don't text and drive. avoid phone use when driving (a reminder)

[macgig]

I say, don't use your phone at all while driving. whatever it is can wait. its not worth the risk. even hands free use of the phone distracts us. when driving, focus on driving and nothing else.

3 months ago a friend, someone I grew up with, was in a head on accident, she died a day or two later.... the other driver, age 17, crossed the line while texting on their phone. criminal charges are pending, this young person has to live with this the rest of their lives... they killed someone with their car! we always think it will happen to someone else, but it could happen to any of us.

I keep my phone in my pocket when driving, it can wait until I'm parked before I check it. we hear this all the time but some people ignore it anyways. a friendly reminder.

 

[Rod]

I'm sorry for your loss. What you say is 100% true. Even though I have a bluetooth connection to my phone in our car I only use it for music or podcast playback. I have set my iPhone to automatic replies to calls and check them or reply when I stop. No-one has ever complained about having to wait for a reply.

 

[MacInWin]

I use my iPhone for streaming a music channel to my car radio, and for SatNav. I have a holder that is mounted below my sight level, not blocking any vision. I don't respond to texts or email when driving. I only answer calls if I am not in traffic and I use the controls on my steering wheel to pick up he call and hang up. I was aircrew, so I have been trained to multi-task (talk, navigate, run the weapon system, keep a visual lookout, etc). But I don't take my eyes off the road except as part of my instrument scan. The point is that my one and only job when I am in the driver seat is to drive, period.

 

[Rod]

I know I'm just nitpicking here and TV is not real life but does it annoy others like it does me when car drivers insist on looking at their passenger when talking to them? I see it constantly and it drives me nuts. I mean my peripheral vision is okay but a glance is all I would ever chance, yet I see people even turn to the passenger in the rear. Personally I never take my eyes of the road for more than a second.

 

[IWT]

I have written about this before. I must firstly acknowledge that those like Jake, and many other service personnel, have been taught from an early stage in their lives to multitask. But the great majority of us have not, and as cars "mature", more and more gadgets and appliances invite the attention of the driver whilst negotiating the complexities of urban travel.

For example, I wrote previously, that in my Lexus car, there was a Mouse attached to a stalk which permitted one to set up a new route guidance, find the nearest petrol station, get the weather, change the settings on the screen and select music; whilst driving.

As 85-plus per cent of the population are right-handed, this means that in the UK, all these manipulations have to be undertaken by the left hand. Have a shot on your Mac with your left hand on the Mouse!

The latest Lexus cars have replaced the Mouse with a Track Pad - which is actually a metal plate (see pictures). This allows for a single tap, a double tap, a three-finger gather or spread action - all with the left hand, and the number of menus and options has increased hugely.




Whilst accepting that using the left hand is confined to few countries, I defy anyone to say that this is consistent with safe driving whichever hand is employed.

Add to this the abundance of buttons on the steering wheel to control anything from Cruise Control to the sound system. But, as a plus, I do have Head Up Display on to the windscreen, which is great.

Ian

 

[toMACsh]

Passengers: Even talking while keeping your eyes on the road is distracting. I've missed exits, etc. because of being engrossed in conversation with a passenger, even though I was looking at the road, and presumably "saw" the sign.

Multi-Tasking: Some say this is a myth. Consider that you only have 100% of your attention to give at any moment. If you are trying to do 2 things at the same time, neither have your full attention.

 

[MacInWin]

Multi-Tasking: Some say this is a myth. Consider that you only have 100% of your attention to give at any moment. If you are trying to do 2 things at the same time, neither have your full attention.

But some things don't take 100% of your attention to accomplish. The key to multi-tasking is to be constantly on guard to switch from whatever you are doing to whatever has priority. So you can fly the airplane and talk at the same time, but if an emergency arises, you stop talking and fly. It takes training. Sadly, there is no training for drivers for that. Maybe there should be? And then put it in the driver's test?

