Texting while driving

[GTFan]

That's exactly why I quit riding a bike. The road environment for bikers now is dangerous, even if you are constantly practicing situational awareness.

I've noticed far less motorcycles on the road in the last few years around here, wonder if others are coming to the same conclusions.

 

[gerntz]

I got rear ended by a guy doing sixty yesterday. I was making a right turn and he failed to see my signal.

Then you're one of the few who signal. Overwhelmingly, most either don't signal at all & just brake & turn - I'll say 40% - because they are God's gift .....

and another 40% slam on the brakes & then signal - which is about as useless as no signal at all. I mean once someone brakes, who cares what they're going to do next? I think they feel guilty & the belated signal makes them a better person as they've apologized.

The other 20% do it right - signal & then brake.

 

[Nemo2]

Then you're one of the few who signal.

When I lived on a British Columbia island I heard about one resident, (when the island population was lower), who got rear ended while turning into his drive without signalling.........seems his 'defense' was "Well everybody knows I live here".

 

[twolfy]

In this day and age where fewer and fewer people accept responsibility for their actions, I'm surprised that the other driver admitted to texting. I find this a little refreshing. Getting a little more cynical as I age it seems. You probably had X-rays of your neck and possibly your back as well as a ct-scan when you were at the hospital. I would suggest getting a cervical MRI. Get a better look at your discs. You will probably get push back from insurance on that but if you are having pain you can get it pushed through. I'm not a doc but drove 40-60k a year and have been rear ended 5 times. Thankfully I've never done the same to anyone else. Hope you have a good recovery. Pain from whiplash can linger a long time.

 

[check6]

That's exactly why I quit riding a bike. The road environment for bikers now is dangerous, even if you are constantly practicing situational awareness.

I've noticed far less motorcycles on the road in the last few years around here, wonder if others are coming to the same conclusions.

I only ride a bicycle on paths now. Fortunately the two cities I live in have some of the best bike paths in the country. The Harley has been collecting dust for a few years now. I don't ride it but I can't seem to part with it.

 

[check6]

Thank goodness for head rests. Without it you would have had a broken neck or worse going through the rear window. I would strongly suggest an extended cab for your next truck.

 

[Rustward]

Well maybe. What if you were texting? Who's to say exactly what time an accident occurred? Do the PD even request them for a routine accident? Can they?

Yes, they can. Well, the district attorney's office can get the records. I think it is only done for serious crimes like homicide. I know this.

They can tell date, time, sending phone, receiving phone, which antenna on which tower the phone was connected to (tells direction from the tower). Some carriers even save the content of the text. This is used quite a lot to determine where people have traveled while their phone was on. For calls, in addition to the standard data, they have call duration of call, and if the phone was in motion, tower info (tower id, and which antenna on that tower) for all towers used for the call. Typically, the information is requested for both phones (the sending phone and the receiving phone).

 

[zedd]

Thank goodness for head rests. Without it you would have had a broken neck or worse going through the rear window. I would strongly suggest an extended cab for your next truck.

Nope, no headrest. No airbags either. I broke the rear window with my noggin

 

[check6]

Nope, no headrest. No airbags either. I broke the rear window with my noggin

It appeared to be a later model truck. Did it come with a head rest and you removed it? My 92 Toyota pick up came with head rests.

 

[zedd]

It appeared to be a later model truck. Did it come with a head rest and you removed it? My 92 Toyota pick up came with head rests.

It's a 91 Chevy pickup. Not sure if the bench seat was original or not but nope, no headrest.

I remember my 91 4runner did have headrests.

 

[aaronc879]

I've noticed far less motorcycles on the road in the last few years around here, wonder if others are coming to the same conclusions.

At least there are some pros.

 

[zedd]

Update: Eight months after the collision I've recovered physically but am still suffering from sleep disorders and various other post-concussion symptoms.

The other driver was found at fault and his insurance has been cherry-picking the payment of my medical bills. Got a call from my personal injury lawyer saying that he received a check for the balance of the $25k Bodily Injury Limit from the other party's insurance.

Only $25k in Bodily Injury coverage - how is that even legal. The at fault driver has little or no assets.

My lawyer is recommending that we go after my insurance, Geico, for medical and pain and suffering claim under the UnderInsured Motorist coverage. Wish me luck.

 

[haha]

Update: Eight months after the collision I've recovered physically but am still suffering from sleep disorders and various other post-concussion symptoms.

The other driver was found at fault and his insurance has been cherry-picking the payment of my medical bills. Got a call from my personal injury lawyer saying that he received a check for the balance of the $25k Bodily Injury Limit from the other party's insurance.

Only $25k in Bodily Injury coverage - how is that even legal. The at fault driver has little or no assets.

My lawyer is recommending that we go after my insurance, Geico, for medical and pain and suffering claim under the UnderInsured Motorist coverage. Wish me luck.

