OT: Cell Phone Conversation + Car = Funeral even if…

[richnerd]

Your family is in our prayers.

 

And we are fighting to have it law here that no cell phones while driving.

 

Hopefully they pass it.

[sterlingcomics]

Thanks for the link to the article, and this thread deserves a boost before this US holiday weekend. Everyone play it safe!

[musicmeta]

Very sorry to hear this deeply sad news. Condolences to your family.

I make it a point to very rarely talk on the cell phone while driving. If I do, I make it very short or pull over or just don't answer the call to begin with. Driving is super dangerous anyway without the cell phone distractions.

[Lazyboy]

Thanks for the link to the article, and this thread deserves a boost before this US holiday weekend. Everyone play it safe!

 

It's a holiday weekend here, too.

It's Canada Day today!

But the rest of your post remains valid.

[Mephisto]

I NEVER allow a driver to speak on a cell phone as a passenger in a car.

 

bruce, I'm sorry for your lose.

Not to go off topic but,

What really pisses me off is my friends who drive to the bars at school.

The bar's are only about 1 mile. I don't know how many times I've walked. I've walked back in the snow. Hell, the last times I went out at school I got so drunk I walked back by myself and started blacking out and chiped my tooth on the sidewalk. My one friend always says he will drive and of course 1. It's never his car becaus he doesnt have one and 2. He drinks. It makes no sense because there is public transportation that is free. I always argue about driving down but the one kid is such a [embarrassing lack of self control] [embarrassing lack of self control] he can't exert the energy to walk. So usually if we drive down I won't come back in the car unless my roomate who NEVER drinks happens to be with us. I've seen stop lights on the sidewalk of mainstreet annihilated on a Friday night. Some people just don't get it!

[BronzeBruce13]

Thanks much for posting this Norinn.

 

As mentioned (especially before a major Holiday Weekend) its a great idea to bump this thread to the top to remind ourselves, our friends and families that life can be fleeting if you're not paying close attention behind the wheel… or are impaired. Please make an effort to avoid risky driving behaviour. For yourself… and others.

 

Thanks also to all those that offered new well-wishes to my family and I.

 

Here's hoping none of us experience anything similar and that cautions spread outwards to loved ones as a result of this thread have saved someone.

 

 

 

 

Just heard this story on CNN and thought I'd post it here.

 

 

Drivers On Cell Phones Are As Bad As Drunks

 

"Three years after the preliminary results first were presented at a scientific meeting and drew wide attention, University of Utah psychologists have published a study showing that motorists who talk on handheld or hands-free cellular phones are as impaired as drunken drivers."

 

 

You can see a video of the story at CNN.com

[Silvers24]

Sorry to hear this man.

 

Me & My mom are very very against driving & talking on the phone, it's no diffrent then drving drunk, we've had mindless people who didn't pay attention, when I would look at them I saw why, they had a cell phone stuck to their ear.

If you have a cell phone, then like said in the post made by the topic starter, pull over, do not answer it untill you are off the road.

 

Plus, never have two talk active adult females in a Excursion/Car, it is very hazardous. (I know from experiance with my mom & a friend of hers)

[BassGMan]

I NEVER allow a driver to speak on a cell phone as a passenger in a car.

 

bruce, I'm sorry for your lose.

Not to go off topic but,

What really pisses me off is my friends who drive to the bars at school.

The bar's are only about 1 mile. I don't know how many times I've walked. I've walked back in the snow. Hell, the last times I went out at school I got so drunk I walked back by myself and started blacking out and chiped my tooth on the sidewalk. My one friend always says he will drive and of course 1. It's never his car becaus he doesnt have one and 2. He drinks. It makes no sense because there is public transportation that is free. I always argue about driving down but the one kid is such a [embarrassing lack of self control] [embarrassing lack of self control] he can't exert the energy to walk. So usually if we drive down I won't come back in the car unless my roomate who NEVER drinks happens to be with us. I've seen stop lights on the sidewalk of mainstreet annihilated on a Friday night. Some people just don't get it!

 

Since we are on the subject of reckless driving (cell phones) I think this OT is appropriate. I play in a cover tune rock band in bars usually one or two weekends a month. So I see drinking all night. People come in sober, and many leave plastered. It absolutely astounds me how much these people are drinking, and then of course they all drive home. Of course some are designated drivers, and every once in a while after everyone has left, you see a drunk hanging around waiting for his ride. But overall, the amounts of drunks that ARE drving home is very high.

 

I am a firm believer that not only should talking on your cell phone be illegal while driving (just like not wearing a seat belt is illegal) but I'll go a big step further and state that just like cigarettes in many places, I think that selling or drinking alcohol in public places (yes, including bars) should also be illegal. Yeah, bars would go out of business and people would lose their jobs (and my band would have fewer places to play), but just think how many lives would be spared.

[BronzeBruce13]

You touch on something I've been saying for years…

 

The whole concept of a "Bar" is truly ridiculous and hypocritical in terms of taking the "driving while intoxicated" laws seriously. A Bar is a place where its customers are in "too easy" a position to break the law and endanger lives. I think its fair to say that, and this is just MHO, 50% or more customers leave the bar and drive over the limit. What's also interesting is, that often local law enforcement respect a seemingly unwritten rule NOT to stake out bars too closely as not to harm their business and local economy. Talk about a clear-cut "profiling" opportunity that makes sense.

 

At one time they flirted with installing "breathalyzers" in bars, but that didn't last long as it likely illuminated the point that "most" were. OOOOps get that thing outta' here.

 

Although I like to go to bars and imbibe, I do as a matter of habit make sure I have an hours time for each drink I take... if I'm driving. To be honest though, I have at times driven with someone that did not adhere to the drink-weight-by hour formula. So, although I would not drive myself, I suppose I was a hypocrite for letting someone else do the dirty work for me.

 

I heard on the news yesterday that alcohol is responsible for 4X the amount of deaths than ALL other illegal drugs combined.

 

When you add tobacco into the mix, both of these "legal substances" are responsible for so much death and destruction... but there is a buck to be made and shared (taxes) so.......

[Scheradon]

I'm very sorry for your loss Bruce.

 

I completely agree with you here. It seems like our society is willing to trade dollars for lives when it comes to alcohol and cigarettes.

 

Fortunatley I don't drink, so I can drive my friends that do home after a night out at the clubs.

 

On the cell phone note, it is illegal here in Japan to be talking on the cell phone while driving (I'm not sure about the hands free phones though). It's a good thing they are outlawed here as the amount of cell phones per the people here is astounding and with the already narrow roads and freedom of motor bikes to pass inbetween cars and to the left of traffic, there is not any room for deviation in driving.

 

I know they were considering a ban in Missouri before I left, but do not believe any law has been passed there yet.

 

-John