.
Absolutely. I drive a stick and nearly always just leave my phone in my pocket. It's just not safe to look at these devices, outside of maybe a casual glance to look at location or whatever.
The other day I was at a two-lane stoplight behind the car in front, and, when the green light hit, NEITHER car at the front of each lane started driving, because both drivers were looking at their phones. Drives me nuts.
This issue needs to be taken more seriously and it’s good some communities are doing so.
I live in Florida, Miami area specifically, and I can count 1 out of every 3 or 4 cars on the road with a driver full blown gazing at their phone or driving with the phone cramped between their ear and shoulder so as not be able to turn their head and look left or right.
I live in Florida, Miami area specifically, and I can count 1 out of every 3 or 4 cars on the road with a driver full blown gazing at their phone or driving with the phone cramped between their ear and shoulder so as not be able to turn their head and look left or right.
We need to change out everyones airbags with big 'ol spikes.
That'll get people paying more attention to the road.
That'll get people paying more attention to the road.
Having your signal on does not give you right of way, plus you should be checking mirrors (rear-view/centre, side) and doing a shoulder check before you move. If you do that, it shouldn't be a problem.
Yellow means stop as well (at least in the UK, I'm assuming it's the same in the US).
Yes, it cascades down. When the phone goes into driving mode, so does the Watch.
It is 100% your responsibility to merge safely into a lane. Other drivers have absolutely no obligation to make room for you because of your turn signal. In fact my experience is there are many drivers who will see a turn signal and then purposely speed up to take a preexisting space.
Yes some drivers will make room for you, but this is an unreliable courtesy, not a legal requirement.
The types of vehicles involved are irrelevant.
"Turn signal" and "right of way" are not the same thing, but I will say the people who don't use a turn signal are the absolute worst.