Almost Versa v. my Versa SL accident

[srellim234]

This afternoon, I'm turning right from 9th onto Mountain in Upland. Light turns green, lady in a grey Versa (and missing the front right hubcap, I might add) making a left screams off the line and into the right lane, cutting me off and cutting off the guy going straight. You guessed it. She was yakking away on a cell phone. and there is no left arrow at that intersection, but she was distracted enough by the phone conversation to think there was.

When will people get it through their thick heads that they shouldn't hold a phone to their ear and try to drive at the same time?

[KimberKenobi]

Cr@p... you'd think she would have the courtesy to notice another V... She shoulda sprung for the SL if she's a yakker.... ;oD

Good thing you managed to not get hit!

[Ever Victorious]

Good god people, how hard is it to go to costco and spend $40 on a bluetooth headset?

I'm so glad we're enacting new cell phone/driving laws here...

Still, we don't need any more V's lost to the October Curse.

[TrustME]

I know its bad, but I talk and drive.

But, I'm never on long.

Sorry to hear that happen to you man, most people are idiots on the road so watch out.

[srellim234]

I know its bad, but I talk and drive.

But, I'm never on long.

Sorry to hear that happen to you man, most people are idiots on the road so watch out.

If you know it's bad, why do you do it? If you can't afford to make that cell phone hands-free, you can't afford the phone OR the car. If you can afford it and choose not to, then use the voice mail and get the message when you're done driving. There are no excuses.

[TrustME]

Yes sir.

I don't have long conversations on the phone. I don't talk and drive in rain/trafficI don't make the calls.I think I'm doing okay.

[BillyBeaneBall]

Well first off, glad to hear everyone (including your V) is OK.

Secondly glad to hear you followed the basic rules of the road by making sure the intersection was clear before advancing (even if it WAS clear before the lady took off into the intersection) I agree with EV...we don't need any more V's lost to the October Curse...or any more at all in any month from this board

[Ever Victorious]

Yes sir.

I don't have long conversations on the phone. I don't talk and drive in rain/trafficI don't make the calls.I think I'm doing okay.

It's not really the talking on the phone that is the bad thing. If you have a proper hands-free device, talking on a cell phone in the car is no more distracting than talking to a passenger in your car.

I don't have bluetooth on my current V, which is why I made a point of going out and getting said bluetooth headset. Since I'm a field tech, I have no choice BUT to answer calls in my car sometimes. Answering a call is no more difficult than on a BT equipped V. And I don't place calls while in motion. Ever.

In the age of technology and freebie upgrade phones from (insert your carrier name here), there's no excuse for anyone not to have a bluetooth setup of SOME kind in their cars.

(/soapbox)

[srellim234]

In my case I have a reasonably priced LG VX4700 cell phone that has a large speaker where a lot of phones have a camera lens. You don't even NEED bluetooth, wires, etc. to have a decent speakerphone in a car. There are alternatives.

[kc5f]

It's not really the talking on the phone that is the bad thing. If you have a proper hands-free device, talking on a cell phone in the car is no more distracting than talking to a passenger in your car.

I just did a little searching, and this quote sounded a lot like one attributed to a cell phone company rep in an article discussing whether hands-free cell phones were any safer than others: ""I don't buy any of this scare tactics stuff. Cell phones are no more a cause of accidents than someone applying mascara or eating in the car." No, probably not, comparing cell phone miles and mascara miles!

Several studies have addressed hands-free phones. The first I found included the statement, "“The study found that when 18- to 25-year-olds were placed in a driving simulator and talked on a cellular phone, they reacted to brake lights from a car in front of them as slowly as 65- to 74-year-olds who were not using a cell phone. The elderly drivers, meanwhile, became even slower to react to brake lights when they spoke on a cell phone.” “Only hands-free phones were used to eliminate any possible distraction from manipulating a hand-held cell phone.”

So maybe hands-free are safer than hand-helds, but the best advice is to pay attention to the road, and do your conversing at other times.

[TheClevelandSound]

I dont call anyone while im driving...i only answer the phone if its an important call for me. Im way to busy singing to be talking on the fone!

[srellim234]

So maybe hands-free are safer than hand-helds, but the best advice is to pay attention to the road, and do your conversing at other times.

True. I have the speakerphone mentioned above, but 99% of the time I let the mailbox answer it while I'm in the car. The exceptions are situations like Sunday when my wife was called to emergency duty along the fire lines and I'm worried about getting "the call" that she's injured or worse.

