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Old 12-15-2011, 07:15 AM   #61
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Let me know if you find a story of a 40+ year old
Not sure of this guys age but he's definitely over 17...



...and his passenger was over 40 and so was the driver he rear-ended.
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Old 12-15-2011, 07:50 AM   #62
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Originally Posted by teejayevans View Post
Was the accident really caused by the cell phone or maybe the fact the driver was 17.
Let me know if you find a story of a 40+ year old
TJ
A very quick google search gave me this. While not 40+, certainly not a teen. I'm sure there are tons more.

Favaloro was attempting to cross the street when she was hit and thrown 25 feet. The driver, a 27 year old woman, admitted that she was texting while driving at the time of the car accident.
Car Accident Caused By Texting While Driving| Seattle Car Accident Lawyer
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Old 12-15-2011, 07:55 AM   #63
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I'm all for eliminating all cell phone use while driving. It should have happened years ago IMO. Talking on the phone is not the same as passively listening to the radio.

Currently our municipality can pull you over for texting but the fine is a paltry $50, a slap on the wrist. If they were serious about curbing texting while driving, they should have made the fine a $500. Not only would it be a great deterrent it would go a long way to solving the city's budget issues.
Agree. A small fine won't do the job, but a $500 dollar one? That would get the attention of many. I do agree with others that current laws on the books should be enforced. I saw a guy the other day driving down the highway reading a news paper. That also deserves a hefty fine. But, what are the odds of a cop diving up behind a guy like this and seeing it? Not easy to enforce.
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Old 12-15-2011, 07:58 AM   #64
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Originally Posted by teejayevans View Post
Was the accident really caused by the cell phone or maybe the fact the driver was 17.
Let me know if you find a story of a 40+ year old
TJ
A couple of years ago a train crash in London found that the driver of the train was texting at the time of the crash and missed all the warning signals.

While looking for that report I saw the following fatal US train crash caused by texting.

Train driver texting just before fatal crash | Reuters

and this one in Boston

MBTA: Conductor in Boston trolley crash was texting his girlfriend - Local News Updates - The Boston Globe
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Old 12-15-2011, 08:01 AM   #65
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Originally Posted by REWahoo View Post
Not sure of this guys age but he's definitely over 17...


...and his passenger was over 40 and so was the driver he rear-ended.
What's crazy is the driver should have known he was being taped and could be fired even if not in an accident. Or you would think.
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Old 12-15-2011, 08:34 AM   #66
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You don't have to create new laws to prohibit this--the insurance companies can make it part of their policies that they will not cover damage if it occurs while a communication device is being used. You can be sure they'll be looking up the cell phone usage for every accident reported to them.
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Old 12-15-2011, 08:35 AM   #67
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As I said before though, laws are useless when they exist but are not enforced.
Often you'll hear that the police can't afford to enforce something. Can't they structure the fines so that those fines pay for the enforcement?
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Old 12-15-2011, 08:42 AM   #68
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What's crazy is the driver should have known he was being taped and could be fired even if not in an accident. Or you would think.
Another example of how texting while driving impairs cognitive reasoning.
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Old 12-15-2011, 09:43 AM   #69
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Originally Posted by REWahoo View Post
Not sure of this guys age but he's definitely over 17...
... and fired (not the good kind of FIREd, either).
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Old 12-15-2011, 10:19 AM   #70
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Originally Posted by haha View Post
I believe the the convenience of calling home to say you will be late, or calling clients to set up appointments should be sacrificed in favor of greater safety.
Totally agree.

Also, ban radios from cars. Too much distraction.

Of course, banning eating while driving is a given.

Next, those distracting navigation systems. If you're looking at the little moving map, you're not looking at the road!

Passengers should still be allowed, but only if they're quiet and don't distract you.

Hopefully it won't be long before we're all driving around in complete silence in our sterile cars, wearing helmets and 5-point safety harnesses.
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Old 12-15-2011, 10:26 AM   #71
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It's already been passed in Las Vegas.
False. The Las Vegas law only covers handheld use. Hands-free conversations are still permitted.

The article cited in this thread advocates banning cell phone use by drivers altogether, including hands-free devices.

I don't know of any jurisdictions that have enacted such an outright ban to date.
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Old 12-15-2011, 10:28 AM   #72
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Originally Posted by Bestwifeever View Post
You don't have to create new laws to prohibit this--the insurance companies can make it part of their policies that they will not cover damage if it occurs while a communication device is being used. You can be sure they'll be looking up the cell phone usage for every accident reported to them.
+1 Bravo! Excellent idea. Laws might not be enforced, and people may ignore them, but it seems to me that most people would not ignore a possible financial hit due to an accident while using a cell phone.
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Old 12-15-2011, 10:30 AM   #73
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I guess I am looking for statistic to show that cell phone is serious cause of death of injury in the US. Cause frankly when I look at the data I just don't see it.
It's because they don't/can't track it.