 

[nickyr]

when I used to cycle to work, even on the short piece of road I had to use between bike paths I"d see numerous drivers on their phones, applying make-up, reading a paper and even having a shave - every single day. I had several near misses. It really was like running a gauntlet some days :-(

 

[MacInWin]

True story: I one saw a guy in traffic playing a trumpet while he was driving. No kidding, you could hear him when the traffic stopped at a light.

 

[Rod]

when I used to cycle to work, even on the short piece of road I had to use between bike paths I"d see numerous drivers on their phones, applying make-up, reading a paper and even having a shave - every single day. I had several near misses. It really was like running a gauntlet some days :-(

For ten years i was a cycle commuter, riding from the inner suburbs into Melbourne city central. I can relate to everything you say. My other pet hate was drivers opening their car doors without looking while having a conversation on their phone.

 

[Slydude]

True story: I one saw a guy in traffic playing a trumpet while he was driving. No kidding, you could hear him when the traffic stopped at a light.

OMG that is unbelievable. I know someone whose job involved driving service trucks that were the size of the Ford F-350. That made it easy to see into the cab of most passenger vehicles when stopped at a light. The number of times he saw folks driving with their knees while using their hands to eat, apply makeup, etc).

 

[pm-r]

But some things don't take 100% of your attention to accomplish. The key to multi-tasking is to be constantly on guard to switch from whatever you are doing to whatever has priority. So you can fly the airplane and talk at the same time, but if an emergency arises, you stop talking and fly. It takes training. Sadly, there is no training for drivers for that. Maybe there should be?

Actually there is, it's called Observation and Discipline, two things that most people have, but very few put into actual practice and use.

Some just call it "Paying Attention"!!!!



- Patrick
=======

 

[pm-r]

I can relate to everything you say. My other pet hate was drivers opening their car doors without looking ...

You would be relieved to know the local laws just enacted a stricture law with some hopes it might help...

B.C. quadruples ‘dooring’ fine in bid to protect cyclists

B.C. quadruples ‘dooring’ fine in bid to protect cyclists | Globalnews.ca

The collisions, which are nearly impossible for a cyclist to avoid, can result in serious injury or death.

globalnews.ca

I had to laugh many years ago when I was riding in the front seat on a local transit bus and an idiot car driver swung open his driver door and it went flying as they bus hit it and the bus driver didn't even bother slowing down as if nothing had happened.

Unfortunately, a similar thing happened to a friend of mine while he was biking to work some years ago now, and it **** near killed him. He never did fully recover.



- Patrick
=======

 

[Rod]

Yes I have a few similar stories. I was a member of a bike lobby group back in the day before bike lanes and paths were adopted in my home state of Victoria. Things have come a long way since then but the onus still seems to rest with cyclists to ride defensively.

 

[pitterbrayn]

True story: I one saw a guy in traffic playing a trumpet while he was driving

 

[Slydude]

True story: I one saw a guy in traffic playing a trumpet while he was driving

Amazing what people will do to get a little music into the morning commute.

 

[chscag]

Equally distracting in todays modern autos is the proliferation of "touch screens" with complex menus to select everything from car play to setting tire pressure. It's ridiculous in my opinion.

You can see folks fiddling with their touch screens while driving - maybe to select between AM/FM or Sirius radio music, or getting car play to work with their iPhones or Androids.

 

[IWT]

+1. For that. It's everywhere.

Ian

 

[Slydude]

I agree. It washed enough when all you had to adjust was heat, AC, and radio/cassette. This is ridiculous.

 

[pm-r]

Equally distracting in todays modern autos is the proliferation of "touch screens" with complex menus to select everything from car play to setting tire pressure. It's ridiculous in my opinion.

I agree 100%. And yet the drivers around here seem to get et a ticket and/or fine for just looking at their cell phone, and God forbid if they happened to be actually using it. The hypocrisy is crazy!!!


- Patrick
=======