Distractions, Texting etc.

[cehlbeck]

Texting at the red-light makes you a douchebag because you'll still have your nose in the phone when the light turns green and everybody will honk at you.

Tangential thought: Have you all noticed that no cagers give nice little warning-taps on their horns anymore? If they use the horn at all, it's only in the form of a big long blast of righteous indignation. Idiots.

Here in Georgia text messaging, instant messaging, web browsing, email use (reading, checking or composing), etc are all prohibited even while stopped at a traffic light and may only be conducted "off the roadway".

[cehlbeck]

The sooner we start treating driving while distracted (DWD) as the legal and moral equivalent of DWI, the better. Including loss of license, jail terms for repeat offenders, etc...

Before I retired, I remember one of our motor officers showing me a University of Virginia Study that actually showed an alcohol impaired driver in the 0.08-0.10 BAC range was a safer driver than a texting driver. The conclusion was that the DUI driver was concentrating on driving and NOT getting caught while the texting driver was concentrating on well....texting.

[kantuckid]

I could say more & go way off thread but the simple fact is , that there are many of my generation still alive attests to the reality that you can drive impaired and be on earth to tell it/this.
To take this another step beyond text & drive, I wonder how the i-phone/texter crowd is going to interact socially , in face to face situations in the future? When we have my bunch together its like who am I talking to , a person or a "connected one"? I've got some great kids & relatives but you have to wonder if you are getting through at times! They do come in for a landing once in awhile.
"Wheres my charger" has become the mantra for this bunch?

[GlobalRider]

I know all you gadget geeks will claim they can handle it...

Based on personal experience and hospital stay, like $hit they can.

[GlobalRider]

Has anybody seen the cockpit of an airplane?

This stuff is within the capabilities of the human mind if approached with knowledge and discipline.

Yeah, I spent years in one and the difference is I have the time to monitor it all when I am cruising at altitude...and when I am on climb-out or approach, I don't have to worry about another aircraft cutting across my path.

[Omega Man]

To take this another step beyond text & drive, I wonder how the i-phone/texter crowd is going to interact socially , in face to face situations in the future? When we have my bunch together its like who am I talking to , a person or a "connected one"?

From Sunday Morning-

http://tv.broadwayworld.com/article/....ALBrRMrl.dpbs

And-

http://www.cbsnews.com/sunday-morning/show-notes/

[GlobalRider]

Gotta say when I think about how quick a pilot of a fighter jet on mission has to make decisions and multitask.

Difference is, your average driver/rider on the road is at the other end of the spectrum of a fighter pilot. Hell, in comparison to drivers in Germany, drivers here are pathetic.

[35634]

My take on all this is accidents can happen anywhere, and you may only have a second or less to react. If you happen to be "multi tasking" and not watching the road at that moment, your reaction will be delayed, or non existent. The analogy with pilots would be more valid if they had soccer moms turning left in front of them. Text, talk, compute if you must, but your putting yourself and others at risk.

[AKBEEMER]

Difference is, your average driver/rider on the road is at the other end of the spectrum of a fighter pilot. Hell, in comparison to drivers in Germany, drivers here are pathetic.

2005

Fatalities in the US per 100 million miles driven = 1.4

Fatalities in Germany per 100 million miles driven = 1.3

[ka5ysy]

Darwin Award candidate.


Besides, with the NOGAT outfit, would you expect anything else from that guy ?

[moondog]

since most people now seem to drive around with an arm up to an ear holding a cellphone...

Hypothesis: Evolution in the future will cause humans to have one functional arm with the other permanently attached to the lateral skull.


Btw: Yesterday while riding i-10, i passed some woman in a ford expedition doing about 70 mph while eating something in a cup with a spoon. She must have been steering with her knees ! Scary stuff out there ...






I would tend to agree with this. One of my other bad habits is being a pilot. Riding around doing anywhere from 150 to 350 kts make for getting really good at multitasking and scanning instruments. Running approaches ifr to minimums means doing a lot of instrument scans while concentrating on the primary function of staying on the glideslope and not hitting the ground, so you scan quickly.

this is a lot like riding a motorcycle, and in fact you use the same fine motor control skills, so having a lot of stuff on the bike is not really a problem for me. I am a gadget geek anyway, so the training from the flying is applicable to the motorcycle instrumentation. I do have the gps mounted above the instrument cluster on the rt, so it is easy to scan and still be able to see the roadway ahead.


one thing i did do was to disconnect the cellphone interface from the autocom system. One afternoon while riding, it occurred to me that the whole purpose of riding was to clear my head of crap, and the last thing i needed to be doing was discussing business with clients. I return calls at stops now, and concentrate on the riding and avoiding the idiot eating whatever was in the above mentioned bowl.

+1

[moondog]

has anybody seen the cockpit of an airplane?

This stuff is within the capabilities of the human mind if approached with knowledge and discipline. It isn't if it isn't.

+1

[kantuckid]

Not trying to be a "pile on" but lets be realistic & also say that the pilot is healthier (by requirement & unlike many slob operators)& has vision tested @ a far superior standard level plus training out the ying yang past a road driver & the list goes on & on. It might also be pointed out that the aviation instrumentation is a bit more vital @ times than a farkle pile on a bike which puts it in another category beyond "how many dials ya got". Two different worlds, they are.

[arthurdent]

wonder which of these is the knucklehead...

[The_Veg]

Here in Georgia text messaging, instant messaging, web browsing, email use (reading, checking or composing), etc are all prohibited even while stopped at a traffic light and may only be conducted "off the roadway".

Yeah I live in Jawja too...and in my neck of the woods that part of the law doesn't seem to be stopping any bad behaviors.