Texting and driving documentary: "From One Second to the Next"

[outofplace]

I was driving just now in a 45-mph zone, morning rush time. I'm behind a car going about 30, holding everything up. I finally zip around her and glance over. She's staring at her lap, happily texting away.

I get that Tony and others reflexively want to reject new laws. But this is a new phenomenon that requires a new solution. Horses and buggies probably didn't have speed limits. Model Ts did. New problem. New solution. Easy.

But....but....my rights!.....ban everything! .....No more eating and driving!

(I'd make fun of some more intelligent aspect of the their argument if it had one.)

 

[Dick Whitman]

Frankly, I'm just tired of the ubiquity of cell phones. And I'm one to talk - I'm on one right now. I go to Target. Fifty percent of the people there are staring at a phone screen. I walk down the city streets. I'm running into someone because either he or I or both are staring at our iPhones. I think phones are amazing. I would never want to go back to the days before them. But holy shirt do we need to disengage already. I read a funny line the other day that described modern human existence: "Check Twitter. Check Facebook. Check Instagram. Check email. Look around at the world for nine seconds. Repeat for 70 years. Die."

 

[outofplace]

Frankly, I'm just tired of the ubiquity of cell phones. And I'm one to talk - I'm on one right now. I go to Target. Fifty percent of the people there are staring at a phone screen. I walk down the city streets. I'm running into someone because either he or I or both are staring at our iPhones. I think phones are amazing. I would never want to go back to the days before them. But holy shirt do we need to disengage already. I read a funny line the other day that described modern human existence: "Check Twitter. Check Facebook. Check Instagram. Check email. Look around at the world for nine seconds. Repeat for 70 years. Die."

lol

 

[Songbird]

New stats as of 6/18/13:

Cell Phone Texting Accident Statistics

Total percentage of people who have sent or received a text message while driving 37%
Total percent of people who text while driving regularly 18%
Total percentage of time spent driving in the wrong lane while texting 10%
Total percentage of people under the age of 18 who admitted to texting while driving 46%
Average amount of time a driver spends not looking at the road while texting 4.6 seconds
Total percentage of respondents who support a ban on text messaging 80%
Total times the amount a truck driver has of getting into an accident while texting opposed to concentrating on driving 23.2

Different website (http://www.textinganddrivingsafety.com/texting-and-driving-stats/) with a graphic (click on it to enlarge):

Another stat-driven website: http://www.distraction.gov/content/get-the-facts/facts-and-statistics.html

As of December 2012, 171.3 billion text messages were sent in the US (includes PR, the Territories, and Guam) every month. (CTIA)
11% of all drivers under the age of 20 involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crash. This age group has the largest proportion of drivers who were distracted.

For drivers 15-19 years old involved in fatal crashes, 21 percent of the distracted drivers were distracted by the use of cell phones (NHTSA)

At any given daylight moment across America, approximately 660,000 drivers are using cell phones or manipulating electronic devices while driving, a number that has held steady since 2010. (NOPUS)

Engaging in visual-manual subtasks (such as reaching for a phone, dialing and texting) associated with the use of hand-held phones and other portable devices increased the risk of getting into a crash by three times. (VTTI)

Sending or receiving a text takes a driver's eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, the equivalent-at 55 mph-of driving the length of an entire football field, blind. (VTTI)

Headset cell phone use is not substantially safer than hand-held use. (VTTI)

A quarter of teens respond to a text message once or more every time they drive. 20 percent of teens and 10 percent of parents admit that they have extended, multi-message text conversations while driving. (UMTRI)

 

[Dick Whitman]

I frequently argue - and it's not some out-on-a-limb argument, but pretty mainstream, and the general principle applicable to a lot of social problems - that the most effective way to combat crime in the United States would be to bolster education. In other words, address the underlying cause, not the symptom.

I alluded a couple posts back to our national addiction to cell phones. That's really the problem, right? We're conditioned, at this point, to feel compelled to read and respond the moment we get a text message. That's also why we check, check, check, check, check, check, check ... And we are unable to turn off the compulsion when we get behind the wheel. I admit it. I feel it, too. I feel that little vibration. Or I see that light flash out of the corner of my eye. And I want to reach for it, immediately. What if I miss something? What if one of my kids is hurt? What if my wife needs me to pick up milk? What if work is trying to get ahold of me? What if, what if, what if ...

