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Philosoraptor Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 08:27 AM
Original message
Drivers urged not to Text while driving.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-06-11-dwt_N.htm

Some drivers steer with their pinkies while their thumbs do the typing. Others use their knees to guide them on the road, freeing their hands to tap out a quick e-mail.
New Jersey Assemblyman Paul Moriarty has seen drivers using both methods to send or read text messages from behind the wheel. It's bad enough that Americans eat, apply makeup or shave in their cars, Moriarty said. Now, some drivers have turned these 2,800-pound machines — hurtling down the highway at 65 mph — into home offices.

"These devices are addictive, and people are not realizing that their behavior is dangerous," said Moriarty, a Democrat whose 11-year-old daughter once chastised him for checking his BlackBerry while stopped at a red light.

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proud2BlibKansan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 08:28 AM
Response to Original message
1. So does that mean I can't make phone calls either?
Damn.
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Philosoraptor Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 08:32 AM
Response to Reply #1
3. I'll text you while I'm driving to work cooking breakfast & dressing.
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proud2BlibKansan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 08:33 AM
Response to Reply #3
4. And don't forget to brush your teeth!
I am getting ready to leave for work now. I will be eagerly awaiting your text. :)
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Kolesar Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 08:35 AM
Response to Reply #1
6. If someone gets in a crash while on the phone, they should go to jail
Even talking on the phone is distracting. I see people tailgaiting, changing lanes in front of people and otherwise being a nuisance and a hazard while they got a phone stuck in their ears.

We didn't need this shit ten years ago and we don't need it now. A message from a Democratic Luddite. The Wooden Shoe Conspiracy.
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kath Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 09:35 AM
Response to Reply #6
13. A few months back, I saw a woman blow right through a red light without even
slowing down at all. When I caught up to her at the next stoplight, sure enough, she was blabbing away on her cell phone. I highly doubt that she had any idea at all of what she'd just done.
Thank goodness there'd been no traffic coming from the other direction. :scared:
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LiberalFighter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 12:09 PM
Response to Reply #13
20. You would think it would be easier to reduce driving violations
with cell phones available to call the police
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MindPilot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 02:19 PM
Response to Reply #20
22. The cop has to witness the violation.
If anyone could report anyone, that would be a convenient way for some bushbot to make a person's life miserable if they didn't like your "Impeach Now!" bumper sticker.
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Mike Daniels Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 02:21 PM
Response to Reply #22
23. Or Vice Versa....
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LiberalFighter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 02:58 PM
Response to Reply #22
28. With the advent of cell phones it is only a matter of police in the vincinity
Edited on Tue Jun-12-07 02:59 PM by LiberalFighter
responding and witnessing another violation. In this type of situation the individual is likely to perform another violation and the police witness it. If they aren't busy elsewhere and can respond in time.

If there are enough calls of that nature then police can be stationed in the area with the belief there will be a repetition of the violation by the same individual.
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MindPilot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 08:31 AM
Response to Original message
2. Yeah, well duh. But they never miss the chance to stab a Dem do they?
"Moriarty, a Democrat whose 11-year-old daughter once chastised him for checking his BlackBerry while stopped at a red light."

They have to point out that he's a Democrat who needs an 11-year-old girl to tell him stuff.
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Mike Daniels Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 02:22 PM
Response to Reply #2
24. But I'm sure there's no issue for you when someone is ID'd as a Republican
in a story covering wreckless or illegal behavior.
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MindPilot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 02:36 PM
Response to Reply #24
26. Of course not, but in that case it would be redundant.
You know as well as I do that when the CorpMedia reports on Republican wrongdoing they mention the person's name. But if it's a Democrat they make a big deal of shrieking "lookie the DEMOCRAT is doing bad things!"

On top of that, looking at the crackberry during a red light is no threat to anyone. Just put the damn thing down when the light goes green.
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BOSSHOG Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 08:34 AM
Response to Original message
5. I drove onboard a Navy Base last week and was greeted with a wonderful
sign just inside the main gate:

NO CELL PHONE USEAGE WHILE OPERATING A MOTOR VEHICLE ONBASE.
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MADem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 08:38 AM
Response to Original message
7. And forget about shaving and nose hair maintenance, either!! No more watching TV
while eating a breakfast muffin, slurping hot coffee and barking orders over a phone, either!

