Drunken Texting
 

The link is to a news story that supports my personal observations . . as an observer, not a practitioner.

Texting And Driving Worse Than Drinking and Driving - Behind the Wheel with Phil Lebeau - CNBC.com

If you read, game or text while driving, I loathe and despise you.

I just sent this to my GF. She texts and drives like its her job. The funny part is she HATES DRUNK DRIVERS. So i told her she better hate her self too.

VA just outlawed texting while driving. You can only text if it's an emergency or if your an emergency worker while driving. It is of course a secondary offense which means they must pull you for something else first but then it becomes very hard to prove you texted without a warrant. I'm sure there will be plenty of dummies that hand over their phones when asked for it though. Love their excuse for allowing GPS' still, GPS' allow you to keep one hand on the wheel while inputing an address................uh most everyone I know does the same with a cellphone and texting, they only use one hand.

I have been saying for a long time I would rather deal with drunk drivers on the road. in times past, you really only had a problem on wknd's with the drunks, and you usually just had to get away from that one driver. with the cell phones.. they are everywhere. in front of you, behind you, beside you. I had way many more close encounters with cell phone users, than with drunk drivers. drunk's will keep there eyes on the road, though not see everything clear, a texter will take & keep there eyes off the road.

A lot of places are outlawing it which I don't understand. There are laws in place to deal with undue attention, they should start enforcing them for this type of thing.

Ontario recently passed a law prohibiting using cell phones while driving unless using a hands free device. I read a quote somewhere from the OPP where they said they don't use the undue attention charge because the fine is too much. Too much? Charge a few and people will smarten up, don't create a lesser offense just because 'everyone is doing it'.

Totally agree, enforce the laws already on the books. Cite them here for Not Paying Full Time Attention.

I'm afraid we've had "PART-TIME GUIDANCE systems" in our trucks, out on the hiway, for a number of years now. I've heard drivers saying that "You're not a real driver until you can read a magazine while you drive. I would support a nice stiff penalty for things like that. Reading a magazine is not any better than texting on your phone, while driving. I put them in the same catagory as 4-wheelers that have a laptop resting on the steering wheel while passing me on the interstate.

Yeah, that's what I thought driving with undue care are attention, or whatever it may be called in the area, was for. It covers all of those things but for the most part they only charge drivers with that after it leads to an accident.

I've had people in their 4-wheelers pass me, and they've had a book, newspaper, etc stretched across the steering wheel. How in the world they do that, is beyond me.

A few months ago I pulled out of Lost Hills on to I-5 northbound. There was a KLLM truck right in front of me & he wasn't getting with the program very well so I swung out to pass him. I looked when I went by- He had a cell phone pressed to his ear, a huge pastry in one hand and what I assume was a Qualcom keyboard laid on top of the steering wheel. He looked like he weighed 400 pounds too.