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OldCurlyWolf wrote:

lonewolf wrote: I do not take the operation of a motor vehicle lightly. It is a very large object, moving with great inertia, requiring attention, preparation, and forethought, not something to be done absent mindedly while chatting/texting.

Not that it really matters but inertia means the mass is at rest. What you really meant is MOMENTUM. Or possibly Kinetic Energy. E=M * V^2

I stand corrected. I have slept since Physics.....

Or was that during physics......

Some of the technology is already there. Wire guided steering on electric forklifts for very narrow aisle application with sensors that make the equipment slow down and then stop at the end of the aisle. All the operator has to do is select (solid state controls) forward or reverse. Throw in there that fact that the electric forklift companies were on the ball with DC/AC conversion, making them more efficient by orders of magnitude. That technology is now being applied to quite a number of hybrid vehicles, which use DC storage and then convert to AC. More bang for the buck.

Cars driving themselves totally? Not for many years, but use of some of this technology or varied applications of it has already begun. Some high enders already let you know when you are sleeping/drifting out of lane/or there are objects too close for proper stopping distance. Now you can look at screen and see what's behind you, or there are sensors that will tell you if you're backing into your mailbox......it just keeps going.....

I am not in favor or legislation. I am in favor of the "Three C's", as I call them:

1. Common courtesy
2. Common Sense
3. Consideration of others

For example, I am a smoker. I don't smoke in my own house. I smoke in the garage. When I am around others, I either refrain from smoking or make every attempt to stay downwind. I know that some smokers take extra breaks at work to smoke. I do not. I smoke during my authorized breaks and lunch in a designated smoking area.

On rare occasions I do talk on the phone while driving, as previously admitted. I do not text. Its my choice, my responsibility.

Now, to flip the coin over, what about youngsters that have only begun to master the art/technique of safe driving..... have they truly developed the situational awareness and skills necessary for them to operate a vehicle safely while being so focused on their little handheld toys? My children know that answering their phones/texting at the dinner table will lose them their phone. Same for answering while I am having a conversation with them. Its amazing how many of their little friends will call/text them repeatedly until they get an answer. The generation of immediate gratification. One of my children told me not long ago that I made little so-and so mad at them by not allowing them to answer. I've never even met little so-and-so.....

Emails are another source of aggravation at times. I once had a boss who expected an immediate response to every email he sent out. I'm trying to do my job and complete my work. If its that important, call me or come by my office. Or ask me to come see you. Or schedule a meeting with the people involved. Don't expect me to be sitting on my haunches waiting eagerly, staring at my screen, drooling every time your name pops up in my inbox......

Bottom line in my life is this: I may not check my personal email for a week. If its important, please feel free to call me, and if I don't answer, rest assured I will respond to your voicemail as soon as I have an opportunity to do so. Yes, leave a message. BEEEEEEEEEP!!

What are everyones thoughts on legislative action with regards to use of cell phones/texting/hands-free, etc, while operating a motor vehicle?

There have been studies done, laws passed, and opinions expressed all over the place. Kind of like concealed carry, there are many different and often divergent viewpoints.

Personally, I have used my cell phone (talking while driving) on rare occasion, and had no problem. I have never used the text function while driving and don't intend to. I have operated all kinds of machinery over the years, all of which can be harmful if one is not paying strict attention. I do not take the operation of a motor vehicle lightly. It is a very large object, moving with great inertia, requiring attention, preparation, and forethought, not something to be done absent mindedly while chatting/texting. 99 times out of 100 should the phone ring while I am driving I will not even check to see who it was until I have safely stopped somewhere. A crisis on someone else's part does not constitute an emergency on my part.

Should using such a device be prohibited during operation of a motor vehicle by legislation and enforced by LEOs everywhere, or should we be satisfied with the current laws regarding use in school zones, or should the government just butt out? I'll be interested to see how this topic progresses.......

Do you want your children driving and texting? Do you want the person next to you driving with the phone stuck between their ear and shoulder? Is hands-free OK?