Cops really need to crack down more on cell phone users

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Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
39,398
19
81
Brillant. Then when there are instances of road rage and you're getting chased around, like I and a friend was, and trying to use the phone to call 911, you can't. Great idea :rolleyes:

Leave my phone alone. I make it a point NOT to text while driving, and to keep any phone conversations short (almost never make a call, and only answer important incoming calls) but we don't need Big Brother getting bigger and controlling more.

911 exemption problem solved.
 

SparkyJJO

Lifer
May 16, 2002
13,357
7
81
Still doesn't solve the issue of being a passenger.

I'm thinking I need to come up with a hands-free thing of some sort. The most distracting part of being on the phone while driving to me is having to hold the phone. If I could just talk without holding something, it wouldn't be much different at all than talking to a passenger in the car.
 

Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
39,398
19
81
yeah I guess you're right. In a perfect world dumbasses like me just would not talk for safety. I just can't concentrate as well chatting on phone while driving. I bet some can but many choose to ignore their deficiencies and cause accidents.
 

QueBert

Lifer
Jan 6, 2002
22,553
834
126
I can text while driving while also talking to the passenger in my car Nipsey Russel style where everything rhymes with no attention problems. Some people just have slow brains I guess.
 

Ricemarine

Lifer
Sep 10, 2004
10,507
0
0
The last time I drove more than 20 miles, I almost got hit by a ford explorer. I was driving 65 mph on the freeway where the furthest two right lanes merge into one (with me being on the left one). There was this one ford explorer that was in the right adjacent lane (furthest right), still having about 100 yards until having to change lanes., I assumed that with me going 60-65 mph she would let me go by. However, the car slowly went from 5 feet... to 4 feet... to 3 feet... to 2 feet.. to WTF YOU'RE TOO CLOSE TO MY CAR. So I was forced into the left adjacent lane and sped by the car only to learn it was a woman on her cell phone...

Damn cellphone using SUV driving women...
 

SphinxnihpS

Diamond Member
Feb 17, 2005
8,368
25
91
Really, Jules? I would prefer the opposite: no traffic laws and let Darwin prevail.
 

Colt45

Lifer
Apr 18, 2001
19,720
1
0
I'd think a few summary executions would probably curb a fair bit of text and drive. Not all of them, mind you, because some people are that fucking stupid.
 

Kirby

Lifer
Apr 10, 2006
12,028
2
0
Instead of making more bullshit laws that won't be enforced, just charge people with reckless endangerment.
 

JulesMaximus

No Lifer
Jul 3, 2003
74,534
911
126
Instead of making more bullshit laws that won't be enforced, just charge people with reckless endangerment.

I'm not asking for more laws...just enforcement of the ones we already have. And maybe increase the punishment. :p
 

AyashiKaibutsu

Diamond Member
Jan 24, 2004
9,306
3
81
I make it a point to play WoW with my laptop while I drive. Drivings just too boring without some sort of distraction.

Being more serious, while I don't think people should be texting (more ok with talking although I don't myself), trying to enforce cell phone/texting laws would lead to WAY too many false positives. There's tons of perfectly legitimate things people could be doing that looks like they're texting or holding a phone to their head and on average how long is a cop going to be getting a good look in the car as they drive by 1 maybe 2 seconds?
 

invidia

Platinum Member
Oct 8, 2006
2,151
1
0
The number of cellphone related car accidents has surpasses the number of DUIs in 2009.
 

Numenorean

Diamond Member
Oct 26, 2008
4,442
1
0
Many states have laws against cell phone use while driving...or at least texting, which you should really be dragged out of the car and shot for doing IMO.

I don't give a shit if many states have laws against it. It's NOT illegal to talk on my phone here. I will do it all the time. It's not a distraction, at least not to me.
 

spaceman

Lifer
Dec 4, 2000
17,609
170
106
i think its awesome personlly
i love talking mad shit while driving
its boring
 

Genx87

Lifer
Apr 8, 2002
41,091
513
126
Bullshit. Do you see people looking down for seconds at a time, taking both hands off the wheel, repeatedly, for miles at a time just to change the radio station? Or to take a sip of coffee?

I was driving home last night and watched this young woman in a subcompact look down for 1-2 seconds, then look back up at the road for a second, then back down for 1-2 seconds, then glance back at the road in front of her. This went on for at least 2-3 miles and she was no farther than 2 car lengths away from the vehicle in front of her while traveling along at 60-65mph.

And I see this ALL THE TIME!!!

People just aren't this distracted by radios or drinks.

Sure I do when they are searching for a new CD or change to a station that isnt pre-programed.

I am not entirely sure the point of your excercise. Do you honestly believe we can legislate away stupidity?
 

AMDZen

Lifer
Apr 15, 2004
12,589
0
76
I'm not asking for more laws...just enforcement of the ones we already have. And maybe increase the punishment. :p

Draconian ways of taking over your electronic devices isn't enforcement of laws, its invasion of basic freedoms.

No surprise that people who think this nazi idea is cool live in California.

