ndtaylor77
Member
If people drove completely free of distraction, I wonder if the number of accidents due to falling asleep would rise.
SquireSCA said:So yesterday I am riding over to my GF's office, and we were both going to ride across town to get my bike tuned and then head to bike night. On the way, in a 45mph zone at 330pm, very little traffic, truck in the passing lane next to me, car behind me, then nothing behind us for 1/8 of a mile... I look and see a car on a side street waiting to pull onto this 2 lane each way road...
She pulls out RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, never even looks to see what is coming(bike, car and a Dodge RAM)... So then I have a choice to make... slam on the brakes and hope the car behind me doesn't run over me, or drop a gear and punch it and swerve ahead of the Dodge RAM and into the passing lane to avoid slamming into her. I go with option #2. So I figure I am in the clear... and then she just comes over on me as I pass her, comes into the passing lane, no blinkers, etc... I rev the the motor and look at her, and there she is, messing with her phone, oblivious to the fact that she pulled out in front of us, or that she almost it me, twice.
3 miles later, coming up to a light that is already red, the Mercedes next to me sails right through the red light at 40mph, then realizes it and slams on the brakes and stops 3/4 of the way through the intersection.... waits, then continues... I pull up alongside, she never once put her phone down, she was emailing or texting the entire time...
All of this in the span of 10 minutes.
I see this EVERY DAY. And if you asked all these people if they felt they were good drivers, 99% of them would say yes. This is why I support these proposed laws, even if it saddens me that we even need them.
I see elderly people do stuff like that all the time. You're right, most people think they are good drivers. A lot are not. These particular women probably don't drive well with or without a phone. Texting and driving is beyond dumb in my opinion. However, people who can't talk on a phone and drive probably don't need to be driving anyway.
Squire you bring up a scenario which is exactly why it's a problem - and man I would've been pissed. But I think JK's post at the top of the previous page (here) is why I have somewhat of a problem with just making it a blanket cellphone ban, ignoring other things. Plus, again, how do you regulate it? Should it be a broader "distracted driver" law? And even then, how do you regulate that? There would be a lot of subjectivity on the officer's part in making the call - in some scenarios anyway. In your scenario, I guess that'd be a no brainer. Or if they saw a woman putting on make-up or something like that, that would also be a no-brainer. So maybe it wouldn't be too terribly difficult... I don't know.
I see this EVERY DAY. And if you asked all these people if they felt they were good drivers, 99% of them would say yes. This is why I support these proposed laws, even if it saddens me that we even need them.
How about this... You get into an accident. The police as part of the report are allowed to pull your phone records. If you were on the phone, texting, updating facebook, etc... You are automatically at fault and lose your license for 6 months. We treat DUI's this way, why not distracted drivers? At the end of the day, it doesn't matter to me if you ran me over because you were distracted by alcohol or Facebook. Dead is dead...
How about this... You get into an accident. The police as part of the report are allowed to pull your phone records. If you were on the phone, texting, updating facebook, etc... You are automatically at fault and lose your license for 6 months. We treat DUI's this way, why not distracted drivers? At the end of the day, it doesn't matter to me if you ran me over because you were distracted by alcohol or Facebook. Dead is dead...
Uh, yeah, sure, give a few crooked cops a reason to have access to all your phone records, your bank accounts, etc etc. and this law goes bad really fast.
Now, a bunch of guys who already have a bad attitude about you have your bank accounts, your facebook, your email addresses, your ebay account, etc.. Sounds like fun, esp. if you live where I do, and the biggest social security and identity breaches come from DMV and the Court databases..
And, hell, why stop there? Did you know some states already have roadblocks and laptops with software that captures everything on your phone? Then, they try to tell people that not allowing them to download your phone is failure to obey an lawful order from an officer and you go to jail, because, once arrested, they then CAN download your phone. They use the fact that they can hold anyone for 24 hrs without a charge to download your phone, impound your vehicle, and cost you alot of money. Oh and some employers see that as "negative encounter with law enforcement" so now you can also be fired from your job.
Just because you wanted to utilize your 4th amendment against unreasonable search and seizure? If you give them this law, just imagine what kind of psychopaths you are going to let loose on the streets with laptops, beating people down for not giving up their phones?
No, this is insane, I really wish you would think over what kind of power you are giving the government.
And, yes, dead is dead, downloading a stupid phone and all its data isn't going to do anything to bring anybody back. Way more accidents happen from boom boom stereo systems because people can't hear whats going on and it dulls the senses, so in your logic we should get rid of all stereos in cars?
You cannot give the govt this type of power it will go so bad it will be insane. Even my police friends tell me its stupid and it is just a huge opportunity for abuse.
JUST LIKE ANY SEARCH, THIS NEEDS TO REQUIRE A WARRANT TO STOP POSSIBLE ABUSE. ITS THE LAW FOR A REASON, TO STOP AUTHORITIES FROM GETTING OUT OF CONTROL.
There were big wrecks long before cellphones, its just the media and powers that be want to be able to look at all your info without a warrant. Do not let them manipulate you with these mindgames and nazi style propaganda.
Sit back and look at the facts for a minute. I don't know them off the top of my head, but I would guess that the stats show that messing with car controls and stereo causes way more accidents than phones. But, govt doesn't want to download your stereo settings. They want an excuse to get all your data and use it against you later, or, as in the UK right now, as a cause for precrime to prosecute you with. Say you don't like cheese, well, you are now involved in an conspiracy to kill cows. Yes, some arrests and cases are that stupid. Corporate run prisons want more profits which means more "paying" customers in jail.
They used to say guns killed more children than any other item. Well, thats a lie. Wading pools and bathtubs kill more children.
The facts are sometimes stranger than fiction. But, they remain facts.