Text Messaging - The New Distracted Driving
10-17-07, 11:15 AM
#16
Lexus Fanatic
First, driver's education means nothing if you don't listen, pay attention, or apply what you learn in class to your actual driving. Case in point: When I was in school, decades ago, they drilled us left and right on alcohol, speed, reaction time, stopping distances, impact force, slippery surfaces, etc.....the works. Did it do any good? For teens like me.....who listened, had common sense, and then went out and drove sensibly, yes. For many others......no. They can't claim they weren't trained.....or given proper instruction. They had the same training I got.......but they just didn't GIVE a ******. They thought it was all propaganda and "old fogie" stuff. They saw the automobile, especially the Detroit "muscle cars" of the period, as their machines to do with as they pleased.....and drive as they pleased.....too often with tragic results.
Second, the statement you make that some of Drivers' Ed needs to be changed has some merit. While the same rules of common sense apply today as they did when I was in school, some things, of course, are no longer possible or practical. A perfect example is the standard following rule of 1 car length for every 10 MPH. Of course, that is still the ideal, whenever possible, even with the electronic braking aids we have today......but in many places, with the sheer volume of traffic, that is simply impossible, especially in and around most urban areas. The overloaded road system just doesn't have the room for it any more, so you instead have to just do the best you can not to tailgate.....or be tailgated.
Another example, of course, is the old-fashioned "pumping" of brakes on slick roads that they taught us. Most cars today, of course, have ABS, where the computer does the "pumping" for you...you just push the pedal and steer.
10-17-07, 09:07 PM
#17
Who are you to decide? We're all presumbably licensed driving adults. You and Toyota have determined what and what will not be acceptable to do while I'm driving my car.
You nor Toyota are my master nor dominant superior. Using your shaky logic, I should be allowed to determine, since you share the road with hundreds of others, what your vehicle should allow you to do.
Since I'm sharing the road with you, I think it's best that we neutralize your radio, disable your hands-free telephone, and since speed is the #1 killer on the highway, govern your engine to allow no more than 55mph, since of course, studies have determined that that is the safest highway speed. Saves gas too. Force you to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions. Remember, you're sharing the world, too.
Ridiculous, wouldn't you say?
Probably not, however, unless your selective and arbitrary subjective determinations of what and what should not be allowed to be used while you're driving are predicated on a foundation of common sense, and not a bandwagoneering defense of the nonsensical lockouts on the LS460, you might want to think again about your embrace of the automotive nanny-state.
You nor Toyota are my master nor dominant superior. Using your shaky logic, I should be allowed to determine, since you share the road with hundreds of others, what your vehicle should allow you to do.
Since I'm sharing the road with you, I think it's best that we neutralize your radio, disable your hands-free telephone, and since speed is the #1 killer on the highway, govern your engine to allow no more than 55mph, since of course, studies have determined that that is the safest highway speed. Saves gas too. Force you to reduce your greenhouse gas emissions. Remember, you're sharing the world, too.
Ridiculous, wouldn't you say?
Probably not, however, unless your selective and arbitrary subjective determinations of what and what should not be allowed to be used while you're driving are predicated on a foundation of common sense, and not a bandwagoneering defense of the nonsensical lockouts on the LS460, you might want to think again about your embrace of the automotive nanny-state.
10-19-07, 05:18 AM
#18
I saw a piece on the news where Phoenix has passed a bill and it's now against the law to text while driving. Apparently a teenager was involved in a head on crash with another driver who was killed. It appears that the teenager did survive the crash. The story focused more on teenagers and texting I guess because they are mostly likey the ones texting. It took me only one time to try and text while driving for me not to do it again. It's just something I can't master while driving. I NEED to be looking at the screen because I make mistakes on the words. I've gotten messages while driving and I would just call the person up or text them back let's say when I'm at a red light.
10-19-07, 05:59 AM
#19
Lexus Fanatic
Passing laws is one thing. Enforcing them is quite another. That became obvious with the 55 MPH speed limit, right-turn-on-stop, and hand-held cell phone laws. Those laws were....and are.....just too widely ignored. Like it or not, the police can't enforce them. It will be the same with other, similiar laws.
10-20-07, 04:53 PM
#21
Lexus Fanatic
With text messaging......maybe (?) (it will be a little easier than with cell phones, because fewer people do it), but I still think it will be an uphill battle.
Last edited by mmarshall; 10-20-07 at 04:57 PM.
10-20-07, 05:31 PM
#22
With cell phones, it's not even a question IF. The Government simply CAN'T. Too many people yak and drive for the law to have any credibility.....or be enforceable.
With text messaging......maybe (?) (it will be a little easier than with cell phones, because fewer people do it), but I still think it will be an uphill battle.
With text messaging......maybe (?) (it will be a little easier than with cell phones, because fewer people do it), but I still think it will be an uphill battle.
