Article: SmartPhones Killing Americans
- Thread starter NSR500
- Start date
kelsodeez
2wheels good 4wheels bad
this is an epidemic that the cycling community has been hit hardest with. its almost like no one wants to do anything about the problem because at this point everyone assumes that self driving technology is on the horizon, but while we wait for that to come to fruition, people are being killed en masse.
rsrider
47% parasite 53% ahole
The penalties for killing someone with a vehicle are too lenient in this country. For example, in the case of Nicky's death, that country has an automatic criminal investigation, the criminal prosecutors are immediately involved, not waiting on some preliminary reports from on the scene responders. Shit happens, but there are no accidents.
I recently was following a car that was driving like 15 mph for six blocks and when I got next to it to turn right, there she was, with her fucking head down using her cell phone, not paying attention to anything but that phone.
I recently was following a car that was driving like 15 mph for six blocks and when I got next to it to turn right, there she was, with her fucking head down using her cell phone, not paying attention to anything but that phone.
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FreeRyde
The Curmudgeon
We're not assuming. It is.
Soon we'll all be able to play with our wang-dingers while we get taken to our destination.
If cell companies wanted to put a stop to this they could EASILY shut off data when moving over a certain speed, limit app use, etc etc etc. But they don't, cause it's all about money.
Personally, I like driving with my knees while texting my friends in Germany and watching Southpark on my tablet, all while my kids show me funny articles on Buzzfeed from the back seat. It really makes my life worth living.
"Last year, 5,987 pedestrians were killed by cars in the U.S., almost 1,100 more than in 2014—that’s a 22 percent increase in just two years."
People walking are also just as dumb as car drivers on their phones. I see it EVERY WEEKEND in SF running escorts. Light goes green, people don't even look up from their phones and start droning across the intersection while sirens are blaring, cars honking and speeding by. Don't blame it on phones. Blame it on the degradation of society. Or Darwinism'z...
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mototireguy
Moto Tire Veteran
Unsure how to separate the drivers cell phone from passenger phones.
LEO's please keep up the good work handing out cell phone tickets.
Marcoose
50-50
Same observation here in SOMA. People just cross the street. Really, they just cross the street with total disregard to road conditions. My wife and I have a "funny game". On busy days, we hold the phone like we're using it, looking down, and people really move out of way. It's like there's an unwritten rule that he who is on the phone has the right-of-way.
Back to the OP, I've switched the DNDWD on the iPhone, and love it! Of course, it took me being a geezer to appreciate the dangers of driving while distracted. Back in the day with the distractions of then, my head was too deep into my own butt to understand it.
Archimedes
Fire Watcher
:rofl:rofl:rofl:rofl Stop it! You're killing me!!!
Sorry to burst your bubble, but choking your chicken, safely, while the car takes you to your destination is still a long way off, regardless of what the Wizard of Tesla claims.
Schnellbandit
I see 4 lights!
That happens now. Slid in between two cars, long light. Look over, guy is grabbing the steering wheel like it was going to explode. A second later his passenger bobs up all icy-faced and smiles my way. I almost had a red light clutch release.
LakeMerrit
*Merritt
Somehow the context of this thread made me think of an entirely different meaning for "running escorts."
I had to go back and re-read FreeRyde's post to be sure :rofl
Moto Beck
The Longest Title Allowed
:rofl:rofl
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On top of contributing to the death rate of pretty much anyone on the road - i heard on NPR today that there was a massive study that just concluded among U.S. teens that directly correlates smartphone ownership to higher levels of anxiety.
There is a debate about if "helicopter" parents are to blame for the future generation of coddled youth or is the constant need for attention and interaction via smartphones the primary driver to this epidemic.
Instant gratification and need for constant digital contact has completely changed an entire generation and i think will largely impact our ability to compete competitively in a global market of jobs (that's my opinion, not the NPR study).
Not sure what the solution is - i'm reliant on my phone for everything (directions, work communication, friend communication, photos etc) - i love motorcycling because i can't use my phone - i pretty much love any activity that takes me away from my phone and it's a bit sick that i require something like that because i can't separate myself from it (i don't look at my phone while driving for the record but i do as soon as i stop the car).
aminalmutha
Well-known member
I see this multiple times per week. I have also noticed a fuckload more people blowing stop lights and stop signs like a mofo. And extremely late, not trying to beat a yellow... straight up blowing a light when other mofoz are already going thru.
I know people have been bitching about driving behavior for a long time, but over the past 18 months or so, to me, it has gotten dramatically worse.
Moto Beck
The Longest Title Allowed
We don't have harsh enough penalties for using the phone behind the wheel. I know LEOs probably have better things to do than to pull people over for this but at what point does it become a serious public health hazard in the same way drunk driving has (if it hasn't already)?
FreeRyde
The Curmudgeon
Sorry to burst your bubble, but do some research. Truck convoys all over Europe are completing testing as we speak. It's already here (for major interstate use)
:thumbup
But for 100% automation, we are a good bit off still. That I agree with.
Hands free one eyed trouser snake taming (on the freeway), that could be here in a few years.
The penalties are pretty harsh actually. The problem is, pulling over cellphone users takes an officer out of service for at least 20 minutes. In those twenty minutes there could be a car jacking, armed robbery, hit and run, etc where the officer cannot respond in a timely manner, cause he's writing a cellphone ticket...
Also, how are you going to pull over 88% of drivers on the freeway?
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Schnellbandit
I see 4 lights!
^^^
The behavior is now that the turn left lane cars just pack close together and they keep crossing the intersection after the light turns red. It is common to see 3-4 cars just nose to tail following each other right through a red left turn arrow.
Its starting to get so bad that you sit there with a green light and just have to wait for the car train crossing in front of you to stop. It's not just in the city either, its all over.
aminalmutha
Well-known member
That's bad, but what I'm talking about is worse. Light turns red, people already crossing the intersection and some a-hole paying zero attention zips thru at full speed. In the past six months, I have probably witnessed this a dozen times or more. One was a tractor trailer. One almost resulted in a rollover. Most caused people with the right of way to slam brakes like nobody's bidness.
Last week, 4 way stop by my house, I'm rolling up, some car is coming from the right at 40+mph and does not slow down even a slight bit. 20-something woman with her face pointing down at her lap. Didn't even blink.
I see multiple people every day on the freeway with their eyes 85% pointing at their lap, only glancing up at the road very occasionally. Every. Fucking. Day.