Good luck to you.

Ha

 

[Rianne]

Sending positive healing thoughts and wishes your way. This post made me cringe. All it takes is 2 seconds for someone to look away and be unaware of anything unexpected. The deer in Michigan used to freak me out and I learned to lay on the horn when I saw them. They make a U turn when they hear a horn. My mom etched into my brain the phrase "watch out for the other guy" every single time (practically) we drove together.

One never knows, I don't care how cautious you are driving. I always turn my head when I change lanes. Get the heck out of the way of semis. They do not break well. We used to live i Michigan. Highway 131 goes NS and gets lake effect snow and fog near Kalamazoo, 30, 40, 50 car pile ups in the fog, yes! Many deaths, many injuries because fog is deadly. Lake effect snow appears out of nowhere. You can have a sunny normal winter day and suddenly thick heavy snow and slippery conditions in a matter of minutes.

My heart goes out to you. An accident like that is difficult to get over. Talk about it often. That may help you sleep. I keep thinking about that ignorant SOB who just had to text something probably stupid.

 

[Nemo2]

My mom etched into my brain the phrase "watch out for the other guy"

With regards to driving, my 7+ years in Riyadh served me in good stead......I always drive with the presumption that everyone else on the road is trying to kill me.

 

[W2R]

I average less than 3500 miles on my car. Part of the reason I drive so little is that driving is no fun any more, because other drivers drive so dangerously.

 

[Alan]

Good luck to you.

Ha

+1

In the last 12 months both my BIL and his niece were rear ended by distracted drivers. He was stopped at a red light, she at a pedestrian crossing. BIL has spina bifida and it has taken many months for him to get back to the point of being able to walk again without use of a walking stick.

 

[scrabbler1]

Update: Eight months after the collision I've recovered physically but am still suffering from sleep disorders and various other post-concussion symptoms.

The other driver was found at fault and his insurance has been cherry-picking the payment of my medical bills. Got a call from my personal injury lawyer saying that he received a check for the balance of the $25k Bodily Injury Limit from the other party's insurance.

Only $25k in Bodily Injury coverage - how is that even legal. The at fault driver has little or no assets.

My lawyer is recommending that we go after my insurance, Geico, for medical and pain and suffering claim under the UnderInsured Motorist coverage. Wish me luck.

Glad to read you are healing. It is unfortunate for you that the other driver had only minimum limits, 25/50, (25k per claim, 50k per accident). But that minimum limit is pretty common across states, from my years working with personal auto insurance. Good thing you have Underinsured Motorists (UIM) coverage. That's why you have the coverage, for instances like this. UIM can vary from state to state the way it provides coverage. Your lawyer will know how it works in your state (he should). I wish you luck.

 

[Sunset]

Update: Eight months after the collision I've recovered physically but am still suffering from sleep disorders and various other post-concussion symptoms.

The other driver was found at fault and his insurance has been cherry-picking the payment of my medical bills. Got a call from my personal injury lawyer saying that he received a check for the balance of the $25k Bodily Injury Limit from the other party's insurance.

Only $25k in Bodily Injury coverage - how is that even legal. The at fault driver has little or no assets.

My lawyer is recommending that we go after my insurance, Geico, for medical and pain and suffering claim under the UnderInsured Motorist coverage. Wish me luck.

Just wondering, how old is the at fault driver ?
After all in 5 years he might have a good job and be able to afford to pay $xx per year to work off a judgement. ?

 

[pb4uski]

.... My lawyer is recommending that we go after my insurance, Geico, for medical and pain and suffering claim under the UnderInsured Motorist coverage. Wish me luck.

Makes sense.... that is why you buy UI coverage.... file a claim.

 

[zedd]

The at-fault driver is in his mid-thirties I would guess.

Yep, moving forward with filing a claim with the gecko. They better threat me right too or I'll dump all (one share) of my Berkhsire (class B) stock

 

[jebmke]

National news is just reporting today on how driving deaths are way up, with texting and cell phone use a prime cause.

In my county, distracted driving surpassed DUI in terms of fatal and serious injury accidents a couple of years ago. I stopped riding my bicycle on public streets because of cell phone users. I have seen too many of them drifting side to side into the bike lane/shoulder.

My wife would like to mount a rocket launcher on my SUV to take out the texters but that might be a little harsh and I'm not sure I'd be able to get the car into the garage.

 

[Senator]

That is why it is important to give yourself a lot of distance between you and the next car if you want to text. Probably double of what is considered safe.

 

[zedd]

That is why it is important to give yourself a lot of distance between you and the next car if you want to text. Probably double of what is considered safe.

Brilliant.

 

[txtig]

That is why it is important to give yourself a lot of distance between you and the next car if you want to text. Probably double of what is considered safe.

I hope you’re joking. When I see someone doing this, it makes my blood boil. Not only are they mucking up traffic, but endangering everyone else around them.