Drivers on the phones: its getting scary!!

uphillonly

Arequipa wrote: »

I think for a start we can put our phones away 100% when we drive...
i set up a podcast on play via bluetooth & then put my phones away before I set off in the car...

even bringing up the issue with family and friends can help...

without sounding overly dramatic... i think people realising how dangerous using a phone while driving is.. will probably save lives
..

A

This is key. I think a lot of people aren't aware.

Intuitively you can understand the claims that it can be even more dangerous than drunk driving.
- A drunk driver reacts slowly.
- A texting driver doesn't even react because he/she isn't looking in the first place.

A number of tragic incidents have been witnessed by other drivers as a vehicle ploughs into pedestrians/cyclists/other vehicles without making any evasive movement as the driver was on the phone.

Be aware that some tests have shown just talking on a phone can reduce your reactions as much as alcohol. Humans overestimate how much they can multitask. If one thing requires our attention then we don't notice other things. That's how pocket thieves can be so effective with distraction. Think of a time you approach a difficult junction and were talking to someone in the car. You probably stopped listening properly to focus on the road. You do it automatically. If you continue to focus on the conversation, you are not able to focus properly on the road.

Personal anecdote: Cycling to school with my kids. The children told me that mummy had said to not always trust cars that are indicating. I told them 'yes, adults can do stupid things.' 15 seconds later someone drives across a junction applying her lipstick in the mirror. 'There you are kids - that's how stupid adults can be.'

Wishbone Ash

circadian wrote: »

I've got 6 different devices paired with both my Kia's no problem. Android Auto works perfectly on the Optima.

It's not that simple with work phones. My wife has to carry 3 work phones none of which are permitted to be paired with anything. Something to do with the security settings the employer sets on them.

ED E

Arequipa wrote: »

without sounding overly dramatic... i think people realising how dangerous using a phone while driving is.. will probably save lives

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/technology/28texting.html

Big f'ck off billboards stating the above would be a start.

Trojan

steamsey wrote: »

So what can we do about it?

The solution will be self-driving cars. Won't happen overnight, but it will eventually solve this problem.

Kaisr Sose

Trojan wrote: »

The solution will be self-driving cars. Won't happen overnight, but it will eventually solve this problem.

It is a solution but it’s too far out and the adaption will be extremely slow. Decades! Meanwhile, the issues of distraction by ‘new’ media and devices will be even more prevalent. The current crop of devil may care distracted will have their behaviours reinforced and we just don’t know where things will be. It’s a major evolving problem and it will get worse very quickly if something radical is not done.

Muahahaha

Anyone who thinks using a phone while driving isnt dangerous needs to watch the below video from the UK. The truck driver took his eyes off the road for 0.75 seconds and in that split second didnt see the line of cars ahead and ended up killing four people. He got 10 years in prison.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/mobile-phone-music-driver-jailed-tomasz-kroker-10-years-a7389241.html

Just on Gardai using phones whilst driving- they are certainly allowed to as part of their duties. However Gardai rarely drive alone, they are in twos and threes. Would it really make any difference for the passenger to make the call? And to use the speaker phone if it is really necessary that the driver has to speak to someone. It is not like doing this is impossible or something, there is really no need for a Garda driving a car to have a phone to their ear while the Garda passenger next to them could just as easily fill that role.

doozerie

Trojan wrote: »

The solution will be self-driving cars. Won't happen overnight, but it will eventually solve this problem.

Removing the human from behind the wheel will certainly reduce their opportunity to do stupid and reckless things. But without a change in mindset they'll continues to be a menace by parking where they like, opening car doors into other road users, etc.

It's not a technological problem, basically, I struggle to picture an effective technological solution to it.

Plus, there are reckless idiots on bikes too, they may pose little danger to those inside cars but they pose a danger to other cyclists and pedestrians. Again, no obvious technological solution there either and driverless cars will do nothing to stop them acting the way they do. Although a shock collar triggered by an arsehole-o-meter mounted on their bike could be a technological step in the right direction.

doozerie

Muahahaha wrote: »

Anyone who thinks using a phone while driving isnt dangerous needs to watch the below video from the UK. The truck driver took his eyes off the road for 0.75 seconds and in that split second didnt see the line of cars ahead and ended up killing four people. He got 10 years in prison.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/mobile-phone-music-driver-jailed-tomasz-kroker-10-years-a7389241.html

That's a shocking video to watch, the consequences are horrific. I'm also quite surprised to see that his speed was "only" 81kph, according to the video, though I guess if he was carrying a heavy load that's pretty fast for such mass.

