distracted driving stats

[Ferzerp]

Read the article, accidents involving drivers distracted using their phone are up 27%. The fact that overall accident stats are down doesn't take away the increasing problem of distracted drivers.

That doesn't exhibit a causal relationship at all. If the frequency of "distracted" driving is up 27%, and also accidents where "distracted" driving are present are up 27%, then you have shown nothing. Leaving out the other key metric is poor studying at best, and deceitful at worst. To hear you crusaders talk, half the cars on the road have people on their phones all the time. We should then expect 50% of accidents to involve someone who was on their phone at a minimum.


It is like me telling you that from the time before radios were installed in cars and when radios were installed in cars the percentage of accidents involving radios in cars went from 0% to nearly 100%. Great. All you have really told me is that cars all have radios now. By your logic though, it was obviously the radio that caused the accident! I mean, studies show that when you're changing a radio station your reaction time is slowed, right? Well, great, but can you prove a relationship between that level of increased reaction time and a higher incidence of accidents?

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Why can't phone makers disable all features of the phone except the ringer when it senses movement between the tower/s or gps? Once you stop you will regain access to the screen and the ability to answer the phone.

incredibly sloppy solution that is rather unfair to carpoolers and public transportation commuters, or even the incredibly small minority of solo drivers who are able to use their mobile devices wisely

I'd much rather they ratchet up the punishment on the true offenders

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

i use my phone as a gps. sometimes i have to adjust the brightness or check to see what the next turn is.
i also have friends that have driven the car with their knees while eating something. have tried to catch a pizza that was falling from the passenger seat. tried to remount a gps that fell off the windshield. look at a map/mapquest.

distracted driving of any kind is probably a bad thing. maybe the best way to train someone not to drive distracted is getting them on a two wheeled vehicle. although too much attention could mess you up too.

 

[CLite]

How do you people on this weird crusade reconcile your world view of "OMG DISTRACTED DRIVERS!" with the simple fact that injury and fatality rates for drivers and passengers have steadily declined since the 90's? I can't find stats on non-injury crashes.

Continuing improvements in car designs with regards to safety.

 

[luv2liv]

stat is pretty dead on.
i live on a major street. every time i look out the window, 90% of the people driving are on the phone. pedestrians walking either holding their phones or looking at their phones. weird times we living in

 

[shortylickens]

I've noticed a strange correlation with people sitting at greens and the rise of smart phone popularity.

Am sure its just a coincidence.

 

[Imp]

I tried driving and texting once... Could barely keep it in the lane, so I gave up.

 

[master_shake_]

simple solution.

take the drivers out of the equation.

let a computer do it.

but oh noes.

how can a driver-less car get a ticket?

they have to think of new ways to increase revenue.

 

[shortylickens]

they'll just break tail lights before people go to work.

 

[SearchMaster]

How do you people on this weird crusade reconcile your world view of "OMG DISTRACTED DRIVERS!" with the simple fact that injury and fatality rates for drivers and passengers have steadily declined since the 90's? I can't find stats on non-injury crashes.

Cars are unquestionably safer now too...better brakes, better crash protection, etc. so it's not apples to apples when comparing injury/fatality rates.

Not gonna lie, it kinda drives (swidt?) me crazy when my wife asks me a question over text when she KNOWS I'm in the car. I'll usually just ignore her until I reach my destination or if I absolutely MUST respond, I'll do it via voice-to-text. My car reads texts to me so I don't have to read the screen.

 

[rudeguy]

I really wish they would do crackdowns on people using their phones while driving. They do this with seatbelts, why not cell phones?

 

[dank69]

http://jalopnik.com/ridiculous-distracted-driving-stats-make-the-case-for-a-1705630119



/facepalm

As I've known even before mobile phones were a thing, 61% of the population have no business behind the wheel of a car. I'm not even trolling. 61% of you should NOT be allowed to drive. You should be pulled over immediately, the keys forcibly removed from your ignition and thrown in a lake. Since that isn't realistic, once driverless cars are mainstream, everyone should lose their current license and the test to reacquire one should be extremely grueling. Then we can raise the speed limit to something more reasonable rather than catering to the lowest common denominator.

 

[balloonshark]

incredibly sloppy solution that is rather unfair to carpoolers and public transportation commuters, or even the incredibly small minority of solo drivers who are able to use their mobile devices wisely

I'd much rather they ratchet up the punishment on the true offenders

Unfair is someone dying because some idiot can't quit socializing while he or she is piloting a ton and a half car.

