Cell phones can distract you

Can't view the video from my country or location.
Lots of things distract drivers. I was happy NH didn't impose a specific cell phone law but does random stepped up enforcement of their distracted driving law.

First week they did it, the majority of erratic operators were not on cell phones but rather eating food, dealing with children, looking at printed materials Of course there were stops where they were using the phone too, nut I was surprised at how many other sources they listed as the cause of distraction.

Many years ago my sister blew through a stop sign and T - boned a small Toyota with her 79 Buick Le Sabre. Really messed the guy up, she was changing the radio station.

As a MC rider it terrifies me how distracted people are on the roads. New cars are so safe the thought of injury from a crash is far from most people's minds while the new vehicles offer up so many built in distractions before we add what we bring in to the vehicle ourselves. Drivers are really turning into a bunch of zombies behind the wheel. Not all, but an increasing percentage.

wait until the cars start driving themselves. already have braking capabilities. had a rental with that feature, scared the crap out of me, and it was not like the ones now, this one only slowed down.

boomhour said:

Sorry about that give this a try .

http://barrie.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=302047

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Wow. Scary, the trailer really made for no escape route.
Seemed if she was paying more attention she could've braked earlier as the truck clearly was rolling through the stop. Still would've hit something but maybe not so bad.
It's easy to play Monday morning quarter back though.....

ironpony said:

wait until the cars start driving themselves. already have braking capabilities. had a rental with that feature, scared the crap out of me, and it was not like the ones now, this one only slowed down.

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Don't think I'd like that. They're talking about having cars talk to each other in the very near future which would've applied the brakes on the girls car in the video as soon as the truck started accelerating, and probably stopped the truck too. Result, head on into the trucks drivers door? Probably bad.

More than once I've had to accelerate out of a bad situation. The computers can't see all the options or all the potential escape routes.
While they may make some drivers safer on the roads, I believe many are better off without them, we're bringing the whole class down to the level of the slowest student.

Warm_in_NH said:

Don't think I'd like that. They're talking about having cars talk to each other in the very near future which would've applied the brakes on the girls car in the video as soon as the truck started accelerating, and probably stopped the truck too. Result, head on into the trucks drivers door? Probably bad.

More than once I've had to accelerate out of a bad situation. The computers can't see all the options or all the potential escape routes.
While they may make some drivers safer on the roads, I believe many are better off without them, we're bringing the whole class ( WHOLE COUNTRY) down to the level of the slowest student.

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fixed it, although I think that was your intention.

Looks like the driver first tried to avoid impact (by attempting to steer around to the left side and then back to the right) instead of braking. But even if he had braked first, I don't think the impact would have been avoided.
Sure glad no one was seriously hurt, of course.

I'll bet that there are only a handful (if that) of members on this forum that haven't used a cell phone while driving.

I held a commercial license for several years (buses). Nothing surprises me anymore. Everyone thinks they're "so on top of it"... everyone should have to take a defensive driving class every few years, IMO. My cell goes on "silent" when I'm in my car. I eat at home. And anyone who thinks it's really possible to "multi-task" is only fooling themselves. When you're behind the wheel of something weighing 2 tons+ and moving at considerable rates of speed you need to keep your attention on the road. "Hang up and drive" as Click and Clack say.

yooperdave said:

Looks like the driver first tried to avoid impact (by attempting to steer around to the left side and then back to the right) instead of braking. But even if he had braked first, I don't think the impact would have been avoided.
Sure glad no one was seriously hurt, of course.

I'll bet that there are only a handful (if that) of members on this forum that haven't used a cell phone while driving.

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YO!

That being said, I think there are an AWFUL lot of factors involved in distracted driving; we have telephones, bluetooth not withstanding, radios and music to fiddle with, GPS devices to consult; also we are going TOO FAST, Eating and drinking while driving, and there are a lot of other people out there with us, more than what there used to be. With all the safety devices and better roads, we also get a false sense of security. Back in the 1980's, the kid across the street was taking drivers ed, and the one thing his teacher impressed upon him was, "You have to assume that EVERYONE out on that road is a raving lunatic, and drive very defensively!"