Still though, it's a sobering reminder about the risks associated with what would probably be commonly perceived as a modest speed, in addition to the risks associated with being distracted while driving.

TooObvious

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

It's not that simple with work phones. My wife has to carry 3 work phones none of which are permitted to be paired with anything. Something to do with the security settings the employer sets on them.

I'm sure her employer doesn't have a policy within their employee handbook which specifically requires her to break the law by using them whilst driving?

Effects

Muahahaha wrote: »

The truck driver took his eyes off the road for 0.75 seconds and in that split second didnt see the line of cars ahead and ended up killing four people.

That's completely misleading, his attention is lacking for far more than 0.75 seconds.

Trekker09

One of the other things I've noticed is people eating and drinking while driving. I know it's legal, but surely as much a distraction as a phone.

CramCycle

Trekker09 wrote: »

One of the other things I've noticed is people eating and drinking while driving. I know it's legal, but surely as much a distraction as a phone.

I honestly don't know, but I would have thought it was less. Eating maybe as there is more than one thing going on (trying to avoid mess, looking to see is the food dripping etc.) but I drink coffee in the car quite a bit. I don't have to take my eyes off the road, proprioception means that I have to little or nothing extra mentally to achieve that task. I know the coffee is at a safe temp as I tried it before I set off. Texting on the phone is different, I have to look at the phone, double check I have the right recipient, check the message, see has it sent, all of these things take all of my attention away from the road, briefly, but for more than enough time for some serious damage to be done.

Trekker09

CramCycle wrote: »

I honestly don't know, but I would have thought it was less. Eating maybe as there is more than one thing going on (trying to avoid mess, looking to see is the food dripping etc.) but I drink coffee in the car quite a bit. I don't have to take my eyes off the road, proprioception means that I have to little or nothing extra mentally to achieve that task. I know the coffee is at a safe temp as I tried it before I set off. Texting on the phone is different, I have to look at the phone, double check I have the right recipient, check the message, see has it sent, all of these things take all of my attention away from the road, briefly, but for more than enough time for some serious damage to be done.

I'm the same with coffee and only drink it when it's safe to do so, but what I've seen is drivers approaching roundabouts and junctions with their hands full. I know it's not as serious as phone use while driving, but still a distraction all the same

Macy0161

Trekker09 wrote: »

One of the other things I've noticed is people eating and drinking while driving. I know it's legal, but surely as much a distraction as a phone.

Depends what it is, but a drink to and from a cup holder like CramCycle I don't have to take my eyes off the road or think about it. Food - I'd say it depends on what it is, how focused you have to be to eat it, and how quickly you can put it down. Most in "car foods", I wouldn't say they're nearly as distracting as a phone.

Was in the car today, and there was a van going along at 40kph on the N11 through stillorgan. I assumed it was having mechanical issues, but overtook it, and driver on the phone. Presumably as soon as the call ended, he was keeping up with traffic/ tailgating the car in front!

zedhead

Was listening to the tail end of something on Newstalk last night, about guards prosecuting people for putting make up on by driving. Only heard the listener texts after and was not shocked that one listener texted in to say that there was absolutely no issue doing her make up while driving and that she absolutely would not stop. She needed the make up to look professional for work and would not consider waking up earlier to do it at home. Also that the make up would help her avoid the fine - looking well for the guard and all that. She finished the text to say she was currently doing her lipstick while driving - tongue in cheek I know but also implying she was sending the message while driving.

People really are just all about themselves. If it makes their life better than f*ck everyone else.

rubadub

A Donegal man has been left to chew on a hefty fine after being caught driving while eating a sandwich

Axa insurance https://www.axa.ie/articles/driving/is-eating-while-driving-illegal/

Similarly, Gardai issued warnings after a woman in Kildare was fined €80 for eating a full plate of chicken curry behind the wheel. Although it might sound amusing or even skillful – it was extremely dangerous for the driver in question, and other drivers on the road, not to mention an extremely expensive curry.

Most dangerous foods
Despite the heavy fine, bananas do not make the cut as a dangerous food to eat on the road.