I think what you pointed out is very important. The cell phone doesn't CAUSE the accident; the cell phone slows down reaction time enough to prevent you from AVOIDING the accident.

I avoid having any drinks and then driving for the same reason. I may not be legally drunk but even one drink might slow down my reaction time enough to leave me involved in an accident. When my wife and I go out, one of us always plays the role of designated driver. We're always safer and happier that way.
Modified by srellim234 at 7:36 AM 10/24/2007

[matt_a]

Wow...glad to hear that you avoided the accident!

This topic has driven me nuts for a while. I know there are studies which claim that talking on a hands-free device still slows your reaction time. I personally find it hard to believe. Let me rephrase that. I find it hard to believe that it has any more effect on the driver than having a conversation with someone sitting next to you in the car or talking with your kids in the back seat. Your hands are free and you're watching the road (not looking at a phone). The other thing that amazes me is that people will say that a cell phone call on a hands-free device is still not safe, yet nobody makes a big deal about truckers talking on a CB while driving a huge tractor-trailer. And they hold the mic! I'm a lot more worried about them or a teeneager who's messing with his stereo.

[kc5f]

Yes, it's the fact that there's a distraction, not just what the distraction is. Hands-free cell phones are definitely a safety improvement over hand-helds, but you just can't say hands-free calls are safe, that's all.

As for truckers, at least they do it for a living and should be a bit better at it. I've been a ham radio operator as long as I've been driving, and have driven over 750,000 miles, but I still realize talking on the mic is a hazard and don't use it often while driving.

[matttail]

Have a hands free piece on, or better pull over. If that call is that important that you have to take it, pull over and park then answer the phone.

besides, part of the difference in talking to a passenger and talking to someone on the phone, is that your passenger knows when to shut up because you're concentrating on traffic, or politely screams when the other driver isn't paying attention. Your coworker or boss on the phone doesn't have a view of your car.

[matt_a]

besides, part of the difference in talking to a passenger and talking to someone on the phone, is that your passenger knows when to shut up because you're concentrating on traffic, or politely screams when the other driver isn't paying attention. Your coworker or boss on the phone doesn't have a view of your car.

That's an interesting point. I never really thought about that. Of course, that's assuming your passangers are watching the road.

[Rockhound]

besides, part of the difference in talking to a passenger and talking to someone on the phone, is that your passenger knows when to shut up because you're concentrating on traffic, or politely screams when the other driver isn't paying attention. Your coworker or boss on the phone doesn't have a view of your car.

I agree. I have a feeling that any phone conversation, handsfree or otherwise, is still more distracting than an in-person conversation in the car.

I think you generally have to concentrate more on phone conversations - so even if you're not holding a phone, you're still not giving driving the attention you should be.

[lain]

Well I don't feel that driving and talking on the cell destracts me from driving. Most of the time I pay attention to the road then the converstion and find myself saying, "huh?" and "what?" half the time because I put more of my focus on the road then the cell.

I'm the person you see with the cig in my left hand, soda in the other, cell on my shoulder, shifting with my pinky, and steering with my knees.

*EDIT* JK about the soda usually I put that down after I take a sip.

[srellim234]

Like the cop that sees the little old lady working away with her crochet needles while she's driving down the highway. Cop gets on his loudspeaker and hollers, "Pull over! Pull over!"

Little old ladies yells out her car window, "No. It's a baby blanket."

[lain]

ROFLLLLL i dont get it but but I'm sure the term, "pull over" has something to do with what the old lady is doing. i mean I still laughed but i didnt know what i was laughing at. cause i dont understand the joke but i know it was funny.

...getting 2nd cup of coffee...man 2nd in the first hour im working my up in the world.

[Rockhound]

ROFLLLLL i dont get it but but I'm sure the term, "pull over" has something to do with what the old lady is doing...

The cop says "pull over" and the old lady thinks he's guessing at what she's knitting - you know, like a pull-over sweater? So she replies "no, it's a baby's blanket".

Coffee or no - I wouldn't admit to not getting that one.

[Ever Victorious]

No offense to the study, but you could distract the teenagers with a quarter and a rubber band.

I'm always willing to be a guinea pig. If someone wants to study the effects of a handsfree phone call on ME, I'm more than willing.

