Re: She asked for it ...
 

i think the current rules are plenty enough its just there no one enforcing them or hardly enforcing them.I think the only traffic law that is realy implimented is speeding and most of that is done by cameras.

i see your point about hands free been a distraction i have driven a few cars inclusing my own that let the car display show your contacts but this display is usually in teh center of the console and takes your eye off the road.Luckily i can assign voice commands to mine so i just shout a name i want but it only allows 10 voice tags and i have over 200 numbers

there was a program on tv about peoples kids been bad drivers yet despite one girl in it texting and using her mobile to google things and facebook her friends while driving there was no arrest.The footage was there and seen by thousands of people in their livingrooms and in my opinion she should have been banned

Re: She asked for it ...
 

they are half way there with that as some cars read your text out aloud

just hope it isnt your bit on the side asking if the wife is out lol

Re: She asked for it ...
 

Glad to hear it E, while there is obviously a element of "selfishness" to driving while texting, I didn't feel the need to attribute it to this incident (as I wasnt after creating a little controversy).I'm not saying those that do are wrong just, On this occasion I didn't feel the need to.

If this young lady had been changing a Cd or adjusting her sat nav etc I can't help feeling like folk would perhaps shrug it off as just a sad accident (when technically its just the same and has a element of selfishness).

Re: She asked for it ...
 

No, it isn't just the young who are guilty of this.....but the combination of a young person(with limited driving experience) a lethal chunk of metal and the distraction of a phone....well, that is a recipe for grief.
As for the traffic cops.....well, they can't be everywhere(and I am not excusing their part)......but honestly it is a law which is almost impossible to police effectively

Re: She asked for it ...
 

There is too much to distract drivers in the environment around them today.

Re: She asked for it ...
 

The thing is, texting has become like a drug and folk can/do become rather addicted. Most folk in today's society (relentlessly) communicate with friends and when they hear that tone that indicates a text message, they can’t wait to respond.
If a wasp flew in a open window they wouldn't wait to pull over so why can't the same be applied to texting while at the wheel.

Re the youth,Perhaps parents could be more of a role model for their children and take a little responsibility for drilling it home that texting while driving is a killer? it's more likely that they doing it themselves and setting a poor example of care and attention while driving.

Re: She asked for it ...
 

Since when did children listen to anything that parents suggest?
Yes, you have to show by example, but again children do not take seriously the example of their parents.
I am of the wrong generation really....I find texting seriously tedious......but then I do not feel the need to be in constant contact by technology to someone sitting in the same room(I see teens texting one another when they are sat just a few feet away from one another.....very ill mannered...a bit like whispering when in company- see I told you I was the wrong generation).

Maybe children in school should be taken by their teachers to see the results of accidents like these.....to have contact with the friends and parents of those who lose their lives in crashes like this....we have to let children see the misery it causes.

We can try our best to educate our children, but in the end we have to set them free to make their own mistakes......children never learn from the mistakes their parents made. They always think they are cleverer and will not make those mistakes.

Re: She asked for it ...
 

I agree M, giving kids a first hand experience of the aftermath from texting and driving could be a good deterrent.

As for listening to parents, Mother once caught me texting while driving her to the asda. I had my phone between my legs and was texting whilst parked at a red light (just a quick be back in 5 text) but needless to say I didnt do it again after she made me pull over and also give me a grade one tirade of abuse (and to think I use to kiss that mouth as a child :D ) she walked the rest of the way and got a taxi home, the shame was enough to never do it again

Using a phone while in control of a car is absolutely wrong. I put mine on silent now and leave it in my pocket. There's nothing that can't wait until I get to my destination. Personally,It's too much of a temptation and a distraction otherwise.

How did your generation cope with not being able to transmit messages before the advent of the mobile phone M? ;)

Re: She asked for it ...
 

Because you were driving, you were clearly not an impressionable child, a teenager who is more in tune with their peers.....but an adult. To your mum, whatever age you attain you will always be her child.
But......as an adult child you will have a very different perspective to, say, an eighteen year old......and that is the difference.

Re: She asked for it ...
 

You can almost get a handsfree for the same as the fine for using a mobile while driving. The Government could have helped years ago by making bluetooth handsfree a requirement in all new cars. It would only have added a few pounds to the cost of the radio. Much less than all the seatbelt pre-tensioners / air bags etc that are fitted for safety

Re: She asked for it ...
 

No more of a distraction than talking to a passenger while driving - I think it's less distracting using a hands free than talking to a passenger because I see so many driver looking at the passenger while chatting instead of keeping their eyes on the road

Re: She asked for it ...
 

There is tech in cars now that reads texts to you and you can text by talking to your phone

Re: She asked for it ...
 

Ah but thats the thing Margaret a law like this cannot be properly enforced, so to help reduce these accidents, a bit more forcus put on enforcing, n severe penalties if caught i.e. driving ban, large fine,crushed car,(if they own it) would surely help reduce the fools that do this.;) To me a lesson is only learnt by many, if its a heavy price to pay.

Re: She asked for it ...
 

Same way I do now, CB radio, although it's a lot quieter than it used to be. And it's not hands free :eek:

Re: She asked for it ...
 

Our generation had this silly habit of actually "Speaking" to people.