Perhaps planes, trains and buses can have a certified device that disables the lock within its range. I could give 2 squirts about car poolers. If they're talking while someone is driving it's just another distraction for the driver. People dealt just fine without smart phones in the past and they can do it once again. They can always pull into a parking lot if it can't wait.

 

[Phoenix86]

27 percent think they can safely shoot video while driving
17 percent take a selfie

How do they know this? The phone doesn't need to access the network for these features, right? So how does AT&T know what I'm doing?

 

[Majes]

So you didn't quit because it's unsafe, only because it's now illegal?

That would be somewhat correct.
I could text on my flip phone with it held behind my back one-handed.
It really wasn't a safety issue for me.

Now that it's illegal and I have a smart-phone I've stopped.
Not worth the possible $ or the danger.

 

[Obsy]

I'm a college student and I've never seen anyone take a selfie while driving . Plenty of driver seat selfies in my news feed, but all of them while parked.

How do they know this? The phone doesn't need to access the network for these features, right? So how does AT&T know what I'm doing?

survey

 

[NoCreativity]

I'm a college student and I've never seen anyone take a selfie while driving . Plenty of driver seat selfies in my news feed, but all of them while parked.


survey

A couple months ago I was in front of a girl taking multiple selfies while driving. Apparently she wasn't happy with the results because it was the same pose for a mile or so.

 

[MetalMat]

I really wish they would do crackdowns on people using their phones while driving. They do this with seatbelts, why not cell phones?

It's heading that way. They recently implemented the law in Austin & San Antonio, I think its up to a $500.00 fine in Austin. It's not just cell phones either, its any sort of electronic device like an ipod

 

[Mr.IncrediblyBored]

periscope + driving = mother of all distractions.

Holy shit their website is horrible. I don't know anything about Periscope other than hearing the name a lot recently, so I looked up their website for info. Full of pretentious bullcrap and no actual substance.

Jesus...

http://www.periscope.com/

 

[Obsy]

Holy shit their website is horrible. I don't know anything about Periscope other than hearing the name a lot recently, so I looked up their website for info. Full of pretentious bullcrap and no actual substance.

Jesus...

http://www.periscope.com/

Wrong Periscope

https://www.periscope.tv/

 

[CZroe]

That fact is disgusting when you consider you're in control of a motorized vehicle that weighs a ton or more.

Why can't phone makers disable all features of the phone except the ringer when it senses movement between the tower/s or gps? Once you stop you will regain access to the screen and the ability to answer the phone.

Did you even think about that for more than two seconds? What happens when people die because a passenger can't call 911? Why can't a driver get GPS or change music tracks, two things that dedicated devices are allowed to do in a car? Why must everyone else be unable to text or email or browse the web?

 

[clamum]

i wish they would punish people more severely for using phones while driving.

whenever i see someone in front of me kinda swerve or whatever, i will drive up past them and sure as shit, 95% of the time they are on their phone.

overall in general i can't stand how glued to phones people are. that shit grinds my gears. i was at the gym the other day and just looked around while between sets, and over 50% of the people are face down in their fucking phones. at the fucking gym. no wonder they are the ones that look like they don't work out cause they are fucking around on their phone the whole time.

Yeah the phone addiction craze is nuckin futs. The average idiot glued to their phone just becomes even more of a fucking moron.

 

[piasabird]

Well when some fool slams into the back of your car at a stoplight and your vehicle hits the vehicle in front of you that that vehicle slams into the vehicle in front of them, you will understand what it is like to be hit by an idiot driver who was texting while driving. I don't think an inattentive driving citation is good enough. They should make the person pay 10 times the damages to all parties involved.

 

[Phoenix86]

survey

So, it's likely completely inaccurate on both side of things. People lying, people not owning up to it (I was at a stop light so it doesn't count), or people not understanding (taking a selfie while parked).

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Unfair is someone dying because some idiot can't quit socializing while he or she is piloting a ton and a half car.

Perhaps planes, trains and buses can have a certified device that disables the lock within its range. I could give 2 squirts about car poolers. If they're talking while someone is driving it's just another distraction for the driver. People dealt just fine without smart phones in the past and they can do it once again. They can always pull into a parking lot if it can't wait.

I suppose we should ban car stereos and passengers, might as well get rid of all distractions while we're at it!