No you aren't! If you are following behind someone 3 seconds, and that is the appropraite time allowed to not hit them should they slam the brakes at the speed you are at.... And you want to txt someone, change the following distance to 5-7 seconds. You use your brain and give yourself those few seconds you stare down (or if you txt up you can see out of your periphery) and you are no longer at an increased chance of having a crash. That is called mitigating a risk. Txting is risky, so you use your brain, itigate that risk, and it is no more risky than not txting.



Should you be txting in a school zone or a residential area? NO, a kid could come out from somewhere while you are looking down. But if you are at a stop light, or on a 'closed' (no houses near) hwy, and you want to txt, give yourself some room, and txt away. If you are hungry and want to eat, slow down, give yourself some room, get to the right lane and eat. If there are no cars out, stay in the left lane to avoid mergers and txt and eat, its not that difficult.







Show me this study..... I bet the study proves that higher speeds = higher RISKS, not higher danger. Risks can be mitagated. Example. When driving 25 mph, you can safely follow 50' behind a car, if you are 10' behind them, then you are a danger. So the danger factor here is reaction time and distance associated with that time based on speed, NOT just speed. At 50mph, you need to follow 1000' behind, and closer and you are a danger. (Those distances aren't absolute, I don't know exact distances, that is learned...rather just an example) Risks is potential danger if not mitagated.





Just like there are no study's that prove txting and driving is dangerous. There are studies that prove txting or distracted driving greatly reduces reaction time. So the risk is a very slow reaction time.....How is that mitagated? Give more space IF you can, if not, don't text. Too easy. At a stop light, as long as you look up every 3-5 seconds, you are good to go, while driving (again depending on location and traffic flow and intersections) it should be every one or two seconds, like when looking at speedometer, or possibly not at all? OR put it up in your windshield so you don't have to look down and you can at a stop light look up every 15 secs and driving every 3-5 secs.



The problem is we don't have people using their brains anymore, they just rely on the govt to make laws to make them safe. That, "oh the govt will make a law if it is unsafe" mentality.



For the record, there really isnt' anything THAT important that I NEED to txt while driving. BUT, when conditions allow, and traffic is light, if I feel like shooting a txt out, it is no big deal. Much like it is no big deal to look to check my speed, or to look down to change the radio station. If we went be your logic, then one could say "I don't understand WTF is so important to listen to on the radio that it can't wait till the car is parked/off?" The radio is arguably quite distracting, even if you didn't have the added distraction of changing the station or volume (which some can do without looking). People don't txt or change the station because it is important, they do it because....why not, it isn't THAT big of a deal.

 

Good for the cop...... I wish there were more like him!

 

your argument seems to consider only the reaction time to slow down or stop. It doesn't seem to include the identification of the perceived problem, such as noticing a series of events before they get to you - cars ahead swerving to avoid something in the road, one lane moving slower than another, a stalled vehicle on the side of the road that's protruding slightly into your lane, and many other factors that simply glancing up at the road wouldn't identify. Mitigating a risk is NOT removing the risk, at best it's slightly compensating for part of the risk. By following 5-7 seconds further behind the vehicle you could be introducing additional risk to both you and others on the road. Unless you're driving on a remote interstate, 5-7 second between you and the vehicle in front of you is ridiculous if the normal environment for all other motorists is 3 seconds.



This is just f*cking retarded. I hope you don't provide these suggestions to new drivers you know or a nephew/cousin of yours.



Again, mitigation of the risk is not removing the risk. Risks and mitigation of risk is my entire career in which I am relied upon by my company to be an expert. Your points are just wrong with the way you've presented them.



People would actually read your posts if you would learn to be clear and concise with your arguments. It is really just repetitive at this point. And wrong.



Case in point, your post.



I would argue that input is by far different than input+output+loss of visual awareness. Listening to a song (input) is far different than reading a text(input), mentalling processing and typing a response(output), and removing your visual senses from the road to focus on your phone (visual awareness). Dude, you're so wrong in so many ways. Just stop.

 

I can text and drive just fine and will continue to do so until a point when penalties are harsh enough that I'll be too worried about getting caught. I'm not worried about the ticket I would get.



Other than that,

 

Same. I do it all the time. I'll continue to do it. However, I won't rationalize it and make it seem like it's safe or that I can remove the risk it inserts into the equation. I do think it's absurd to ticket people who are sitting still at a red light.

 

I would +1 majik's post 1000 times if I could.



Whatnot, thanks for the laugh, but you couldn't be more wrong on EVERY point you tried to make. Some of the things were beyond stupid.....





Yes, because kids only run out into the street in school zones!?





Tell that to the parents of kids who have lost their lives due to texting/talking while driving. (Google it, I'm sure there are pages of stories)



There is NO reason to be on the phone while driving. Period.



BTW - Distracted driving makes baby Jesus cry, it say's so in the bible. :biggrin:

 

 

 

So you're knowingly doing something dangerous? That doesn't seem wise to me.... Knowing something is dangerous and avoiding it or mitigating it makes sense, but if you don't believe you can mitigate it and it is dangerous, why do you do it?







I probably won't tell my nephew this.... But I will teach my son (whom I can spend plenty of time with) to use their brain and that a good driver is aware of their surroundings. When they feel confident enough to eat or talk on the phone or text, I believe they will have enough knowledge that they are choosing a safe time to do it. though technology will be different by then and cars might drive themselves. If he feels as if it is unsafe, then he should by no means do it. I am not forcing anyone to do anything or telling anyone it is a nessisity to txt while driving. I am merely saying, it isn't as impossible to do safely as some make it out to be.







I am fully aware of this, I say many times that I am long-winded and repatative. We all have our strengths and weaknesses.



That is what I am talking about..... Obvoiusly txting in heavy traffic is dangerous, I said that. You can't really mitigate any risk at that point.





That is an argument.... When you are speaking on a phone, you are hearing (recieving input) and based on the input you recieve, you think about that input, now your thinking powers are distraced to use some of that power to think about the input so you can provide output. That is why the studeis that have been done, show that conversation is one of the most distracting things you can do while driving, It isn't the act of having your hand near your head that is bad, it is the conversations. This is why Bluetooth gives a false sense of security, and why talking on a phone while driving laws are misguided and pointless.



But with a txt, you have time to think of a response, you don't have to respond immediately like you do when talking. If you bring your phone up to your face, you can clearly see the road in your periphery. Yet when looking at your speedometer, or looking at what radio station you have selected, for 1 second, you eyes are completly off the road, the road isn't even in your periphery. This is why HUDs are a great idea, you can scan information yet still see the road and your surroundings in your periphery. Staring at your phone in you periphery is arguably safer than changing the radio station or checking your speedometer or GPS.











I did say "on a 'closed' (no houses near) hwy". Not sure how many kids run out into closed hwys....







I am sure there are plenty of stories, it is tragic. They were probably texting and driving wrong....IE in a neighborhood where kids could run out, and/or staring down at their phone for way too long.





There are many reasons NOT to be on the phone while driving.....but there are also plenty reasons where it is fine to do so. One of them is at a stopped light (which most all on this thread agrees with). I am saying another time could be on a hwy with little traffic.

 

I do something that adds additional risk to the situation. I never said I didn't mitigate the risk. f*ck, dude. I jumped out of a plane last weekend just for the hell of it. Do you always follow the speed limit, the recommended speed, and follow every law? Apparently not, given your previous posts.