cell phones

[mraf]

After reading about the Ural rider being killed pulling onto the thruway got me to remembering about the one very close call we had coming home from our recent west trip. We too were pulling back on the freeway after stopping to stretch and relax at a rest stop. As I was pulling onto the merging lane and accelerating I looked over my left shoulder and seen 2 cars in the passing lane. So the coast is clear. You would think. The idiot in the second car talking on his cell phone decided to pull back into the driving lane what must have been right after my coast is clear look. Needless to say I'm doing the last sway into the driving lane and I HEAR not see this low rumble right beside me and a fender close enough to polish. Whoa were did you come from! Scared the bejesus out of us. I asked the wife were did he come from and she said she didn't know. She said she looked too when were were entering the thruway and didn't see anything in the driving lane either. Needless to say I was livid and quite upset but the wife said let him go. So I follow this guy for several more miles. He was everywhere without ever touching a signal once. I finally had enough and caught up with him to at least read him my extreme happiness at the top of my lungs along with pointing out a few flying birds. Again I was chastised by the wife which I had to point out to her that she was setting up a double standard. She asked how. Which made me laugh, so I had to remind her of her own happy verses and pointing out of birds that I've seen her do on more than one occasion. Guess where I'm going with this is I HATE CELL PHONES, THEY SHOULD BE MADE TO NOT WORK WHEN ANY VEHICLE IS IN MOTION. MANKIND LIVED BEFORE THEY WERE INVENTED AND MORE OF US WOULD PROBABLY BE LIVING NOW IF THIS WOULD HAPPEN!

[BIG TOM]

I HATE CELL PHONES, THEY SHOULD BE MADE TO NOT WORK WHEN ANY VEHICLE IS IN MOTION. MANKIND LIVED BEFORE THEY WERE INVENTED AND MORE OF US WOULD PROBABLY BE LIVING NOW IF THIS WOULD HAPPEN!

 

 

 

 

Amen to that.....

[rentalguy1]

One look over the shoulder while merging onto a highway is nowhere near enough. It is not up to the traffic flow to make room for you to get in. They are at an established speed and have the right of way; phone or no phone. It is up to you to make adjustments to merge. You really need to keep an eye on your left hand mirror until you are safely in the driving lane when merging onto the highway. This is true whether you are on a motorcycle or in a tractor-trailer. I hate to say it, but if there had been a accident, you would have most likely been found at fault in this case.

[Flyinfool]

Not only do I make sure that my lane is clear, but I also try not to merge in next to a vehicle in the passing lane. You never know when they will make a lane change.

 

As for cell phones, WI starts a new law tomorrow that bans texting while driving with a $20 - $400 fine and 4 points for a first offense and up to $800 for a second.

Causing an accident while texting can result in jail time.

 

The original bill called for $100 - $800 for a first offence.

State officials say 18 percent of Wisconsin’s vehicle crashes in 2009 were caused by distracted drivers.

 

In reality, I suspect that the only ones that will ever get tagged will be after the crash.

[Venturous Randy]

You should be able to safely murge into an open lane, even if there are cars in the passing lane. Sometimes you have to do this unless you want to stop and wait until nothing is coming in either lane and that would be a lot worse and I still see people that do not know how to murge. I always try to look real hard at people that are in the fast lane to see if they use their signal and if they will still cut into you as mraf noted. I usually get a little agressive on speed and will actually be going faster than the left lane traffic and then slow down a little after I am in the lane. That keeps someone from coming up from behind and cutting into you. I will also try to make a special point to make room for someone that moved over to let me in to get back in the slow lane easily.

I hate to sound sexist here, but what scares me most is a woman in an SUV with a cell phone. They seem to feel invincible and are not paying attention to anyone else.

RandyA

[Yammer Dan]

Idiots everywhere. My phone has this cord hooked to it. I cant get it out the door????

[Rick Haywood]

I HATE CELL PHONES, THEY SHOULD BE MADE TO NOT WORK WHEN ANY VEHICLE IS IN MOTION. MANKIND LIVED BEFORE THEY WERE INVENTED AND MORE OF US WOULD PROBABLY BE LIVING NOW IF THIS WOULD HAPPEN!