Perhaps we should just limit all cars from doing more then 75 mph too, why stop at just having a signal jammer in the car? All cars should have GPS so the government knows where you are at all times and you should have to register the vehicle with the new division of the DMV which our tax dollars should create. And said GPS system should also be able to be jammed on the governments whim, for any reason.

And we should have to tell the government when we are driving out of state so that they can make sure we aren't smuggling drugs.

The government should be monitoring us at all times, for any reason they choose.
 

xanis

Lifer
Sep 11, 2005
17,571
8
0
In my physics lab, I used to do an experiment where you drop a ruler between someone's fingers and calculate their reaction time by the distance that the ruler falls.

This year, I added a new twist to that lab. I had all the kids go to their lockers and get their cell phones. They had no clue what was up. I had them text the alphabet with one hand. (Some whined about this, because they were used to 2 hands.) Their times for texting the alphabet ranged from 9 to 14 seconds.

I then did the experiment to measure reaction time (typical physics experiment.) But after that, I gave the kids up to 25 seconds to complete the alphabet. At some point during those 25 seconds, I would drop the ruler between their fingers. I corrected for any problems like "I dropped the ruler only when they were looking at the phone" - I dropped it at completely random times without watching the student.

NOT a single student was able to catch the ruler between their fingers under those circumstances. Not one. I had to switch to meter sticks.

So, to sum this experiment up: even when they KNEW I was going to drop the ruler (within 25 seconds, anyhow), and they were anticipating that the ruler was going to be dropped, they couldn't catch it while texting on a cell phone with the other hand.

That's a pretty cool experiment. Not surprising in the least though.
 

bunnyfubbles

Lifer
Sep 3, 2001
12,248
3
0
The problem is that, just like with drunk driving, everyone thinks they're better than the average and can pull it off. They believe they can perform the task and that they're really not that impaired.

However the difference between text driving and drunk driving is that most drunk drivers do it because they've been out drinking and need to get home so they risk it, with texting its people who need to fill a void in their shitty lives but aren't stuck like someone who is drunk in that if they need to get somewhere they don't need to be impaired or wait to become unimpaired.

If texting really is as impairing as drunk driving then we need to start punishing people like drunk driving (which arguably isn't punish enough for that crime), although I suppose the problem is its hard to prove. With a drunk driver at an accident they'll still be measurably intoxicated, however with texting the transactions need to match up with time of accident, which might not be so easy or reliably determined.
 

IcePickFreak

Platinum Member
Jul 12, 2007
2,428
9
81
I don't give a shit if many states have laws against it. It's NOT illegal to talk on my phone here. I will do it all the time. It's not a distraction, at least not to me.

That's the problem. The phone is "no distraction" for the person using it, but you're a big fuckin problem for every other person on the road.

I mean I can pound down a 6-pack and feel fine, cops shouldn't be worried about it then I guess?
 

Numenorean

Diamond Member
Oct 26, 2008
4,442
1
0
That's the problem. The phone is "no distraction" for the person using it, but you're a big fuckin problem for every other person on the road.

I mean I can pound down a 6-pack and feel fine, cops shouldn't be worried about it then I guess?

There's a difference there - you're doing something illegal. I am not.

How am I a big problem for every other person on the road? I said it's no distraction - so it would not cause any problem for anyone on the road. Are you stupid or something?
 

IcePickFreak

Platinum Member
Jul 12, 2007
2,428
9
81
There's a difference there - you're doing something illegal. I am not.

How am I a big problem for every other person on the road? I said it's no distraction - so it would not cause any problem for anyone on the road. Are you stupid or something?

Depending on which state you're talking about. Handheld phone use while driving is prohibited in several states.

"It's no distraction, at least not to me" is what you said. But while your talking to your boyfriend, you cut off of 5 people and ran 3 red lights. Not a problem for you of course because you didn't even notice any of it. Are you ignorant or something? Nevermind, this is pretty apparent.
 

AyashiKaibutsu

Diamond Member
Jan 24, 2004
9,306
3
81
They should have 2 heartbeat sensors (like they have on exercise equipment) on the steering wheel, and if you're not triggering both of them it should automaticly shut off your engine and call the police. Taking one of your hands off the wheel at any point is degrading your ability to drive and putting others at risk.
 

SphinxnihpS

Diamond Member
Feb 17, 2005
8,368
25
91
There's a difference there - you're doing something illegal. I am not.

How am I a big problem for every other person on the road? I said it's no distraction - so it would not cause any problem for anyone on the road. Are you stupid or something?

It IS a distraction. It does take you attention away from driving. I'm not saying it's the worst thing in the world, or that there are not other equally or even more distracting things that occur during the average drive, but for you to say it is absoluetly not a distraction is a lie, or you are now so great with self-awareness. People's brains, no matter what they think of themselves, are very very very bad at multitasking, as in it is nearly impossible to think of two thing simultaneously, so when you are doing something AND driving, you are changing your attention repeatedly from one to the other. There is some degree of risk involved in that which increases exponentially with speed AND traffic volume.

The point Jules is making is, why should he have to worry about that. I think that people should ALWAYS worry about the other guy on the road, but only to the extent that it changes their own driving habits. I think having police enforce laws over POTENTIAL DANGER is un-American. I think most traffic laws are un-American.