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Glad to see that most people in this thread are falling on the side of sanity. When you are operating a tonne of metal at speeds of 60mph or more in close proximity to other people you should bloody well concentrate on it.

Ouze wrote:There is no functional difference between texting while driving, and drinking a 6 pack before driving.

This. Texting is way too distracting.

I see it all of the time in Houston. It's wreckless driving, to be honest. I've also seen people reading books and magazines while driving, unfolding a huge map that covers the steering wheel and parts of the window.

All of that pales to how distracting and dangerous and wide-spread texting and driving is. I would vote for any law that would punish texter drivers to the same extent as drunk drivers.

Once, whilst on holiday in America, I saw a young lady steering her car with her feet whilst applying make-up with her hands.

At the risk of making a sweeping generalisation, I would suggest that this sort of thing is slightly more prevalent in America, as you chaps have many more driver aids as standard on your cars (like cruise control) and also have a larger proportion of automatics than over here. It makes it easier to jump in your car and cruise off with little driver input.

Having said that, I have seen just as many lunatics in cars over here - we have a particular scourge of boy-racers where I live whose driving skills are appalling.

Using a phone to do anything whilst driving is plain stupid. It matters not a jot how good you think you are behind the wheel of a car, if you do it and get caught you should be banned for 6 months and be forced to sit a re-test.
It effects your reaction time as much as having drunk 3 pints of beer. And driving whilst mightily stoned is also a VERY bad idea, thankfully I stopped smoking da 'erb before I passed my test.

As much as I would love forced re-sits of driving tests every 15 years or after a driving offence i know it would never happen. So many drivers would fail completly under the new test criteria that it would be laughable.

I seriously want to punch the gak out of people that do that. I wish it were legal for me to do that, or throw bottles at them. Something.

I see it all of the time in Houston. It's wreckless driving, to be honest. I've also seen people reading books and magazines while driving, unfolding a huge map that covers the steering wheel and parts of the window.

Holy cow, Houston is one of the worst places to drive in America, imo. It reminds me of driving in Mexico in that it is as if most vehicle operators are not aware of the fact there are indeed seperate lanes, and posted speed limits. Not only that, many seem to have an air of ' i dont care if something happens to my car and i assume you feel the same'.

In terms of texting while driving, I only have this to say:

I hope you wreck your car and only kill yourself before you have the opportunity to kill an innocent bystander. Getting yourself killed is inevitable, so better do it before you take anyone else with you.

filbert wrote:Once, whilst on holiday in America, I saw a young lady steering her car with her feet whilst applying make-up with her hands.

It's critical skills like these that allowed us to throw off the shackles of our British oppressors. I suppose it was an intimidating sight, that - the raw American exceptionalism that allowed our country to mount the world as a conquered steed, while yours is reduced to slowly whittling away at our economy with your plastic spacemens.

USA! USA! USA!

Ouze wrote:

filbert wrote:Once, whilst on holiday in America, I saw a young lady steering her car with her feet whilst applying make-up with her hands.

It's critical skills like these that allowed us to throw off the shackles of our British oppressors. I suppose it was an intimidating sight, that - the raw American exceptionalism that allowed our country to mount the world as a conquered steed, while yours is reduced to slowly whittling away at our economy with your plastic spacemens.

USA! USA! USA!

Something like that. I certainly admired the flexibility demonstrated - I assume she had one foot on or near the pedals and the other shoeless foot was grasping the steering wheel. It definitely demonstrated remarkable agility.

Grakmar wrote:In terms of texting while driving, I only have this to say:

I hope you wreck your car and only kill yourself before you have the opportunity to kill an innocent bystander. Getting yourself killed is inevitable, so better do it before you take anyone else with you.

As much as I agree with this, its always seems the case that they wipe someone else off the road, killing them whilst they themselves walk away. Its a sad trend

I only do it when I'm stopped, and only if it's a very, very brief text (something like OMW to let someone know I'm on the way to their house). Otherwise, it is illegal in my state of Minnesota.

I do eat and drive, though...nothing fancy, usually just a sandwich in one hand, steering wheel in the other.

There is nothing so important that it should be texted whilst driving. If it was important stop and call.

And since texting is usually just used to let someone know banal imformation (Lol!) I heartily approve of all convicitions for anyone that does this.

Texting while driving is more dangerous than talking on the phone while driving. People who do it are a danger to everyone else on the road.

I get nervous just answering my phone on the road-- I prefer to pull over to answer it unless I'm on a highway.

People around my area can barely drive even without cellphone use. Its asking to get your car wreck!

Plus its illegal for fresh driver licenses to have cellular devices I think in the car but I doubt too many people care about that

Using a phone while driving is both Illegal, and so insanely dumb people who do it should just hit walls.

