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Sparkle (0)
That's right, hang up the damn phone! You're hurtling in 2 tons of machine down the street, weaving in and out of your lane, slowing down, speeding up, cutting people off.
And you, backing out of your driveway, cutting me off (and fortunately not running over a child): I'm sorry, but I just don't get what is so damned important than you have to be yakking on the phone right after you got into your car. Couldn't you make the call, then drive?
Oh, you weren't talking, you were texting? What are you, stupid? You're a hazard. A menace!
Just this past week in New Jersey, a cyclist was seriously injured — broken neck, mind you! — in an accident with a texting driver.
Every day, Cherry Hill resident Lisa Granert bikes to and from her job at a Southampton horse farm. Police say that on Monday 28-year-old Robert Sharrer ran off the road and hit Granert, who was wearing a reflective vest. They say he was sending a text message about a drug deal.
Granert fractured her leg and neck. Speaking from her hospital bed, she says it's not the first time she's been hit.
It seems pretty obvious: If you aren't watching the road, you're a danger to everyone around you. And if you're texting....
you
are
not
watching
the
ROAD!
Going Cellular's Michelle writes:
We’ve all heard stories over the years about women drivers putting on their makeup in the rear view mirror while zipping through rush hour traffic, or men tying their ties while they drive, or many people spilling hot coffee on themselves while driving. Nowadays, those bad behaviors remain, but have been augmented by new ones, specifically those related to cell phones. People talking while driving, one hand on the wheel, the other holding a cell phone to their ear. People dialing while behind the wheel. And, even more recently, people texting while driving. It’s become so common, and has been the cause of so many accidents, that the United States Senate is getting involved, trying to pass legislation that would ban the use of cell phones while driving. Despite the warnings, the news reports of accidents, and even the deaths of classmates, many teens still see nothing wrong with texting while driving.
To be fair, it’s not just teens. Adults are also guilty of it, and in some cases, it’s even worse because parents text while driving—and while their kids are in the car. Other than putting their kids and themselves in danger by engaging in this behavior, they’re also setting the worst possible example for their children. Parents can’t be with their driving-age teenagers all the time, and it’s when those teens are alone in the car that the texting gets out of hand.
I can't say that the Federal government's involvement in some kind of ban is something I want to see. Or something I think would do much good.
She points to a new Pew study [PDF] that's quite unsettling.
Overall, 34% of teen texters ages 16-17 say they have texted while driving. That translates into 26% of all American teens ages 16-17.
Boys and girls are equally likely to report texting be- hind the wheel; 34% of each group say they have used text messaging while driving. At the same time, texting at the wheel is less common than having a conversation on the phone while driving. Looking at teens ages 16-17 who have a cell phone, 52% say they have talked on a cell phone while driving. That translates into 43% of all American teens ages 16-17....
...Teens also told of a variety of practices they use to try to increase safety while still maintaining the ability to text in the car. Some felt as though they could safely manage a quick exchange of texts while the car was stopped....
...Others told of holding the phone up to keep their eyes simultaneously on the road and the phone. “I try not to, but at a red light, it’s a lot easier” said one high school boy. “And if I do text while I’m driving, I usually try to keep the phone up near the windshield, so if someone is braking in front of me or stops short, I’m not going to be looking down and hit them”...
...Other teens were more blasé about texting in the car. Said one high-school aged boy: “I think it’s fine...And I wear sunglasses so the cops don’t see [my eyes looking down].” Likewise, another high school-aged girl wrote that she texts “all the time,” and that “everybody texts while they drive
