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OMG TTYL -- HAD AKCDNT
I sometimes talk on the phone while I drive. I've done it for nearly twenty years. I almost always use a hands-free headset. Some people think that's okay and some don't. Apparently, however, some young'uns think it's okay to do more than that. According to a new survey, two-thirds of U.S. drivers between the age of 18 and 24 think its okay to send text messages while they're driving. Not unsurprisingly, more than a third of all young drivers were opposed to a law banning texting while driving. I imagine these statistics get worse with the under-18 crowd.Heck, I feel guilty about driving down the freeway with just one hand on the wheel; there's no way I could distract myself from driving enough to send a text message on a cellphone -- and I do know my way around the keypad by feel. On the upside, perhaps one of these kids will get behind me when I'm in the Land Rover -- I've been lusting after this spiffy new rear bumper for a while now.
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
6-11-2007 @ 3:27PM
Tamyu said...I send plenty of text messages while "driving".
Red lights are long, as is waiting to turn when there are a million cars coming. Traffic jams are also a great time to text - when you`re creeping ahead at a foot a minute, it`s pretty easy to keep tabs on both the phone and the road.
Personally, I think that banning this does nothing. People who are stupid enough to actually text as they are really moving aren`t really going to pay attention to the law in the first place...
It will just raise the number of innocent people fined because someone saw them sending off a message at a red light. Like a huge number of the people who are fined for "talking on the cell phone" while driving because they decided to check their voice mail while stopped at a light (usually because they didn`t answer the phone while they were moving!) Like, oh, my mother in law and cousin.
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6-11-2007 @ 3:53PM
Sabrina said...Heh...I've seen tractor-trailer drivers brushing their teeth while driving, people reading newspapers on the steering wheel, and women applying makeup while actually driving down the road (not at a stop light). I recently saw a man driving a governemnt vehicle who was smoking, eating a hamburger, talking into his hands free telephone, and speeding along at about 75MPH. The one that took the cake though was the woman *playing a flute with both hands* and driving with her knees. I thought she was intoxicated until we passed her and I figured out why she was swerving everywhere. And I am not joking either. With all the distractions there are from fighting children to reading the flashing signs on the side of the road, and everything in between I do not think that banning one specific activity will put a dent in distracted-driver accidents.
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6-11-2007 @ 5:03PM
M4Mommy said...they have to text. they certainly cant hear the other person. The music is cranked up so loud.
Honestly. I hate it when my phone rings when I am on the road. And I am on the road A LOT. I dont answer it, but wait til I get to where I am going to check who called and return the call as needed.
While I agree that there are plenty of other things on the road that create distractions, most of the people texting are young adults. Teens that have been barely driving a year etc. They are more at risk for an accident as it is. So yes, texting while driving should be illegal. As should all the other things we see daily on the road. Myself> I am tired of nearly getting hit head on every day by drivers talking on their cell phones. I certainly dont feel like getting killed because some asshole cant wait to talk to someone. I am sure my family and my daughter would feel wonderful and nothing but compassion for the person that caused such an accident.
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6-11-2007 @ 5:44PM
Ann Adams said...I'd think the existing laws would already cover it.
I hate texting and no, I can't do it by touch and I can't be bothered to learn all the abbreviations.
I carry the cell phone but I try not to answer it when I'm driving, especially in traffic. The next red light is soon enough or I pull over it I think it might be important.
TTYL.
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6-12-2007 @ 4:15PM
southerncharm said..."On the upside, perhaps one of these kids will get behind me when I'm in the Land Rover -- I've been lusting after this spiffy new rear bumper for a while now."
Good luck, they probably won't have insurance. :-)
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