Have I got a guy for you. Not sure if he's replaced his car yet, but...

giggle

Well she would have seen the semi turning in front of her if she wasn't looking at her phone.

She was texting her boyfriend. Imagine how the boyfriend felt when everyone was asking how it happened. He loses contact with her then finds out later in the day she is dead. At somepoint he has to confess he was texting her and word gets around in small work places. I should say that the information didn't just get around. Each of us were brought separately into the office to be told. She was precious to us all.

I was somehow mollified there was a logical reason for her slamming into and under a truck. It was wrong but it didn't seem so random. Senseless but not so random.

TG you live a long, long way from me. No offence or anything, but if you are so tired that you have to concentrate on keeping your eyes open, not on what they are seeing, you are dangerous. pull over and rest until you're ready to drive. Get up earlier, Go to bed earlier. get sleeping pills, whatever

Uh, and put away the damn phone. We don't want to see anything happen to you (and that could include hurting someone ELSE with which you'll have to live the rest of your life.)

We all think we're the exception to the rule, but the bottom line is being distracted is being distracted.

Yes folks, even with your ear gadgets your yappin' distracts you from the matter at hand, which is to not die in a pile of twisted burning metal or kill me because you needed to find out what kind of condiments are needed at home.

Maybe not so bad in the middle of nowhere but keep your damn asses off I-75 in the hours I am in rush hour traffic, k? thxbai!

Mon and Shawnee,

Thanks for speaking up. You ladies said it much more politely than I would have been able to.

I suppose if you are on open highway and are the only car for miles around, then it's your choice to take such risks. But if you are driving in the city or on a crowded highway, you are gambling with everyone else's lives too.

I heard that too but I think that is when people are just over the legal limit for drinking and driving.

If someone is at a .3 I think the stats would be a bit different...

Exactly. I keep glancing at my rear-view mirror wondering if Britney is going to be so busy looking cute and laughing on her cell phone and looking around to see if anyone notices how popular she is that she forgets that traffic stops and starts...

NO CONVERSATION IS THAT IMPORTANT.

What Britney doesn't realize is that, after all the crap I went through with Cell Phone boy, even a minor fender bender would probably cause me to go ballistic. The beauty of it is: all the kids with camera phones can take video and I'll be famous on youtube as a crazed woman! :p

What people don't get is, just because you're looking out the windshield doesn't make you safe. It's where your mind is at, and if your talking on the phone or texting, your mind isn't on driving.

This is probably because too many people think driving is only reacting to things that happen in front of you. You should be aware of the vehicles in front, beside, and behind you... in every lane. What type of vehicle they are, and what they're capable of... by that I mean in order to anticipate what any particular vehicle is likely to do, it makes a difference if it's a big truck, a station wagon, or a sports car.
Is the driver drifting in and out of their lane? Are they distracted or paying attention? Are they tailgating? It only takes a few seconds of watching to ascertain those details.

You should be more concerned with the cars ahead than the car in front of you. The chances the guy in front of you is going to suddenly stop are pretty damn slim, unless some one forces him to, so what's in front of him is your real concern. If you're paying attention to what's going on ahead of him, you probably won't be surprised.

Watching for entrance ramps or parking lots on the right, where someone might force the car on your right into your lane.
Is the guy coming the other way going to make a left in front of you without signaling? They give clues if you're paying attention.

But you can't see any of the dangers, you can't drive defensively, if your head is somewhere else. That's what makes phones and texting so dangerous.
Of course there are drivers that don't do those things, even when they are not phoning or texting. Those drivers shouldn't be on the fucking road.

Agreed. I watch for slow-downs way ahead of me on the interstate. If there are a bunch of brakelights a mile ahead, I will be braking, as will the guy in front of me, and behind me.

A guy once told me, when I first started bartending, that good bartending depends on "acute awareness" in other words, knowing what is going on all around you all the time. It's certainly more true of driving. I watch the people on either side for sudden lane changes, I anticipate that Mr Important will feel the need to be ahead of me (after you, buddy old pal), which reminds me of jinx mentioning once "it's not a competition! ;) I anticipate that Buffy won't notice any of these things, and that Tyler with the three feet high after-market spoiler bolted to the trunk of his 1987 Honda (presumably so it won't fly up off the road as he hits warp speed) and the bad flame paintings on the side will probably disregard the rest of the traffic entirely because he's "just that cool."

Once the road is more open I am more relaxed, but ever vigilant.

Don't forget the motorcyclist who gets to pass cars in the middle of twolanes because, well because he can :eek:
If you are an inattentive driver or are distracted by shaving, makeup application, kids... just give it up. Hire a driver if you really are that important. If not, then cut it out and drive safely - for everyone's sake.

I saw a guy do that motorcyle thing just the other day. I make a point to watch for motorcyclists...but if he's not going to take some personal responsibility then I don't need all the admonishments that us mean old car drivers don't watch for them.

Is talking on a hands free cell phone more or less distracting than talking to someone in your car?

Should texting be regulated?

no, it should be illegal. Every friggin car should have a cell blocker <Pissy Overlord attitude>

Wouldn't it be nice if everyone could "just shut the fuck up for a minute and enjoy the silence?" [/MiaWallace]

:lol: