Modern Vespa

waste of a life

http://news.sky.com/story/1250747/driver-dies-after-posting-facebook-selfie

it's good that no one else was seriously injured, but the law really needs tightening up on this. It's more serious than drink driving in my opinion.

I had one the other day, half way over the white line and heading for me, of course he was looking down..

Message to potential driving texters - If you want to kill yourself, fine go ahead, but leave me out of the bloody equation

i have come close to running a few people over on there phones! the other day 2 young girls started crossing the road in front of me, then stopped in the middle pouted and took a picture!

Couldn't agree more. A terrible waste that will undoubtedly repeat itself many times.

The reasons are (IMHO) simple:

1. To those that knew her, no matter how foolish her behavior may have been, the moment it lead to her demise, most cultures have strong taboos against speaking critically of the dead. The result is that the emotional teaching opportunity of the person's death is essentially wasted.

2. For those of us that didn't know her (and who are not inhibited by the cultural taboo), there is a tendency to either ignore the lesson (what an idiot!), or to make the incorrect assumption that it could never happen to me... (I am an experienced enough driver to pull off the occasional text/selfie while driving).

Either way, the lesson doesn't get a chance to enter our tribal lore of survival skills... or if it does, it takes 50 - 80 years or more!

Think of drunk driving as an example. People have been driving drunk and killing themselves (and others) for as long as there have been cars (more than 100 years now). Yet, due in large part to the reasons I listed above, it wasn't until the late 70s and early 80s that a cultural taboo against drunk driving was created and began to overtake the cultural taboos and trends that kept the lesson from entering the tribal lore of our species.

People have only been texting and taking selfies for a few years now. I fear we have a long way to go before it it becomes unacceptable.

My guess is that only way to fast track curbing the behavior is to make a technological block to using phone functions that require eyes and fingers while the device is in motion. IMHO, only voice commands should function once a device's GPS locator notices it is travelling more than walking speed.

Well at least she died doing something she loved.

(Intended as a sarcastic remark.)

Excellent suggestion.

My Civic does that with the bluetooth system, should be a trivial addition to iOS and Android.

We need the equivalent of MADD for texting.

Hmmm, not so sure about disabling functions on smart devices while in motion. I often use mine while a passenger in a car, bus or train. I also have an iPad mini that was specifically purchased to run an app called ozrunways, a navigation and flight planning app that I use in my Yak-52 aircraft. The ipad I am typing this message on is a company ipad that has my airline's documentation and inflight navigation charts. Not too many of my 300 passengers would be very impressed if my ipad decided not to allow me to select the correct instrument approach chart to make a safe landing in reduced visibility...

IMO it is unacceptable NOW.

I chastised a niece recently for getting pulled over and a ticket for texting a restaurant location with her 1 year old child in the car with her. She complained it was taking to long to write the ticket so she could be on her way.

What a waste...I got hit up the arse last year by a young driver who didn't see me (she was texting)... Luckily enough I was in a car.. Always in the back of my mind when im waiting to turn at a T junction on my scooter..

Confiscate and bin the phones.







People will buy 20$ phones for in the car.

While drunk driving still causes almost 3 times the number of fatalities as texting while driving it seems drunk driving fatalities is on the decrease while texting and driving fatalities are on the rise according to this article. http://www.bisociety.org/texting-while-driving-vs-drunk-driving-which-is-more-dangerous/

how many accidents are caused by texting (distracted) drivers, but not reported as such; it's easier to prove drink driving

i think enforcement with very heavy penalties is the only way forward

maybe making offenders drive with a thumbscrew on would cut it out

i read that story and it makes me mad/sad in equal measures

That you find it unacceptable does not mean that a texter would be vilified the way a drunk driver would be if he/she caused a fatal accident.

Sadly, we're not there yet. Not by a long shot. And that is where we need to be for people to internalize the dangers involved in focusing on their phones while driving.

How about stricter penalties? In the US driving is a privilege and not a right so maybe:

Texting while driving first offence. Loss of license for one year.
Second offence, five years. Third offence, permanent removal of driving privileges.

Then increase these by a magnitude and adding incarceration and fines for causing and accident while texting and again for causing a fatality while texting.

I know it is not the final answer and enforcement is tough but until consequences become real no one will pay attention. Hell in Florida police cannot stop you just for texting. You have to commit another infraction to get stopped.

In Texas teen driver lose their provisional license if convicted if texting and driving.

I just find the process of even getting licensed to drive to be a complete joke. States need to make getting a driver's license a much more involved process that focuses on real driving skills and ensuring people understand operating a vehicle is dangerous and not a game.

As many of us have noted, riding PTWs tends to make you a more cautious and aware car driver because you know from experience what it is like to ride your scoot/motorcyle surrounded by idiots.

It is not just driver's but people are just far too distracted with their phones. I can't tell you how many times I've seen pedestrians yapping away on their phones walk right out into traffic and nearly get themselves killed.

Other than making phones inoperable in a car, I don't know that there are any solutions other than public shame.

Darwin at work here. Fortunately the only victim was the irresponsible one, and not the person driving the recycling truck.

I was very nearly killed a few years back when stopped a traffic signal. The girl driving her car approaching behind me in the same lane was texting, of course not looking at the red light up ahead, looked up maybe 100 feet before, panicked and slammed on her brakes and thankfully swerved to the other lane and collided with another vehicle. Of course had she not swerved I would have been rear ended and likely thrown over the bike into the intersection and killed, that's if the initial impact didnt grievously injure me or kill me itself.

I honestly have no pity for those whose demise is the direct result of negligent, reckless, and irresponsible behavior.

I hardly think legislation and increased penalties are the answer. They have stiff penalties for texting, and handheld devices in my area and have for a couple years. I actually notice more people than before doing it.

But how often does it actually happen. Around here texting, or even using a handheld phone while driving, is illegal. I see dozens of violations anytime I go anywhere by vehicle so enforcement is evidently infrequent.

I have a ex-neighbor friend who is a Sheriff's deputy and he told me that he actually has to see the phone and the person texting to add it as a secondary infraction. He has yet to add it to a ticket.

He almost did once. Stopped a guy who kept crossing the line and saw the phone. Once stopped he asked him if he realized that texting while driving was against the law. The guy claimed he was not texting but using a GPS app. Since there is no law about using a GPS and driving he could not cite him.

No law against distracted driving in FL?

well i never

No just the secondary offence of texting and you cannot wear head phones or buds that go on/in both ears.

He still cited the guy for careless driving but could not add the texting charge.

We've all done it and this example is why we shouldn't. I put the phone in my front pocket to prevent temptation.

dont tar everyone with your brush

Seconded. I have never texted while driving or riding. I will admit to talking on the phone occasionally though but even that makes me nervous because I know I am not giving full attention. I have lately begun the habit of turning my phone off while moving.

No, we haven't.

I found this awhile back. Looks like it may have been updated. Interactive distracted driving laws by state. http://www.distraction.gov/content/get-the-facts/state-laws.html

Apple have announced in the last week that there are working on exactly this technology...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2612690/Dont-text-drive-Apple-patents-lockout-stop-drivers-distracted-new-car-system.html

http://www.cnet.com/uk/news/apple-aims-to-disable-texting-while-youre-driving/

Great, so while one of the other 3 drivers in my household is driving I won't be able to do whatever it is I want on my phone?

If the voice navigation on my car's gps which won't let anyone enter anything when the car is moving is any indication of the state of current technology it will suck big time. Now if they read the sensor that tells you someone isn't wearing their seatbelt to enable other input methods besides voice.

I don't text, never have never will. IMHO enforcing the law is a loosing battle. I have thought about a video database for the insurance industry, but if they can't afford insurance because of penalties, then there'd be a bunch of people driving around without coverage

And the Darwin Award goes to...

Too soon?

The problem is the texting and use of applications that require your eyes to look away from the road for more than a few seconds. I was talking about this with some friends the other day; I just don't understand why people don't just call instead of text. It's faster than texting if you need to communicate long messages. Granted, this is only marginally better than texting, but at least you'd have your eyes on the road and both hands on the wheel (assuming hands-free).

[quote="DRWeside"] I'm not talking about the person who is driving but passengers in the car. If the 'voice only' input is determined by speed of travel as proposed earlier in this thread it screws having your passengers do things instead of the driver.

[quote="cdwise"] I understood what you were talking about. It's not that far of a stretch to take the front-passenger detection sensors, used for air bag activation, as an additional input into some "text-disabling" feature. If there's a passenger in the front seat, then the phones won't be "text-disabled".

Unfortunately, I think we're years, if not decades, away from a sophisticated solution. *Think automotive AI with camera as an additional input to detect the driver's behavior.

[quote="DRWeside"] There are a lot of high end auto's out there that can detect collisions, sleepy drivers, crossing the center line and so on. But who can afford it when people spend all there money on crap they don't need.

We do not multi task, we can not multi task.... We give our attention to only one thing at a time no mater how short the task.

Multi tasking is a myth.

Texting does not cause accidents..... Not paying attention to the higher risk task of driving caused the accident!

Google's self-driving cars can't come fast enough. We can reduce traffic fatalities down to near zero. The way we do things now is preposterous and barbaric. Looking back people will say that we were monsters lettings 30,000+ people a year die alone in the US just so we could feel like we had some control over a giant machine.

Google self driving cars will probably suit a lot of people, those that consider taking a selfie and posting on facebook whilst 'in control' of a moving ton of steel spring to mind, but where would that leave the humble Vespa rider?

Too bloody right mate- for so long have I seen bloody drivers texting or phoning while driving, just the other week I spotted a right pillock in the centre lane of the M1 talking on his phone, and no, it wasn't a young driver in a flash motor, it was an old duffer, say about 60, happily chatting away for miles, going northbound...
Graham

No, we definitely haven't

I'm not that stupid