Should Distracted Driving Be Treated The Same As DUI's ?

[ownyourfuture]

The following is from an article on distracted driving in the Minneapolis Star Tribune in May 2014

Last year, distracted driving contributed to 17,598 crashes, 68 deaths and 8,038 injuries, according to state reports. Distracted driving caused four times more crashes with injuries than drunken driving.

In another article, a Minnesota state trooper said that because distracted driving accidents are harder to prove, the number of accidents caused by that is probably much higher than the stats show.

If that's true, shouldn't 1st time distracted driving offenders get the same penalty/sentence as 1st time DUI offenders ?

I say yes

 

[ziggy29]

The biggest problem with this is the burden of proof; enforcement will be difficult. With DUI you have smoking gun evidence in the form of a blood test. It can be a lot harder to prove someone was texting or shaving or eating or reading a newspaper at the time of the wreck because the evidence is not persistent. That said, when provable I do think distracted driving should be treated more seriously, as certain types of it are likely as dangerous as driving with (say) a .10 BAC.

 

[Just_Steve]

Define distracted driving, if I take a sip of coffee or water while driving then that could be distracted driving, I think the nanny state is getting carried away. Why not take all radios out of the cars and ban all conversation while driving. Oh and can I bound and gag my kids with duct tape because they can be pretty distracting sometimes?

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

The biggest problem with this is the burden of proof; enforcement will be difficult. With DUI you have smoking gun evidence in the form of a blood test. It can be a lot harder to prove someone was texting or shaving or eating or reading a newspaper at the time of the wreck because the evidence is not persistent. That said, when provable I do think distracted driving should be treated more seriously, as certain types of it are likely as dangerous as driving with (say) a .10 BAC.

Except for using your phone...its use can be ascertained pretty easily. I would guess as the fatality rate continues to increase because of phone usage, the search warrants for phone records will become easier and easier to obtain. As for the other stuff...all true. BUT...I would venture to guess that phone use is the BIGGEST reason for distracted driving.

 

[braumeister]

One of the first things police do around here is check whether the driver's phone was in use at the time of the accident. It's pretty easy to do.

But "distracted" is not really definable IMHO. Look at all the cab drivers, truck drivers, ham radio operators, etc. who have been carrying on multiple conversations over 2-way radios while driving for many decades without much in the way of distraction.

 

[NW-Bound]

Yes. The problem is how to enforce and prove it. One can be distracted simply by thinking about the crashing stocks that he bought on margin.

Still, let's get them, the ones we can. Texting or even talking on the phone while driving should mean 50 canes, confiscation of the car, and some time in jail.

 

[Bamaman]

My step daughter totaled out a Honda CRV 2 weeks ago because she was texting while driving in traffic. She was guilty--but not cited for the violation due to not admitting to it.

It was a total lack of judgement. I just wish the police would go after more distracted drivers just talking on their cell phones without using hands free operation. They're a nuisance and I see them all the time causing problems in traffic.

 

[RobbieB]

Texting while driving is really bad, you are not watching the road by definition.

Calling is legal here in CA as long as you are "hands free", speaker phone or bluetooth.

Talking hands free on a cell is no more dangerous than talking to someone in your car.

 

[Philliefan33]

With Siri, one can do hands-free texting. Is that any more distracting than hands-free calling?

 

[easysurfer]

Texting while driving is really bad, you are not watching the road by definition.

Calling is legal here in CA as long as you are "hands free", speaker phone or bluetooth.

Talking hands free on a cell is no more dangerous than talking to someone in your car.

Not sure about the hands free vs talking to someone in the car part.

The researchers found that distracted participants, who listened to sentences and decided if these were true of false, were slower than undistracted participants when it comes to responding to hazards. Distracted participants also detected fewer hazards or were unable to see hazards despite being able to focus their eyes on them.

"Chatty passengers tend to pose less of a risk than mobile phone conversations. They will usually moderate the conversation when road hazards arise," said Hole.

"Someone on the other end of a phone is oblivious to the other demands on the driver and so keeps talking."

Talking While Driving Dangerous Even If You?re Using Hands-Free Phone : TECH : Tech Times

I just tell folks that when I'm driving, my phone is OFF and in my glove compartment. That takes away the temptation of them constantly calling and me using the phone when moving.

 

[MRG]

In this state(MO) it's legal to text and drive if you are over 21. I guess nobody's shown it to be a problem.

I've seen women doing makeup, guys shaving and one moron reading a book. I say if the cop sees em, their guilty, no need for a trial. Treat it like a third DUI. Probably ought to torch their cars as an added incentive. Nothing like a few touched cars, still smoldering, along the roadside to settle things down.

 

[Tadpole]

Worse than all of the above is driving while asleep. Few people are punished even when they admit to falling asleep.

 

[NW-Bound]

Ah, cane them all.

How about this punishment? Put them in a Tesla with autopilot, but with no steering wheel and brake. They did not want to use the steering and brake anyway, right? Set the car autopilot to a speed of 60 mph on a dirt road, with ditches along the borders, and make sure no bystanders would get hurt. If they survive after say 20 miles of that, we will set them free. They would have eyes on the road and hands on the steering wheel after that, I guarantee you.

