In the past 18 months, the percentage of Washington-state motorists who text-while-driving has increased from 6% to 18%, according to a survey taken by an insurance company.
This is despite the fact that "45 percent of drivers are more concerned about the distractions caused by text messaging than with other distractions." And 70 percent of motorists believe that text messaging should be a "primary offense." (Meaning that the police can pull you over and issue you a citation specifically for text messaging. Currently they can give you ticket, but only if they pull you over for something else you're doing wrong. Or after you smash into somebody while text messaging.)
Every day I hope I don't get smashed into by somebody who's distracted.
Article HERE.
Tireless advocate for the most efficient form of
human transportation ever devised - bicycles!
8 comments:
OMG! U r so ->. I m like all aginst txtng & d-strctd drving & stuff ... OMG! SCREECH CRASH!
NOT FUNNY!
(Okay... it's pretty funny...)
(-;
Don't do it on a bike either. I wreck when trying to get the phone out of my pocket.
Right on, Clancy! I carry my phone in my pocket when I'm on an afternoon weekday ride... but unless conditions are ideal, by the time I PULL OVER AND STOP and then get the phone out... the caller is gone. (How urgent could the call have been... right?)
A post from my new favorite twitter.
"Why would i want to check a voicemail on my cell phone? People want to talk to me, call again. If i want to talk to you, I'll answer."
omg! me n bff r toast
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGE8LzRaySk
I don't like talking on the phone when I'm not doing anything else. My bike time is MY time. My quiet time. My cell phone is securely in my trunk pack, under my lunch bag, turned off. I only use it if I need my wife to rescue me.
From an email I received today:
"Utah now has the nation's toughest texting and driving law. It went into effect this past May, and law makers are hoping it will enforce the dangers of texting while driving. Offenders face up to 15 years in prison. The new law penalizes a texting driver who causes a fatality as harshly as a drunken driver who kills someone. Talking on a cell phone while driving is the equivalent of driving with a .08 blood alcohol level. Texting while driving is at least twice as dangerous. "It's a willful act," said Lyle Hillyard, a Republican state senator and a supporter of the measure. "If you choose to drink and drive or if you choose to text and drive, you're assuming the same risk." Source: The New York Times
"The Transportation Secretary, Ray LaHood has organized a Distracted Driving Summit to take place in late September."
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