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atticus wrote:The innocent driver or passenger who is injured or killed by a distracted texting driver might differ with those who say there should be no legislation on cell phones in cars. And I've heard of DWI offenders who claim they aren't really that affected by alcohol.

You paint with far too broad a brush. First you refer to "a distracted texting driver" then generally call for "legislation on cell phones in cars." What do you support; a law against texting and driving, or a law prohibiting any use of "cell phones in cars?"

Chas.

Abraham wrote:Last week, on a two lane highway, at highway speed, I encountered two cars driving next to each other. In effect, they formed a blockage.

After a couple of miles of enduring their blockage, the car on the left finally turned off allowing me to pass whereupon I saw the guy on the right deeply engrossed in a cell phone call. It seemed reasonable to conclude he'd used the guy on his left as his speed guide so he could better concentrate on his call...

Yes, there are other reasons for driver distractions i.e., one may have to adjust his rear view mirror or admonish his misbehaving children, etc., but the ones that most commonly stands out now and seems most to interfere with other drivers in one manner or another is the yap yap yapping of cell phone drivers.

So, the anecdotal evidence mounts up - driving cell phone users are an increasing annoyance at the very least and lethal at worst.

What to do?

It seems to me the problem you faced was a "left lane bandit" not an inattentive cell phone user. There's no reason be suspect the person using the phone was using the car to his left as a pace car.

Chas.

As noted, I'm opposed to any legislation on this issue. I think the current "anti-texting" TV ad campaign that involves parents talking about their kids killed in auto accidents while texting is a far better approach. As another member posted, traffic laws don't often change behavior, but when you change someone's mind, as with the above-referenced public safety commercials, people will change their own behavior.

Chas.

jester wrote:

The Annoyed Man wrote:Most people, including most active club racers, just aren't that good. I would rather they not send text messages while they're driving.

Especially if they kill kids and get paid for it.

But therein lies the problem; did texting cause the accident? I agree that the combination of driving 126 MPH and texting certainly raises the suspicion level, but any legislation that might pass won't be limited to cases with these aggravated facts. It will apply to everyone everywhere regardless of the driving conditions.

Correlation is not causation. Was the driver wearing white sneakers at the time of the accident? If so, we need to ban them for drivers too. How about a wrist watch? If he was wearing one the wreck may have happened because he checked the time. Let's ban wrist watches for drivers also, even though there is no proof that the watch caused this fatal crash. As sjjfcontrol mentioned, there's nothing more distracting than children in the back seat, especially when they are fighting or startle the driver with a sudden screech. Are we to outlaw children in cars?

As I've mentioned before, while I would have no problem making texting while driving illegal, it wouldn't stop there; I can guarantee that. Those who would like to control every aspect of our daily lives have wanted to outlaw talking on cell phones while driving and a texting ban is just the first step toward that goal. We are already starting to hear the occasional call to ban GPS units in cars like we do TV screens visible to the driver. This position ignores the fact that it much safer for a driver to glance at a GPS screen and/or get audible directions, than it is for them to try to read a map or handwritten directions while driving.

Chas.

I'm against any legislation on the issue. There are many potential distractions for a driver (reading a map/GPS, changing radio stations, looking at street signs, dealing with kids in the back seat, etc.) and talking on a phone is not the problem many would have you believe.

Chas.