Knock it the hell off.

[AZhitman]

http://www.vocativ.com/culture/society/ ... d-driving/

Scary, right?

[Rogue One]

Ok, first... Way to scare the vodka outta me with that title. Sheesh!

They may be right about the older respondents being more honest in their replies.

Some facts found here: http://www.ghsa.org/html/stateinfo/laws ... _laws.html

14 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands prohibit all drivers from using hand-held cell phones while driving.

Washington was the first state to pass a texting ban in 2007. Currently, 44 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands ban text messaging for all drivers.

[AZhitman]

The problem is, it's a virtually unenforceable law.

Until attorneys start subpoenaing cell phone records, there's really no way of knowing if an accident was caused by a texting driver.

I see tons of them on my commute, and I'll typically give them the "watch the road" sign if they make eye contact (or I'll just give them a dose of the air horns).

[Rogue One]

On a personal note, I lost my mother in a car wreck nearly six years ago. The state police initially stated that the teen that caused the accident had been texting. They later changed their story and said he'd fallen asleep at the wheel with his cruise set at 60mph.

The accident happened in Maryland, and that state requires proof of gross negligence in order to charge a driver with killing someone. As he'd only fallen asleep, the kid was charged with three traffic citations totaling just under $1,000.

[AZhitman]

I had no idea... I'm sad to hear that.

[sx moneypit]

Can someone please explain to me this f*** obsession with texting ??
What the f*** is wrong with people!!??

[Bubba1]

Can someone please explain to me this f**king obsession with texting ??
What the f*** is wrong with people!!??

I imagine mostly it's an easy, instant cheap message that does not require a person to be available to get it. Personally I think it has some value, but common sense dictates not doing it while driving. But then again, common sense is not a given in everyone.

As a baby boomer, I think our children must be shocked that life could exist before smart phones. Paper Maps? rotary phones, non-synchro transmissions? What are those things?

[Kompresshun]

I do text a lot personally, but never while i'm driving. If I can't call the person on the phone while driving, then I just use Siri on my iPhone which just requires pressing the home button. No need to take your eyes off the road or get distracted. All smartphones these days have some sort of voice command system built in anyways, so there's no excuse to take your eyes off of the road.

I grew up without smartphones and while I am a technology geek, thankfully I still know how to survive without one if I needed to. It's just convenience, not a necessity.

[sx moneypit]

Can someone please explain to me this f**king obsession with texting ??
What the f*** is wrong with people!!??

I imagine mostly it's an easy, instant cheap message that does not require a person to be available to get it. Personally I think it has some value, but common sense dictates not doing it while driving. But then again, common sense is not a given in everyone.

As a baby boomer, I think our children must be shocked that life could exist before smart phones. Paper Maps? rotary phones, non-synchro transmissions? What are those things?

Yeah, people now days wouldn't know what to do with a phone with a cord attached to it and probably couldn't read a map.

[numbnuts240]

ah, the days of pulling over to check out the road atlas. good times.

[Looneybomber]

Data doesn't take in to account the duration of driving.

Ages 15-19, I had a job that was 1 mile (via 55mph hwy, so just over 1 minute) away. Now I have a job that is 41-42 min away. Guess when I am more likely to send a text message.

I'm guessing if they surveyed how many minutes people spent in the car, vs. how many times they did X behavior, the graphs would look different.

[themadscientist]

We have grown into a culture that strives to be connected at all times. Remember when you had to find a phone plugged into a wall to call someone? We somehow, inexplicably, survived those dark ages. Perhaps we all need to be ok with not being plugged in all the freakin time? And yes, I also enjoy the irony that I am typing this on an internet forum to people who have "known" me for years, but have never met me.

[numbnuts240]

i gave my cousin a ride home from work the other day. his phone was dying and he asked if i had a charger in my car. i do, but i couldn't understand what the big deal was if his phone died during the 30 minute drive. if i'm out and my phone dies, i see it as a mini vacation. people offer chargers and i decline. you mean i can go the next 2 hours without being bothered? sign me up for that s***.

btw, my cousin is 50 and the only message he got during that whole ride was someone commenting on his instagram selfie. i hate what's happening to our society.

[MinisterofDOOM]

I just can't fathom what it is about texts that makes people feel like they have to read/respond RIGHT NOW. What on earth could be that urgent? I can think of a handful of jobs that require urgent, prompt attention to communications or lives might be at stake, but even then, the text message is only part of the process and you should still be able to find time to pull over and safely read the text out of traffic.