The problem I can see with that is Teslas are expensive, and the court would run out of money quick.

 

[bingybear]

be careful if you are listening to the radio, talking with a passenger or your mind wanders off because you are thinking about something else... work, family or the vacation you have coming up. It is very easy to get distracted in ways that would be difficult to prove. texting, on the phone, putting makeup on... I can see these.
We all likely have our minds wander when driving as some points in time.

I think "distracted driving" needs defined better.

 

[Car-Guy]

If the OP is talking about accidents caused by hand held cell phone usage, especially texting, then I'd vote yes, penalties should be similar to those they impose for DUI or other serious driving offenses.

It may be hard to prove, sometimes, but if proven, they should be heavily fined for the first offense at a minimum and probably have their license suspended for 60 to 90 days. Additional "convictions" should be much heavier fines, probably some jail time and much longer license suspensions.

 

[kcowan]

We need a mandatory pattern recognition device that sounds a warning when distracted driving is detected for any reason. It would report to the DMV after 3 violations per trip.

 

[kitesurfer2]

it's very easy to identify these distracted drivers but i won't go into that. As i approach this distracted driver from behind, I swoop up fast and pull over very close to their car and LAY DOWN on the horn. watch their eye balls bug out!!!!

 

[rayinpenn]

Years ago my daughter and I were crossing the road to pick up something at the store. She was maybe 9 out for a walk with Dad. A lady (I recognized her as an unscrupulous real estate agent) was making a left turn at an intersection away from us. She was driving with a cigarette in one hand and a cell phone in the other. Her hand slipped off the wheel of her SUV and she nearly ran us over. I yelled at her and she said "it was an accident." I said no it wasn't you were not paying attention.

Yeah make it equivalent to drunk driving and throw in 20 lashes..


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[tps7742]

No doubt I understand the frustration of distracted drivers but be careful what you ask for IMO.

 

[mystang52]

I live in Bergen County, NJ, a suburb of NYC. We don't have city-like traffic, but definitely a lot of cars on the road. If I look for it, I can find a texting driver every time I am on the road. At least when I'm driving, I have some metal around me.
But I also run and bike on the streets, and this issue downright scares me. There's only one bike path near me, and I use it almost all of the time. But it's only 6 miles long so for variety as well as getting in longer miles, I'm inevitably on the streets. This is a problem definitely getting worse, exponentially.

 

[samclem]

It wouldn't be technically challenging to make cell phones inoperative when they are on the move. Doing that in a blanket fashion would also make it impossible for others in the car to use their phones, and it would make it impossible for drivers to use GPS on their phones in the way they do now (though there are workarounds for that). Perhaps after one conviction for texting/prohibited use of a phone in a car, a person's mobile cell account should be barred from any on-the-move data access. Their phone number is added to their drivers license, and if a cop finds a phone with any different number within their reach in a car, they are in violation of the terms of their release and go directly to the slammer.

It's quite evident when these folks are going down the road, often well under the speed limit, roaming around in their lane, and paying scarce attention to the world outside.

 

[NW-Bound]

As mentioned elsewhere, my daughter was T-boned at an intersection by a teenager who ran a red light. He totaled his parents' BMW as well as my daughter's Civic. The side airbags saved my daughter, plus he hit at the rear door, not the front driver door. As both sides walked away, the police probably did not investigate further to see if he was texting. But what else could cause him to not look up to see the light AND the cars in front of him broadside? My daughter heard him admitting to the police that he did not see her car AT ALL.

 

[eytonxav]

I'd be happy if they would just start to ticket people for tailgating. Here in DFW area it just seems to get worse each year and leads to many collisions. Some of these clowns must be NASCAR wannabes.

 

[Badger]

If they are using their phone to talk or text then locate the tallest tree and string 'em up. OK maybe that's a little too knee jerk but as far as I am concerned they are trying to kill me or my wife and family. I've had a few "accidents" and a large number of close calls due to people on cell phones. I'm tired of the inconsideration and the threat to my life. If someone were to hurt my family because of being on the phone or DUI there is a chance I would be in jail after I got hold of them. Like anything else the only time a change would be made to address the problem is when enough families of politicians/law makers are injured or killed because of distracted driving. I think I better stop now.

Cheers!

 

[HFWR]

I live in Bergen County, NJ, a suburb of NYC. We don't have city-like traffic, but definitely a lot of cars on the road. If I look for it, I can find a texting driver every time I am on the road. At least when I'm driving, I have some metal around me.
But I also run and bike on the streets, and this issue downright scares me. There's only one bike path near me, and I use it almost all of the time. But it's only 6 miles long so for variety as well as getting in longer miles, I'm inevitably on the streets. This is a problem definitely getting worse, exponentially.

Here in the DFW, I see multiples of people staring at a phone EVERY time I'm out-and-about. Same for red light runners.

"If I had a rocket launcher, some SOB would die..."

Thankfully, Stepfordville has lots of paved bike trails.