This is definitely a problem, but it doesn't mean it's not happening. Lots of accidents are caused by people chatting on their phones, but when it comes time to write the report, the driver certainly isn't going to openly admit to driving distracted. They'll just say something like, "I must have been doing a shoulder check and missed the light turning red" or whatever. The police aren't about to devote expensive resources subpoenaing wireless carriers for cell phone call/text logs over a little fender-bender, so it never gets reported.
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Old 12-15-2011, 10:31 AM   #74
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+1 Bravo! Excellent idea. Laws might not be enforced, and people may ignore them, but it seems to me that most people would not ignore a possible financial hit due to an accident while using a cell phone.
Sure, but we've already heard enough anecdotes about health insurers refusing to cover legitimate claims for one reason or another. It's not hard for me to imagine them insisting that there was cell phone use involved even when there wasn't, so they can avoid paying out a claim.

Do we really trust insurance companies with this? I don't.
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Old 12-15-2011, 10:31 AM   #75
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After a little thought I would think it would be relatively easy to disable texting while in motion using GPS or position to cell towers.
So, your passengers shouldn't be allowed to text while you're driving, either?
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Old 12-15-2011, 10:33 AM   #76
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I don't understand how hands-free phone calls are any better or worse than talking to a passenger(s) while driving.
It's because a passenger who is physically present with you has context. If you're in the middle of explaining your weekend plans, and you need to merge into traffic, your passenger sees this and instinctively waits. Someone on the other end of a phone, however, will simply prod you with, "Hello? Jim? Are you still there?"
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Old 12-15-2011, 10:37 AM   #77
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As to studies, do you believe everything that has a study associated with it?
Reminds me of one of my favorite Homer Simpson quotes:

"Facts, schmacts. Facts can be used to prove anything even remotely true!"
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Old 12-15-2011, 12:23 PM   #78
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Originally Posted by clifp View Post
I guess I am looking for statistic to show that cell phone is serious cause of death of injury in the US. Cause frankly when I look at the data I just don't see it.

<snip>
At what data are you looking? Feel free to post some links, or research references. Please do.


Cars and roads are safer now. You cannot just blindly compare traffic fatalities from years ago to current numbers. On some level, a crash that would have had a 90% fatality rate in, say 1970, would have a much, much lower fatality rate today.


Duh. It does not take a genius to go out into traffic and see that people talking on the phone are less attentive to their driving that those who are not. They slow down, brake when there is no need to, make much wider turns, weave,.... I certainly agree that messing with the radio, looking for sunglasses, getting a massage in the car, etc. are also distractions, but phone usage seems to be at the top of the list.
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Old 12-15-2011, 01:05 PM   #79
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You don't have to create new laws to prohibit this--the insurance companies can make it part of their policies that they will not cover damage if it occurs while a communication device is being used. You can be sure they'll be looking up the cell phone usage for every accident reported to them.
Nice thought, and it would be nice if it worked that way.

Do the insurance companies care? Kinda seems like their rates are based on the claims paid, but I have to admit that I do not understand how the business works.

I don't think insurance companies even have access to mobile phone records.

And if they did, and denied a claim based on a phone being in use, how do they prove that the driver was the one using the phone? In some other thread long ago, I remember seeing something like "No I didn't call you. My butt called you" -- must have had something to do with somebody sitting on their phone. So just because a phone was active, that does not mean the driver was using it.

Additionally, you just don't seem to hear about claims being denied based on the insured doing something they should not have done. That kind of goes against the idea of mutual protection. Maybe they will not be renewed, but the claims get paid.
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Old 12-15-2011, 01:28 PM   #80
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Nice thought, and it would be nice if it worked that way.

Do the insurance companies care? Kinda seems like their rates are based on the claims paid, but I have to admit that I do not understand how the business works.

I don't think insurance companies even have access to mobile phone records.

And if they did, and denied a claim based on a phone being in use, how do they prove that the driver was the one using the phone? In some other thread long ago, I remember seeing something like "No I didn't call you. My butt called you" -- must have had something to do with somebody sitting on their phone. So just because a phone was active, that does not mean the driver was using it.

Additionally, you just don't seem to hear about claims being denied based on the insured doing something they should not have done. That kind of goes against the idea of mutual protection. Maybe they will not be renewed, but the claims get paid.
Good points. My other great idea was for drivers' ed to teach kids how to talk on the phone while driving I guess that's not going to work either.
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