The really sad part is, I know that 99% of people who read this post will be appalled that I'd suggest such a pansy, old man approach to things. People just don't GET IT. These are people who were already barely focused on driving before cell phones even existed, and now we're giving them a live distraction to further spread their already thin attention spans. Have you ever watched the body language of the average driver? Tense, hunched forward, white-knuckled, neck rigid, eyes perpetually forward--just the simple act of making a turn requires a hugely deliberate, full-body reaction. It's taking EVERY SINGLE BIT of concentration they can possibly muster just to drive in a straight line and maintain some vague semblance of constant speed. Throwing cell phones into the mix was always going to be a disaster. Radio controls, food, makeup, shaving--all of that was already a problem, but none of it was as everpresent as your text notification sound. But, again, I just don't understand the sense of URGENCY attached to reading that text. Nevermind replying.

There's a reason many of us are much better drivers than others on the road, and it's not merely skill or practice. It's the fact that we devote 100% of our focus, attention, awareness, and senses to THE ACT OF DRIVING and the world around us, rather than fifty things that can ALL wait 15 minutes until we're at our destination.

I have less than zero tolerance for seeing people holding a phone while driving. It enrages me on a level that almost nothing else in the world can touch. It's the epitome of inconsiderateness, carelessness, obliviousness, and narcissism and is utterly inexcusable. I almost feel like it's more evil than drunk driving, since at least when you're texting and driving your decision making skills are physiologically unimpaired.

[AZhitman]

^ ...and there you have it. BLAM.

[Bubba1]

We have grown into a culture that strives to be connected at all times. Remember when you had to find a phone plugged into a wall to call someone? We somehow, inexplicably, survived those dark ages. Perhaps we all need to be ok with not being plugged in all the freakin time? And yes, I also enjoy the irony that I am typing this on an internet forum to people who have "known" me for years, but have never met me.

Absolutely. Though I suspect being "connected" at all times somehow replaces a person's craving for the physical human-to-human interface, which appears to be in rapid decline. I find that disappointing as I find the rat race is only as fast as you make it.

Face it, in the dark ages before cell phones/internet, people physically went to brick/morter stores to buy things, even...gasp shifted their gears manually in cars to get there. In some aspects, I recognize the "easier" aspect to it, but it takes away some of the best parts of being human which includes physical interaction and actual experiences as opposed to fidgeting one's digits in front of a computer screen or smart phone. I'd rather smell a good dinner across from a friend than looking at it on facebook.

the best part of NICO imho, is that it combines both worlds. Like MaD noted, I've gotten to know some great folks on line, but with the added bonus of actually physically meeting and hanging out with several of them at least once in awhile.

[Dattebayo]

Even hands-free can be a little dangerous, it sometimes makes me miss exits or miss important signs. Hell, I don't even have a radio in my truck. So you can already see I'm not big on distractions while driving...

[BusyBadger]

One thing I absolutely love about my Moto-X is the Motorola Assist. Between that, and massive playlists on Google Music I never touch my phone when I'm driving.

But like the rest of everyone else here I don't understand the need to instantly respond to a text message.

[AZhitman]

Even hands-free can be a little dangerous,

Very true. Some say it's comparable to being a little over the legal limit. I would tend to agree, as I know I can't focus on busting through traffic AND talk on my Bluetooth.

I'd rather communicate in person or via email.

[Kompresshun]

Siri on my iPhone is setup for voice commands, so I don't have to touch any buttons while i'm driving. I don't use it that much, but if there was a need for it I never have found it very distracting.

I still try to mess with my phone as little as possible while driving though. My typical routine is start my music playlist before I leave, then I usually don't make any calls while in motion. If someone calls me, i'll answer it though.

[Ace2cool]

I love my Nexus 6 because I can enable "OK Google" detection while the screen is off and locked, and SYNC in my truck makes it where I don't really have to touch anything except the phone button on the steering wheel with my thumb.

[Dattebayo]

I wish I had something like sync again, I miss it from my last work vehicle...

It had a button for everything on the steering wheel and it was easy to learn. It would auto-connect when I walked in the car (if I had Bluetooth on)and I have to admit I was not distracted at all while driving when I had that stuff.

