mmarshall

Totally agree. I've done several threads on this very issue. There is often a difference between being a car enthusiast and being a speed or aggressive-driving enthusiast.

SW17LS

I'm not a motorcycle guy, but its got to be really scary for you guys out there nowadays with everybody on phones, texting, etc. I know several people who ride and have decided to hang their helmets up and sell their bikes because they feel the roads have gotten too dangerous.

Nospinzone

Yes, good friends and neighbors of ours sold their bikes and put all their gear on eBay precisely because of that. People texting are the worst. I wish the police would clamp down on it in my state. I saw a video where police were walking down the traffic lane at a red light looking for people on their phones. If some one was on their phone they were directed into a parking lot where other cops were waiting to write out a ticket.

I probably won't sell my bike, but I don't expect to ride it much next season.

SW17LS

Its the law here but its totally unenforced. When the law first passed they enforced it, but I've seen people texting driving right next to cops and nary a flinch.

mmarshall

What they sometimes do is hold the phone (or pad) down low in their laps while texting, below the car's window/belt line, or try and otherwise disguise what they are doing. They don't fool me, they apparently are not fooling you....and, in most cases, they are probably not fooling the cops either (who are supposed to be trained to spot things like that). But, still, two things hamstring the cops. First, even if a cop knows exactly what someone is doing down there with the driver's pad, the cop can't give them a citation unless he or she actually spots the device itself and/or sees the actual texting going on. Second, some jurisdictions, even with anti-cell-phone and texting laws, don't make it a primary traffic-offense.....just a secondary one. That means that the cop, even if he or she sees the device, can't include it on the ticket unless the driver is first stopped for another traffic offense......speeding, red-light-running, improper turn, DWI, etc.......

So, cops, sometimes, are just as frustrated as you or I am.

SW17LS

Yeah you can totally tell, and cops should be able to totally tell. Especially at night when the light from the phone shines back in their faces.

It is a primary offense in Maryland at least...started out as a secondary offense, but they made it a primary offense. I don't really think its a big deal at a red light, but when moving its just completely insane for people to think they still have any idea whats going on while texting.

What REALLY gets me is people talking on the handheld phones in new cars that have Bluetooth!

mmarshall

Des the Bluetooth actually work well in your car? In my brother's 4-year-old Kia Soul (which, admittedly, is otherwise a very good vehicle for its low price), I can often barely understand him when he calls me on the hands-off Bluetooth....it sounds like he's talking and echoing into a tin can.

5gears-IS

iTrader: (5)

Do you wear a helmet??? Just kidding man, I am a rider myself for the last 6 years or so.

So far I had two vehicles make a turn in front of me as I was going thru an intersection.
I was a hair away from getting hit both times!

I wear protective gear all the time. I promised myself that if I ever get killed it wont be because I had no protective gear!

I always ride with a defensive attitude and paying 1000% attention to what is going on near me, behind me and as far as I can see.

Good post.

mmarshall

Good. And, from the image on your avitar, it seems to be a REAL helmet (in other words, DOT-approved).

I see a number of big Harley Hog riders (and occasionally some others), in their contempt for helmet laws, doing one of two things....either wearing little beanie-saucers that meet the letter of the law but in effect are almost worthless, or the spiked German WWI-style military helmet that was never designed for someone to be thrown off a bike...it can wrench one's neck sideways and break it.

SW17LS

It works very well in both cars, yes. Its come a long way.