This is illionis. Our drivers suck. No matter what 1/10 of my class will be involved in an accident because of texting, or drinking.
don't believe drive in illionis....

In Germany here, its illegal to use a phone without handsfree device.. but that doesnt stop many people from doing so. Also, the way that they define it here, apparently you are "driving" your car if it has keys in the ignition.. so if you want to use the phone without a headset, you have to stop, turn off the car, and remove the keys...

In Oregon, where I am originally from, its been illegal for a long time, but only recently became a "primary offense". So, it used to be that phone use would be something added on to a ticket, now you can be pulled over for nothing more than using the phone whilst moving in a vehicle

Asherian Command wrote:This is illionis. Our drivers suck. No matter what 1/10 of my class will be involved in an accident because of texting, or drinking.
don't believe drive in illionis....

OMG, I drove through Illinois on my way to Seattle, easily the worst drivers and the worst roads in the country. I DO NOT KNOW how the roads could be so crappy when there seems to be a toll every 5 miles. And drivers need to learn how to use a turn signal... and how to merge... and how to drive in a straight line...

Anyway, glad to see most of my fellow Dakkites/Dakkanauts don't engage in such risky behavior, although its strange since most of my non-dakka based friends do, maybe that speaks for the general level of intelligence of posters on these forums...

So how about texting while having sex? Hasn't happened to me personally, but Ive heard stories from my friends about the girl reading and replying to texts while my buddies been porkin' them, in most cases it seems to have been a mood killer and the fun ended there.

chaos0xomega wrote:
OMG, I drove through Illinois on my way to Seattle, easily the worst drivers and the worst roads in the country. I DO NOT KNOW how the roads could be so crappy when there seems to be a toll every 5 miles. And drivers need to learn how to use a turn signal... and how to merge... and how to drive in a straight line...

YEah thats why i don't drive anymore. Parkour is safer than driving in Illionis IMHO.
Yeah. Roads suck here.

Anyway, glad to see most of my fellow Dakkites/Dakkanauts don't engage in such risky behavior, although its strange since most of my non-dakka based friends do, maybe that speaks for the general level of intelligence of posters on these forums...

That is good to hear.

So how about texting while having sex? Hasn't happened to me personally, but Ive heard stories from my friends about the girl reading and replying to texts while my buddies been porkin' them, in most cases it seems to have been a mood killer and the fun ended there.

Wait what? That has never ever happened to me. Well mostly because I am a virgin. But I have heard of a few girls doing it.

I once was in a chain-crash because some stupid she-dog was texting and driving.

ten cars were totaled.

the van behind us was crushed like a tin can by an oil tanker. lucky the worst the drivers suffered was a sprained ankle.
and the worst part, is that when a cop showed up, he said 'talk amongst yourselves' and drove off.

I was lucky I was wearing my seatbelt. because a box of pineapples flew right through our windshields when the impact happened.

ineptus astartes wrote:I was lucky I was wearing my seatbelt. because a box of pineapples flew right through our windshields when the impact happened.

Lol Nepal

actually, this was when i lived in the states. driving home from Christmas.

I hate people who text while driving. Some idiot tried to switch lanes on the highway while texting a couple weeks ago and almost hit me! if people want to text and drive, they had minus well jump off a cliff in a forest somewhere, just kill yourself rather than yourself AND others, freakin idiots.

It's illegal here, like it should be.

They've proven that it's damn dangerous, so why people keep doing it, I don't know.

Wolfun wrote:so why people keep doing it, I don't know.

Because as we progress, the level of common sense has eroded, and the addiction to facebook and this twitter crap fuels a "need" to always be connected, even though you arent... dunno how true that is, but its my own 2 cents.

Texting while driving is stupid, and you should feel..... no, scratch that, you ARE stupid for doing it.

Ensis Ferrae wrote:

Wolfun wrote:so why people keep doing it, I don't know.

Because as we progress, the level of common sense has eroded, and the addiction to facebook and this twitter crap fuels a "need" to always be connected, even though you arent... dunno how true that is, but its my own 2 cents.

What is this common sense you speak of?

I will check texts while driving. I will answer the phone once in awhile to see if its important. Never on the freeway unless its like a convey type situation for directions.

As for passenger, you can check, but don't text back. Unless you are my friend Karl. It is safer for him to text than to drive undistracted.

Illegal here; doesn't stop some fethers from doing it though.

What's even better is the dirty look you get when you mime putting the phone down to someone who's using it, the "What the feth are you looking at you gakker?" look that tries to make you look like the person in the wrong. They're eager enough to accept it's wrong when the fuzz are nearby though, both hands on the wheel until they're out of sight and then it's right back up to their head again as they narrowly miss striking every car in sight when they change lanes or realise the lights are on red.