Is this all coming out as a result of the Corzine crash, I wonder? Was the trooper actually reading a text message while driving ninety miles an hour? I thought I heard that rumor around the time of the incident....
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Philosoraptor Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 08:41 AM
Response to Reply #7
8. 2 yrs. ago while driving thru the Mojave desert...
At about 4 a.m., a guy flew by me just long enough for me to see that he was watching porn on his dashboard dvd player.
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MindPilot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 08:46 AM
Response to Reply #8
10. At least he wasn't doing it in drive time 85 mph bumper-to-bumper traffic
In that drive-time traffic, I looked over at an SUV on my left pulling ahead of me and the driver was putting in eye-drops.
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MADem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 09:10 AM
Response to Reply #8
11. Oi vey...he was probably driving with one hand, too! nt
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proud2BlibKansan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 10:56 AM
Response to Reply #8
17. I know a guy who reads novels while he drives
He buys hard backs so he can prop them on the steering wheel.

I kid you not.
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MindPilot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 08:41 AM
Response to Original message
9. Interesting point in light of the recent drunk driving threads
Personally I've never lost anyone to a drunk driver, or even been in a alcohol-related crash. Been really lucky I guess. Since high school, four friends have died in car crashes; two were weather-related, one was work-related (falling asleep on the way home after working all night) and one was an animal in the road. But my SO recently lost a co-worker to someone whose SUV crossed the centerline while the driver dialed the cell phone.
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Coventina Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 09:29 AM
Response to Reply #9
12. Yes, I don't understand why killing someone while talking on a cell phone
is an "unfortunate accident" while killing someone while drunk is a horrible crime.

:shrug:

A dear friend of mine was nearly killed - and his daughter was killed - by a guy running a red light at 70 mph because "he was late for work". He got two tickets: speeding & running the red. If he had been drunk - his ass would have been in jail.
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MindPilot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 02:28 PM
Response to Reply #12
25. Exactly why I think we need a little sanity in the drink & drive debate
If my friend was at a company function where they served booze and he died on the way home, there would be hell to pay. But all they did was make him work through night so his failure to complete the trip home was--as you say--just an "unfortunate accident".
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Coventina Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-13-07 09:32 AM
Response to Reply #25
30. Sanity? Wow, you're asking a lot!!
Every time I've suggested that drunk driving and non-drunk driving offenses should be treated equally, I've been jumped on like a trampoline on gym day.

For some reason, driving drunk is "evil" but running reds for your own convenience is not.
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shadowknows69 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 09:37 AM
Response to Original message
14. In a related study it was shown
Edited on Tue Jun-12-07 09:37 AM by shadowknows69
that people jumping out of airplanes shouldn't do so without a parachute. If one of these idiots ever hurts someone I love they WILL die by my hand.
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BurtWorm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 09:39 AM
Response to Original message
15. If they do this before they breed, it might actually be good for the species.
:hide:
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Philosoraptor Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 10:51 AM
Response to Reply #15
16. A-HA! You've exposed yourself as a Darwinist!
I wonder how many generations it would take to be rid of them?
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Javaman Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 11:53 AM
Response to Original message
18. So my friend text messages me while I'm driving the other day..
what nerve! I so text him back, dude, I'm driving, don't text me when I'm doing laundry!
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AlCzervik Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 11:56 AM
Response to Original message
19. there was a guy up here who was drunk and texting and driving, he killed a police
officer.
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MindPilot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 02:14 PM
Response to Reply #19
21. An interesting question that I like to ask in these situations.
What was the exact CAUSE of that accicent? Usually if anyone involved has been drinking, DUI is listed as the cause. But in this case was it because the driver was drunk, or because he was distracted, or because the cop did something the driver was unable to react to? Or a combination of all three?
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ecstatic Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 02:43 PM
Response to Original message
27. I try not to. I NEVER want to be in the position of knowing
I injured someone or myself due to a text.

I admit I might have keyed one or two times but looking at the road always comes first. I don't understand how some people take their eyes off the road for longer than 1 second.
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MindPilot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Tue Jun-12-07 03:07 PM
Response to Reply #27
29. A second can be a long time.
If you're going 75 mph, you car covers 110 feet in a second.
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