 

They now have a program that can be put into Cell Phones that work off the GPS so if the car is moving over a set speed it makes them inoperable. But we have to many people believing that as a passenger it is unfair that they can't use their phone. I say bull crap what till they have a daughter killed by someone texting or talking and they will feel different about that.

 

 

 

 

Amen to that.....

[Bubber]

I HATE CELL PHONES, THEY SHOULD BE MADE TO NOT WORK WHEN ANY VEHICLE IS IN MOTION. MANKIND LIVED BEFORE THEY WERE INVENTED AND MORE OF US WOULD PROBABLY BE LIVING NOW IF THIS WOULD HAPPEN!

 

 

 

 

Amen to that.....

 

MAY I DOUBLE THAT?

Cell Phones are not to used while driving! PERIOD!

[Monty]

Only problem I have with that, is what if someone had a crazed maniac after them(or abusive husband/wife), or some other reason that they were retreating quickly, and had to call 911 for help? I could see it being disabled for everything except 911 and other emergency numbers.

 

 

As for merging, I am always going faster than the traffic, when I come off the ramp.

[Rick Haywood]

Only problem I have with that, is what if someone had a crazed maniac after them(or abusive husband/wife), or some other reason that they were retreating quickly, and had to call 911 for help? I could see it being disabled for everything except 911 and other emergency numbers.

 

 

As for merging, I am always going faster than the traffic, when I come off the ramp.

 

It will always work for 911. and Zero if you are in an area that doesn't offer 911 (if there are any left)

[SilvrT]

One thing I do when merging onto a freeway is to speed up so that I am going faster than the flow ... that way it's easier to avoid situations where someone in the left lane decides to move over to the right lane at the same time. Additionally, I look over my left shoulder and use my mirrors several times just to ensure the coast is clear.

[Trader]

It will always work for 911. and Zero if you are in an area that doesn't offer 911 (if there are any left)

 

In Rome would you call IX I I ???

[Dave77459]

MANKIND LIVED BEFORE THEY WERE INVENTED AND MORE OF US WOULD PROBABLY BE LIVING NOW IF THIS WOULD HAPPEN!

By this premise, let's go back before computers. After all, people lived before them. Some climate-change types would make your argument about internal combustion engines.

 

People lived before cellphones, but their quality of life was possibly worse. Sometimes people engage in purposeful conversation while getting from here to there. As my commute gets longer and takes more of my time, cheating an extra five minutes of productivity by using a cellphone makes my life better. Coordinating with my wife makes my life with her better. I may not have a lot of time with her, so having better time is important.

 

You may not think that is important, but happily you don't get to decide what is important in my life.

 

So, yes, create punishments for cellphone misuse and distracted driving severe enough to have them enter into my risk/benefit equation. Don't ask the government to be my momma.

 

Dave

[SilvrT]

 

So, yes, create punishments for cellphone misuse and distracted driving severe enough to have them enter into my risk/benefit equation. Don't ask the government to be my momma.

 

Dave

 

Somebody has to be "yo momma" if your "risk/benefit equation" is infringing on the safety of me and mine.

[slick97spirit]

So, yes, create punishments for cellphone misuse and distracted driving severe enough to have them enter into my risk/benefit equation. Don't ask the government to be my momma.

 

Dave

 

 

I'll 2nd this one

[midnightventure]

I read some where and right at the moment I can't say where that the places that have banned texting the accident rates have actually gone up because the the texters are trying to hide their phones.

[CaptainJoe]

I'm quite sure cell phone signal blockers and Jammers exist. Too bad they can't discriminate and just block non 911 calls. Also not sure if they are legal...

But... I have been tempted to buy one more than once

[Capt-D]

The wife and I almost got whacked by a lady on a cell phone a couple of months ago, and she never even knew it. She had run a stop sign and luckily I had seen it comin and was able to swerve and miss her but it was close. Pulled up along side her and *****ed her out, told her where that phone needed to go, and flipped her off, I think she got the message, doubt it.

[Yammer Dan]

I'm just gonna stay in my corner this winter!!! Save moderator some fun....