10-20-07, 06:01 PM
#23
Lexus Fanatic
No. We have super-fines like that now in VA (measured in thousands of dollars).....some of the toughest in the country, and drivers STILL commit the same infractions, over and over again. Most of them get away with it.
Legislaton or not, stupidity behind the wheel will not really change until drivers decide to change their own behavior.
Legislaton or not, stupidity behind the wheel will not really change until drivers decide to change their own behavior.
10-20-07, 08:46 PM
#24
No. We have super-fines like that now in VA (measured in thousands of dollars).....some of the toughest in the country, and drivers STILL commit the same infractions, over and over again. Most of them get away with it.
Legislaton or not, stupidity behind the wheel will not really change until drivers decide to change their own behavior.
Legislaton or not, stupidity behind the wheel will not really change until drivers decide to change their own behavior.
10-21-07, 12:20 AM
#25
No. We have super-fines like that now in VA (measured in thousands of dollars).....some of the toughest in the country, and drivers STILL commit the same infractions, over and over again. Most of them get away with it.
Legislaton or not, stupidity behind the wheel will not really change until drivers decide to change their own behavior.
Legislaton or not, stupidity behind the wheel will not really change until drivers decide to change their own behavior.
10-21-07, 01:49 PM
#26
Lexus Fanatic
Same with cell-phones, text-messaging, etc..... However, I DO think that there will be at least some success wth text messaging, simply for the reason that not as many people do it as yak on cell phones. But you can forget any real enforcement of cell-phone laws....it's a lost cause, just as 55-MPH speed limits were.
10-22-07, 07:58 AM
#27
Out of Warranty
Back when your driver's ed text was written, you had a steering wheel, three pedals and a gear selector (with three choices, plus reverse). OK, lights, wipers, and an optional AM radio and heater. That was it. You stepped on the pedals and twisted the wheel to occupy your mind. We called it driving.
You didn't play with the seat position because there was only one adjustment- either closer to or farther from the aforementioned pedals and wheel. Lights and wipers were either on or off. The AM radio only got three or four stations clearly, and the climate control consisted of opening the cowl vent with that big lever under the dash and cranking down your window. When it came to heat, the choice was one of three fan speeds - off, low, high. No thermostat, no decisions to ponder over temperature and distribution of the warm air. People in the back seat simply froze. Your seat was not warmed - unless you dropped a lit cigarette between your legs.
Now we veterans of driver's ed in the '50's never thought people would have to be told that staring at a 1" screen while thumbing tiny buttons might be dangerous while driving - no more than operating a climate control or entertainment system with control settings that would shame those of a private jet. Our training did not include cell phones, CD players, even movies in the car, nor 10-way driver's seats, rain-sensing wipers, automatic headlights, highly accurate real-time navigation and laser cruise controls - all of which were intended to make our driving experience simpler, but really just gave us more controls to fool with.
Our driver training needs to be brought up to date. Today's drivers need to be warned from the outset that driving while drinking a cup of coffee, texting, loading CD's, and adjusting the climate controls, the seat, and opening the moonroof simultaneously while entering a new destination in the nav console might result in task saturation sufficient to lose the fact that the driver is also herding a two-ton missile through freeway traffic at 70 mph.
Maybe driver's ed students need a few classes in Cockpit Resource Management that have saved over-saturated pilots from forgetting that they are FIRST flying the aircraft - THEN they prioritize the other tasks around them. When you consider that lack of attention to that FIRST priority results in a smokin' hole with YOU at the bottom of it, all of those other priorities seem pretty small.
10-26-07, 08:23 AM
#28
Moderator
Thread Starter
That hits the nail on the head!
I think that the driver who is driving distracted (be it texting, phoning, inputing to the nav system, or being drunk) thinks its wrong for many drivers but that they can handle it. And then can handle it ............................ right up until one second before the accident.
10-26-07, 09:42 AM
#29
Lexus Fanatic
Our driver training needs to be brought up to date. Today's drivers need to be warned from the outset that driving while drinking a cup of coffee, texting, loading CD's, and adjusting the climate controls, the seat, and opening the moonroof simultaneously while entering a new destination in the nav console might result in task saturation sufficient to lose the fact that the driver is also herding a two-ton missile through freeway traffic at 70 mph.
Maybe driver's ed students need a few classes in Cockpit Resource Management that have saved over-saturated pilots from forgetting that they are FIRST flying the aircraft - THEN they prioritize the other tasks around them. When you consider that lack of attention to that FIRST priority results in a smokin' hole with YOU at the bottom of it, all of those other priorities seem pretty small.
Maybe driver's ed students need a few classes in Cockpit Resource Management that have saved over-saturated pilots from forgetting that they are FIRST flying the aircraft - THEN they prioritize the other tasks around them. When you consider that lack of attention to that FIRST priority results in a smokin' hole with YOU at the bottom of it, all of those other priorities seem pretty small.