Unsurprisingly, coffee or hot drinks are the most dangerous foods to have while driving. For a lot of people, driving with coffee is part of the daily commute, but it is responsible for more driving accidents than any other food or drink.

John Farrell of The AA said he didn’t expect people to do away with their morning coffee on the drive to work, but urged people to be careful with hot drinks while driving, warning that “a simple incident like the lid coming off and coffee spilling could become disastrous.”

The following foods were ranked by the NHTSA as the top ten most dangerous:

10. Chocolate
9. Soft drinks
8. Jam or cream filled powdered donuts
7. Fried chicken
6. BBQ food
5. Hamburgers
4. Chili
3. Tacos
2. Hot soup
1. Coffee

Hurrache

No idea how chocolate can be the top 10, you can break it easily with your fingers without looking, or else just eat it from the wrapper. Except flakes, **** flakes.

And the disparity between soft drinks and coffee, other than one being hot and the other not? Travel mugs make that a non issue unless you somehow manage to spill it all over you. Hamburgers, other than your basic hamburger like those in McDonalds, are a difficult to eat alright.

rubadub

Hurrache wrote: »

No idea how chocolate can be the top 10

found this ones with reasons

These revelations led to the development of Hagerty's list of the "Ten Most Dangerous Foods To Eat While Driving" to help protect other motorists, passengers and pedestrians, and help reduce vehicle damage caused by inattentiveness behind the wheel. Hagerty's research team then rated common foods eaten in cars according to the degree of distraction, degree of difficulty in eating with only one hand on the wheel, and the food's popularity. They ranked the top 10 foods from bad to worst:

Chocolate - Whatever you touch - steering wheels, stick shift, clothing or hair - will carry distinctive fingerprints. Drivers' instinctive reactions are to clean the offending candy stains immediately, which distracts them from the road ahead.
Soft Drinks - Suddenly wearing your soda as you pull out to pass could be a deadly distraction. Open containers holding liquids - hot or cold - can cause a lack of driver concentration when spilled across a shirt or lap.
Jelly and Cream-Filled Donuts - Imagine the disaster as messy jelly oozes onto drivers' clothes and they become more focused on the spill than the highway.
Fried chicken - Greasy hands are a sure distraction as drivers tend to constantly try to clean them while driving. Grease on a steering wheel is almost impossible to get off.
Any Barbecued Food - Barbecue sauce may be delicious, but drivers should remember that "if it can drip, don't eat it while you drive."
Juicy Hamburgers - The same goes for foods that contain messy or greasy extras. A $5 hamburger deluxe could turn into $500 worth of repairs if dripping condiments, special sauces or greasy meat juices distract the driver.
Chili - Anything containing chili like a chili dog, sloppy joe or Coney dog. Steering chili-covered foods to your mouth while steering a car around a corner requires more dexterity than humans possess.
Tacos - Here's a foodstuff that can disassemble itself without much help while being consumed. One good road bump and the seat of your car looks like a salad bar.
Hot Soups - Eating soup while trying to manipulate a gearshift is not sensible. It's the equivalent to a circus juggling act; a sure recipe for disaster. So what is the most hazardous food drivers can consume? The offender is one of the world's most popular beverages and the one with which most Americans start their mornings:
Coffee - Uncovered drinks generally are the greatest offenders for unexpected splashes and spills. Nobody wants to look soiled or messy, especially on the way to work, and coffee spills are the worst because drivers invariably try to make instant clean-ups while still driving. In addition, hot coffee is often served at temperatures near scalding, and can cause serious burns that also divert a driver's focus.

https://www.hagerty.com/corporate/Press/Press/2002/04/29/TEN-MOST-DANGEROUS-FOODS

Effects

I was almost knocked down a while ago by a woman putting on makeup and turning from Christchurch Place onto Werburgh St, by the Lord Edward. When she stopped, after almost hitting me, I told her she shouldn't be putting on makeup while driving. She promptly dropped the brush from her hand and denied it. I think most women think it's fine and acceptable but it clearly isn't.

Kaisr Sose

Trekker09 wrote: »

One of the other things I've noticed is people eating and drinking while driving. I know it's legal, but surely as much a distraction as a phone.