I don't know how the story ends. I imagine that we can condition people to turn off the compulsion while driving. Or maybe, on our own, we all get over the novelty of being constantly tethered to our phones. The crack epidemic ended, right? Maybe this too shall pass.

 

[Big Circus]

I saw a dude texting on a motorcycle the other day. We were moving at 40 mph and he was just sitting there texting away with one hand.

 

[BTExpress]

What if I miss something? What if one of my kids is hurt? What if my wife needs me to pick up milk? What if work is trying to get ahold of me? What if, what if, what if ...

There comes a point (I hope) when the light bulb goes off and you realize, "Wow, none of this shirt really matters," and you're able to disengage.

What if I miss something? So what, you were doing something else.

What if one of my kids is hurt? You'll find out soon enough. You couldn't have prevented it. Whoever is trying to inform you about it is taking care of things. It's OK, really. Finding out your kid is at the hospital getting some stitches at 11:57 a.m. instead of 11:32 a.m. MAKES ZERO DIFFERENCE IN ANYTHING. When I got some stitches when I was a kid, my dad found out about it when he got home from work and my mom told him. No big deal.

What if my wife needs me to pick up milk? She'll do without for a night. Or you'll go back out when you get home.

What if work is trying to get ahold of me? Consider yourself lucky you missed the call.

 

[Songbird]

You're a dog if you're not eating seared tofu and rice while texting about the funky retro suits players wore on the Lawrence Welk Show.

 

[Armchair_QB]

You must hate science, statistics and facts. Your analogies are just terrible and don't hold up. How many accidents would you say billboards have caused in the last, oh, 50 years?

Really, you're just willfully ignoring the basics. It's just not even in dispute.

No. You're ignoring the basics. Inattentive drivers cause accidents. What causes their inattention doesn't really matter. Every accident -- with the exceptions of those caused by mechanical or equipment failure -- comes down to a driver.

Do you even know what the heck you're arguing about anymore?

You are taking a behavior that is proven to be as dangerous as drunk driving and equating it to changing the radio station or looking at a billboard.

I'm going to stop. I'm pretty confident anyone with an ounce of sense on this understands. That rules out you and zag and a couple others, but I can live with that.

Bullshirt.

Anyone who thinks some idiot on a cellphone is more dangerous than a drunk who can't see straight is out of their forking mind.

The idiot with his phone has the ability to put his phone down and drive carefully. A drunk driver stays a drunk driver until he gets home or runs into a tree or grammy's Oldsmobile.

 

[outofplace]

You must hate science, statistics and facts. Your analogies are just terrible and don't hold up. How many accidents would you say billboards have caused in the last, oh, 50 years?

Really, you're just willfully ignoring the basics. It's just not even in dispute.

No. You're ignoring the basics. Inattentive drivers cause accidents. What causes their inattention doesn't really matter. Every accident -- with the exceptions of those caused by mechanical or equipment failure -- comes down to a driver.

Do you even know what the heck you're arguing about anymore?

You are taking a behavior that is proven to be as dangerous as drunk driving and equating it to changing the radio station or looking at a billboard.

I'm going to stop. I'm pretty confident anyone with an ounce of sense on this understands. That rules out you and zag and a couple others, but I can live with that.

Bullshirt.

Anyone who thinks some idiot on a cellphone is more dangerous than a drunk who can't see straight is out of their forking mind.

The idiot with his phone has the ability to put his phone down and drive carefully. A drunk driver stays a drunk driver until he gets home or runs into a tree or grammy's Oldsmobile.

Who needs research? We have what your gut tells you!

I believe what LTL is saying is that while the person is texting, they are as dangerous as a drunk driver.

 

[BTExpress]

Anyone who thinks some idiot on a cellphone . . .

Buzzzzzzzzz!

He's not "on a cellphone" (as in speaking on a cellphone).

He is typing into said cellphone and reading responses. Big difference.

The idiot with his phone has the ability to put his phone down and drive carefully.

Buzzzzzzzzz!

The statement was that the behavior of texting is as dangerous as the action of driving drunk.

If you are engaging in the behavior of texting, you are not choosing to put the phone down. You are, in fact, choosing to drive recklessly.

 

[Songbird]

He/she may as well be drunk if that smartphone stays in his/her hand the entire time he/she is behind the wheel.