[Kompresshun]

I do wish I had a slightly better bluetooth setup in my Pathfinder, but i'm still happy with it. I bought this thing off of Amazon for $39 and it absolutely rocks for what it is. It's an FM Modulator, but it works better than anything i've ever seen. It auto connects to your phone when you get in the car, then transmits everything over FM. Music, phone calls, and everything are very clear and sound great.

It works well enough that I never have to take my eyes off the road, so it's money well spent. That and it kept me from having to replace the factory headunit, since it has no aux in or bluetooth.

The wife's Kia has a much better setup in it though, but it was an expensive added option that I wouldn't have sprung for if the option package didn't have other things we wanted. Everything is on the steering wheel though and easily controlled without ever having to mess with the radio or your phone.

[Ace2cool]

Funny story, my buddy had one of those, and I knew his station, and tuned in to it on the highway and listened to his music sometimes when we cruised together. One time, I accidentally caught some of a borderline private conversation. I didn't listen much after that.

[MinisterofDOOM]

I don't really like hands-free, either. I recently got a new headunit in the LS8, because the factory one lost its mind and started spitting CDs at me without request, and changing tracks just for fun, and having a volume knob with exactly two settings: whatever it's at now and ALL THE DAMN WAY UP.

Anyway, the new headunit has fancy bluetooth hands-free phone features with a dedicated mic and voice commands. I have used it a few times, but even those fully hands-free calls feel distracting. I find myself focused more on the conversation and the person on the other end than driving. It's worse than having passengers talking to you, because you're doing the natural human thing and trying to infer information about the person on the other end from their voice. That requires attention that should be devoted to driving. It's certainly much, much better than holding a phone, but it's not the same as not being on the phone at all, either.

It has also been proven that voice commands are a really distracting and unnatural way for people to interact with technology. Part of this is believed to come from the fact that we don't trust that the device we're talking to will understand, so we treat it differently than natural speech (even when assured the device can understand natural human speech, there's a pervasive and significant degree of doubt). So trying to voice command your phone isn't distraction-free. Even voice commands whilst otherwise unoccupied have proven to be clunky and distracting to to the user.

At the end of the day, regardless of the gimmicks, assists, and other techno-goodies we use to make talking on the phone less distracting, we still arrive at the same conclusion:
When you're driving, you should be DRIVING. Everything else is secondary or less.

Funny story, my buddy had one of those, and I knew his station, and tuned in to it on the highway and listened to his music sometimes when we cruised together. One time, I accidentally caught some of a borderline private conversation. I didn't listen much after that.

Overcomplicated, backward, demand-driven solution: AES encrypted FM modulator.

[Bubba1]

Funny story, my buddy had one of those, and I knew his station, and tuned in to it on the highway and listened to his music sometimes when we cruised together. One time, I accidentally caught some of a borderline private conversation. I didn't listen much after that.

That is amusing. I have an interesting glitch with my Sirius satellite receiver. It's an older one that broadcasts the signal to an FM radio frequency of my choosing. I put it between local stations for best reception. But when I get near Harrisburg, evidently there's a faith based station with the same frequency that I chose. What happens is if you're in a car near me, tuned to that faith station, my signal might temporarily take over your radio... They'd be contently hearing, Ammmennnnn, praaaaaaaiiiiiise Jeeeeeeeesus, putt-putting away, but if I have Howard Stern on, when they get near me, it's amusing to see the look of horror on their faces when suddenly they hear "Bababooey!!!!!" followed by fart noises.

[themadscientist]

I find myself not focusing on driving as well. I just ordered head units for my new cars that will add that bluetooth thing so I can leave at least my hands free to drive. Luckily, I don't have a lot of close friends so my phone doesn't ring much. Honestly, it's not just phones. I was going down the highway one afternoon and saw another car weaving along and when I looked over I saw a guy d!ck with his phone. I said "look at this jerk!" Actually, it sounded like "wook at dis werk!" It sounded that way, I realized because I had a mouthful of a cheeseburger and as I looked down I was double fisting the sandwich and steering with my forearms. I felt like a proper idiot.

[LongBeachCoupe]

ah, the days of pulling over to check out the road atlas. good times.

AAA Trip Tik days...

Atleast 25% of the time if im talking on the phone I miss my exit, headset, bluetooth, whatever...

What I think is more disturbing is women (or men?) putting on makeup while driving, they not only have their eyes off the road, but hands taken up too...
I will also say that having a baby in the back is quite distracting... i thought that mirror so I could see her in my rearview (you know what mirror im talking about if you have kids) would help... but its more distracting