The prevalence of drive through coffee vendors is a bone of contention for me. I always think that drinking hot liquids while driving is a bad combination. If it’s dropped it could be impossible to control a vehicle.
The outlet in Sandyford Road – which is a bone of contention for me – has drivers pulling back out into heavy AM moving tracffic a very short while after purchase of a very hot/scalding hot drink. Most pull out with the coffee/ in one hand and steering wheel in the other. That’s not fully in control of the vehicle...they may argue they are, but they are not. Some are also on the phone (kit, war piece)
It was nuts to grant a casual trading licence for this, at that location.

RobbieTheRobber

Effects wrote: »

I was almost knocked down a while ago by a woman putting on makeup and turning from Christchurch Place onto Werburgh St, by the Lord Edward. When she stopped, after almost hitting me, I told her she shouldn't be putting on makeup while driving. She promptly dropped the brush from her hand and denied it. I think most women think it's fine and acceptable but it clearly isn't.

I was nearly hit by a woman weaving across a bus lane while applying makeup once. When I attempted to speak to her at a traffic light she screamed at me and told me she was pregnant and I was picking on her. :eek:

D3V!L

RobbieTheRobber wrote: »

I was nearly hit by a woman weaving across a bus lane while applying makeup once. When I attempted to speak to her at a traffic light she screamed at me and told me she was pregnant and I was picking on her. :eek:

Are you a middle aged white male ? If so then youre always in the wrong.

CramCycle

I had the same once, parked on an acute angled bend. I thought it was common knowledge and part of the test that you didn't park on a bend on the road, as overtaking traffic will have no reasonable way to see around you.

I pointed this out, was followed up the road, then after a roundabout, pulled alongside and told I was a sexist pig and threatening towards women.

I just said I would have pointed it out no matter who you were. Then she drove off, at speed (30kmph area).

I have no problem with people calling out sexism, but make sure it is actually sexism.

For example in the posts up above, there is no need to point out it is a woman, I see plenty of men grooming in the morning as well, but it is not sexism unless the point is that all women do this. It could lead to unintentional sexism though if we have more follow on posts that are specifically pointing out women, mine is an example.

Annie get your Run

RobbieTheRobber wrote: »

I was nearly hit by a woman weaving across a bus lane while applying makeup once. When I attempted to speak to her at a traffic light she screamed at me and told me she was pregnant and I was picking on her. :eek:

I'm sorry but this made me laugh out loud :D:D I really wish it had been me picking on her!!

Annie get your Run

Effects wrote: »

I was almost knocked down a while ago by a woman putting on makeup and turning from Christchurch Place onto Werburgh St, by the Lord Edward. When she stopped, after almost hitting me, I told her she shouldn't be putting on makeup while driving. She promptly dropped the brush from her hand and denied it. I think most women think it's fine and acceptable but it clearly isn't.

Eh no! not most! Some clearly do, but not most...

Macy0161

CramCycle wrote: »

For example in the posts up above, there is no need to point out it is a woman, I see plenty of men grooming in the morning as well, but it is not sexism unless the point is that all women do this. It could lead to unintentional sexism though if we have more follow on posts that are specifically pointing out women, mine is an example.

You actually see less of the driving and (electric) shaver distraction/ grossness these days I think though! Used to be just as common as make up in my experience. And it wasn't even their legs!

average_runner

rubadub wrote: »

A Donegal man has been left to chew on a hefty fine after being caught driving while eating a sandwich

Axa insurance https://www.axa.ie/articles/driving/is-eating-while-driving-illegal/

Surely smoking should be considered illegal when driving

rubadub

average_runner wrote: »

Surely smoking should be considered illegal when driving

That is what I have always thought, spoke about it in threads about smoking. If there was no history of smoking at all in the western world, and suddenly a minority took it up there is no way in hell it would be allowed while driving. It is bizarre how so many think its their god given right. (and I do smoke not that it should matter, but certainly not while driving or cycling!)

magicbastarder

anecdote alert - i know someone who once crashed a car (minor damage) because he flicked a cigarette butt out the window and it flew back in and went down his back.

07Lapierre

magicbastarder wrote: »

anecdote alert - i know someone who once crashed a car (minor damage) because he flicked a cigarette butt out the window and it flew back in and went down his back.

Reminds me of the time I was eating an apple while driving. I threw the apple butt out the passenger window (rural area..apples are biodegradable)....BUT, id forgotten to open the passenger window! . I didn't crash though.