Oh, and it has to be in an actual vehicle, not a simulator. I can tell you that I can't drive a simulator worth crap because it's not real... you can't feel the car, the road, the environment in a simulator.

(I'm a very tactile driver, which is why I can't drive luxury cars either... there is too much of a disconnect from the road, and it really bothers me)

[kc5f]

Studies, not study. I just quoted the first and best known one. My point was just that folks who say hands-free phones are safe are fooling themselves. They are safer, but still a distraction.

My dad also used to say he didn't believe in studies, in his case of smokers. If he didn't believe them, then smoking wouldn't hurt him. Of course, when he died he was eaten up with lung cancer, but they didn't study him...

[matt_a]

... My point was just that folks who say hands-free phones are safe are fooling themselves. They are safer, but still a distraction.

That may be true, but I still contend that it's no more of a distraction than talking to someone in your car. And I'd bet my house that eating, messing with the stereo, or talking on a CB is a bigger distraction.

[TrustME]

No offense to the study, but you could distract the teenagers with a quarter and a rubber band.

Ouch Geoff, that hurt a bit.

[Ever Victorious]

Ouch Geoff, that hurt a bit.

That wasn't meant as a slam, I was just pointing out that teenagers are easily distracted. More so than any other group of drivers. They lack the concentration and experience of their elder drivers, and MANY (but not all) believe they are more skillful than they actually are.

[lain]

That wasn't meant as a slam, I was just pointing out that teenagers are easily distracted. More so than any other group of drivers. They lack the concentration and experience of their elder drivers, and MANY (but not all) believe they are more skillful than they actually are.

Elders may have more experience but they lack something...vision. And I also think part of their brain starts to go away seeing the mistakes they make on the road.

What i meant EV, I was just pointing out that elders see or thing like they use to when they were younger. More so than any other group of drivers. The lack of seeing and thinking of the younger drivers. and MANY (but not all) believe they are as skillful as they were in their pervious years.

ROFL EV you can flame back all you want <3

And I do admit that alot of teenagers that get in their cars think they are good at driving. Thank goodness the one friend that I taught how to drive is actually good. But he decided to start racing after only driving for 3 months and I told him that he should wait a year or 2 until he got better. anddd....thats how he wreaked his Prelude. If it wasn't for him being lucky and barly squezing inbetween the firehydrant and lightpole he probably wouldn't have made it out alive.

Another instance was I was in the car with a co-worker and he was trying to light a cig, and BOOM he smashes into the car infront of him. I saw the whole thing...i just didn't bother to say anything because 1) he had a ugly car 2) he was a bad driver and i was scared every second in the car with him...so i thought maybe he would learn by hitting someone. The truck he hit, NOT A SCRATCH! His car the hood bent up...it was so funny.

I can go on about this but im going to stop it here...i have 13 minutes left at work and just trying to burn this time. <3 <3 <3

[marleyfan]

But he decided to start racing after only driving for 3 months and I told him that he should wait a year or 2 until he got better. anddd....thats how he wreaked his Prelude. If it wasn't for him being lucky and barly squezing inbetween the firehydrant and lightpole he probably wouldn't have made it out alive.

What were the fire hydrant and lightpole doing on the race track?? Oh..wait...he was STREET racing! So you think that after 2 years of driving that it is ok to street race? I certainly hope you don't do that yourself or encourage others to do it.

[Ever Victorious]

Funny that he goes THERE...

Since I still have uncorrected 20/20 vision, something that many teenagers cannot claim.

Also, adult drivers generally have more disposable income and better vision insurance, so correcting their vision is more reasonable.

Why do you think that insurance companies charge so much for young drivers? It's not because they have super reflexes, extreme vision, and superb driving skills.

And I'm not saying that adult drivers are perfect. Just yesterday, some absolute moron in a painter's van decided that trying to pass me on the shoulder of an on-ramp while I was doing 50 was a good idea.

And then you decide to bring up street racing.

[matt_a]

I haven't met a teenager yet who doesn't think he's the world's best driver. And before anyone gets offended, I include myself in that statement. When I first started driving (26 years ago), I thought everyone over the age of 30 was getting slow and just need to get out of my way. I look back at it now and laugh at myself. EV hit the nail on the head when he pointed out how insurance companies view the issue. If teens were the better drivers, they would have the better rates. The average teen pays as much in 6 months as my wife and I both pay for 2 years on two cars.
Modified by matt_a at 6:00 AM 10/26/2007