[silent67]

I agree that it would be nice if cellphones were made to not work while a vehicle is in motion. However I do not believe this will ever happen because there are more people with cellphones than vehicles of any kind and the majority usually rules. Doesn't matter if it kills people or not. JMTC

[Gray Ghost]

The problem is not the cell phone, it is the nut (I would prefer a stronger word) behind the wheel. If they didn't have a cell phone they would be painting their nails, reading the paper, etc. I use a hands free device when I am in a vehicle, and it is no more distracting than talking to someone in the passenger seat.

 

As some have mentioned, if you are in an emergency situation a phone might be necessary. I will give you another reason that you should not want to jam everyone's cell phone. A lot of folks have family deployed, or are waiting for calls for medical procedures that cannot afford to miss that cell phone call no matter where they are at.

 

Yes, I survived being stationed overseas before you could call around the world at a moments notice, but I sure enjoyed it a lot more on my last trip when I could pick up a phone and call my family practically any time I wanted to. And I guarantee you that when my oldest deploys shortly I will be answering my phone whenever it rings, no matter where I am at.

[BuddyRich]

I'm just gonna stay in my corner this winter!!! Save moderator some fun....

 

:moon: Ahh, Your no fun Dan.:rotf:

[OldBear]

After reading about the Ural rider being killed pulling onto the thruway got me to remembering about the one very close call we had coming home from our recent west trip. We too were pulling back on the freeway after stopping to stretch and relax at a rest stop. As I was pulling onto the merging lane and accelerating I looked over my left shoulder and seen 2 cars in the passing lane. So the coast is clear. You would think. The idiot in the second car talking on his cell phone decided to pull back into the driving lane what must have been right after my coast is clear look. Needless to say I'm doing the last sway into the driving lane and I HEAR not see this low rumble right beside me and a fender close enough to polish. Whoa were did you come from! Scared the bejesus out of us. I asked the wife were did he come from and she said she didn't know. She said she looked too when were were entering the thruway and didn't see anything in the driving lane either. Needless to say I was livid and quite upset but the wife said let him go. So I follow this guy for several more miles. He was everywhere without ever touching a signal once. I finally had enough and caught up with him to at least read him my extreme happiness at the top of my lungs along with pointing out a few flying birds. Again I was chastised by the wife which I had to point out to her that she was setting up a double standard. She asked how. Which made me laugh, so I had to remind her of her own happy verses and pointing out of birds that I've seen her do on more than one occasion. Guess where I'm going with this is I HATE CELL PHONES, THEY SHOULD BE MADE TO NOT WORK WHEN ANY VEHICLE IS IN MOTION. MANKIND LIVED BEFORE THEY WERE INVENTED AND MORE OF US WOULD PROBABLY BE LIVING NOW IF THIS WOULD HAPPEN!

 

What he said!!!

[Rick Haywood]

The problem is not the cell phone, it is the nut (I would prefer a stronger word) behind the wheel. If they didn't have a cell phone they would be painting their nails, reading the paper, etc. I use a hands free device when I am in a vehicle, and it is no more distracting than talking to someone in the passenger seat.

 

As some have mentioned, if you are in an emergency situation a phone might be necessary. I will give you another reason that you should not want to jam everyone's cell phone. A lot of folks have family deployed, or are waiting for calls for medical procedures that cannot afford to miss that cell phone call no matter where they are at.

 

Yes, I survived being stationed overseas before you could call around the world at a moments notice, but I sure enjoyed it a lot more on my last trip when I could pick up a phone and call my family practically any time I wanted to. And I guarantee you that when my oldest deploys shortly I will be answering my phone whenever it rings, no matter where I am at.

 

 

The system they have to stop the use of cell phones while driving are designed to make the keypad inoperable if going over a certain speed except for 911 calls. It doesn't block incoming calls. I don't know if you are old enough to remember but we all got along fine for around 90 years without driving and using cell phones. Sometimes we must step abck and decide if the cost is worth the privilege. Since we have lost two very close people to us in 2 separate incidents due to cell phone texting I for one am for putting the things down. I don't want you or me to be next

[Dave77459]

Opinion piece today: Deactivating cell phones while driving is pointless

 

FTA:

a 2009 study commissioned by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration showed that

80% of all traffic accidents are caused by drivers who are eating

. Let me repeat that, in case you missed it: 80% of all traffic accidents are caused by drivers who are busy cramming food into their pie-hole instead of focusing on the road.

This suggests that better than turning off cellphones, you should close drive-thrus.