The problem with Driver Training is not so much that it needs to be brought up to date (even back in the 50's and 60's we were taught to keep eyes on the road and avoid distractions) but that Driver Training MEANS what it says.....disregarding its lessons is NOT a viable or sensible choice.
Perhaps we could look to the U.S. Marine Corps for some effective training techniques.
10-26-07, 09:49 PM
#30
Guest
Posts: n/a
Absolutely correct, Sick! We are drowning in our own technology; our cars offer us hundreds of distractions from the primary task of driving. With hundreds of radio stations to surf, AM, FM, Satellite - plus CD's, not to mention navigation, trip computers, calendars, even a variety of settings for practically every function in the car. With so much available to keep our little ADD minds busy, many of us forget to look through the windshield.
Back when your driver's ed text was written, you had a steering wheel, three pedals and a gear selector (with three choices, plus reverse). OK, lights, wipers, and an optional AM radio and heater. That was it. You stepped on the pedals and twisted the wheel to occupy your mind. We called it driving.
You didn't play with the seat position because there was only one adjustment- either closer to or farther from the aforementioned pedals and wheel. Lights and wipers were either on or off. The AM radio only got three or four stations clearly, and the climate control consisted of opening the cowl vent with that big lever under the dash and cranking down your window. When it came to heat, the choice was one of three fan speeds - off, low, high. No thermostat, no decisions to ponder over temperature and distribution of the warm air. People in the back seat simply froze. Your seat was not warmed - unless you dropped a lit cigarette between your legs.
Now we veterans of driver's ed in the '50's never thought people would have to be told that staring at a 1" screen while thumbing tiny buttons might be dangerous while driving - no more than operating a climate control or entertainment system with control settings that would shame those of a private jet. Our training did not include cell phones, CD players, even movies in the car, nor 10-way driver's seats, rain-sensing wipers, automatic headlights, highly accurate real-time navigation and laser cruise controls - all of which were intended to make our driving experience simpler, but really just gave us more controls to fool with.
Our driver training needs to be brought up to date. Today's drivers need to be warned from the outset that driving while drinking a cup of coffee, texting, loading CD's, and adjusting the climate controls, the seat, and opening the moonroof simultaneously while entering a new destination in the nav console might result in task saturation sufficient to lose the fact that the driver is also herding a two-ton missile through freeway traffic at 70 mph.
Maybe driver's ed students need a few classes in Cockpit Resource Management that have saved over-saturated pilots from forgetting that they are FIRST flying the aircraft - THEN they prioritize the other tasks around them. When you consider that lack of attention to that FIRST priority results in a smokin' hole with YOU at the bottom of it, all of those other priorities seem pretty small.
Back when your driver's ed text was written, you had a steering wheel, three pedals and a gear selector (with three choices, plus reverse). OK, lights, wipers, and an optional AM radio and heater. That was it. You stepped on the pedals and twisted the wheel to occupy your mind. We called it driving.
You didn't play with the seat position because there was only one adjustment- either closer to or farther from the aforementioned pedals and wheel. Lights and wipers were either on or off. The AM radio only got three or four stations clearly, and the climate control consisted of opening the cowl vent with that big lever under the dash and cranking down your window. When it came to heat, the choice was one of three fan speeds - off, low, high. No thermostat, no decisions to ponder over temperature and distribution of the warm air. People in the back seat simply froze. Your seat was not warmed - unless you dropped a lit cigarette between your legs.
Now we veterans of driver's ed in the '50's never thought people would have to be told that staring at a 1" screen while thumbing tiny buttons might be dangerous while driving - no more than operating a climate control or entertainment system with control settings that would shame those of a private jet. Our training did not include cell phones, CD players, even movies in the car, nor 10-way driver's seats, rain-sensing wipers, automatic headlights, highly accurate real-time navigation and laser cruise controls - all of which were intended to make our driving experience simpler, but really just gave us more controls to fool with.
Our driver training needs to be brought up to date. Today's drivers need to be warned from the outset that driving while drinking a cup of coffee, texting, loading CD's, and adjusting the climate controls, the seat, and opening the moonroof simultaneously while entering a new destination in the nav console might result in task saturation sufficient to lose the fact that the driver is also herding a two-ton missile through freeway traffic at 70 mph.
Maybe driver's ed students need a few classes in Cockpit Resource Management that have saved over-saturated pilots from forgetting that they are FIRST flying the aircraft - THEN they prioritize the other tasks around them. When you consider that lack of attention to that FIRST priority results in a smokin' hole with YOU at the bottom of it, all of those other priorities seem pretty small.
We should have classes like
A-sports cars
B-SUVs
C-Exotics
D-Regular cars
Or something of that nature depending on teh courses one has taken.