The state(s) of texting and driving in the US

Phones and the urge to click aren't going way, neither are the tragedies.

Read the whole story

 

[mltdwn]

Article is kinda incorrect, Texas actually does have laws against texting while driving, except they don't specifically spell out 'don't text while driving' instead it is under the overall umbrella of distracted driving. They actually have signs as you cross the border into Texas specifically stating if they see you on the phone they will pull you over and ticket you.

 

[Schnookums]

Statistical[/url]":15ghgjjr]

Shavano[/url]":15ghgjjr]
That doesn't seem very likely. What would likely happen is that travelling 100MPH would start to feel normal to people and they'd make all the same dumb mistakes but in objectively more dangerous circumstances.

Exactly. Humans have built in accelerometers. We can sense acceleration not speed.

Sure we can. Just look around. You can judge your own speed and relative speed well enough to avoid collisions pretty well. There are many cues we use to judge speed. It isn't just vision either. We ccan feel the air rush over our skin and through our hair. Sound is also an important component, like with noticing the doppler effect and we can use the differences between our two ears to judge direction, distance, speed, etc. Touch, hearing, vision, temperature... it all helps.

Or do you think F1 drivers grab a slide rule every time they want to pass someone?

 

[Schizoid]

AnonymousEngineer[/url]":3t4wicxy]This is one of the paradoxes of modern motoring - the fact that people who aren't actively engaged in a task get bored.

Much of the technological advances in modern vehicles have focused on making the task at hand easier. Cruise control. Power steering. Automatic gearboxes. Automatic wipers. Automatic headlights. And now Autopilot/semi autonomy.

Is it any wonder why drivers, lacking a task to concentrate on, get bored?

Thing is, I'm old enough to have driven without any of that stuff, and a lot of driving was still boring.

 

[mltdwn]

Schizoid[/url]":1qzt5zdq]

AnonymousEngineer[/url]":1qzt5zdq]This is one of the paradoxes of modern motoring - the fact that people who aren't actively engaged in a task get bored.

Much of the technological advances in modern vehicles have focused on making the task at hand easier. Cruise control. Power steering. Automatic gearboxes. Automatic wipers. Automatic headlights. And now Autopilot/semi autonomy.

Is it any wonder why drivers, lacking a task to concentrate on, get bored?

Thing is, I'm old enough to have driven without any of that stuff, and a lot of driving was still boring.

Yeah but back then we had all kinds of roadside attractions to stop at like the Biggest ball of Twine in Minnesota. It was as much about sight seeing as getting from point A to B unless you were driving for work. Even then though we used to schedule stops, like always stopping at X gas station for the morning fix of coffee and talking to the people behind the counter before continuing on, etc. Trips were extensions of our personal lives then.

 

[JanneM]

Schizoid[/url]":11cgsolm]

AnonymousEngineer[/url]":11cgsolm]This is one of the paradoxes of modern motoring - the fact that people who aren't actively engaged in a task get bored.

Much of the technological advances in modern vehicles have focused on making the task at hand easier. Cruise control. Power steering. Automatic gearboxes. Automatic wipers. Automatic headlights. And now Autopilot/semi autonomy.

Is it any wonder why drivers, lacking a task to concentrate on, get bored?

Thing is, I'm old enough to have driven without any of that stuff, and a lot of driving was still boring.

It's dull, yes. Most driving is just a necessary chore like vacuum cleaning or doing the laundry. Worse, with the promise of self-driving cars, it really starts to feel like pointless busy-work I shouldn't have to do myself, like having to manually manage your refrigerator temperature on a second-by-second basis. Self-driving cars that free me to spend the time on something worthwhile can't come fast enough.

 

[RoninX]

wk_[/url]":1jj6n798]

Elsmarc[/url]":1jj6n798]

Fatesrider[/url]":1jj6n798]Most phones have accelerometers and can calculate the speed at which someone is moving even without GPS assistance.

No. You are totally wrong. Accelerometers can only detect a change in speed (velocity). Once at a steady speed they have no idea how fast you are moving, or if you are moving at all. I suspect you never took physics in school. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accelerometer

Integrating the acceleration over the time will give you the speed. And I'm pretty certain that it's how many devices estimate their own speed and even position when GPS and other methods are unavailable. But I really doubt if accelerometers in the phones are anywhere near the necessary precision.

Yeah, high-end military INS systems can do this, but double integrating the accelerometer on your phone accumulates error extremely quickly, to the point where its not usable.

The interesting thing about IMUs (inertial measurement units = accelerometers + gyros) is that you can get some that cost less than a Big Mac and others that cost more than a house. Basically, you can get arbitrarily high accuracy, if you're willing to spend arbitrarily large amounts of money.

 

[rufusrm44]

Anyone else notice that insane number of phone users on socal freeways? Here's a list of things I've observed of others:

1. stop a 1 or more full car lengths behind while waiting during the red light
1a. do #1 where the lane splits for the turn lane preventing anyone else catching the green turn lane light
2. drive well behind others and slightly slower to be "safe."
3. not notice what others are doing: like those trying to merge onto the freeway while dipshit staring at his phone and not adjusting his speed to help the merging car.
4. miss the green when others go...
5. not notice the onramp sign said 2 cars per green to get onto the freeway
6. forget they have a turn signal on (of course many others do this too with no excuse)
7. (your own personal experience around phone drivers)

 

[Velma Velvet]

dj__jg[/url]":1sh5m30r]

Danathar[/url]":1sh5m30r]

dj__jg[/url]":1sh5m30r]

Danathar[/url]":1sh5m30r]Jeeze!!! I HATE having a txt sent to me while driving. All I need on hangouts and iMessage are two things and just one of the two would fix it.

1. A configurable option to send an automated response to anybody while I'm traveling over 5 miles an hour using the accelerometer that I can edit to say something like "I'm either driving/biking/running or riding in a car and cannot or don't want to answer your txt right now. Get back to you soon!"

2. A button which turns on/off an auto response message that I configure.

Why is either of these things so low on Apple or Googles priority list? It would SAVE LIVES!!

Or just put your phone on silent whilst driving? If you don't know about a message, you won't fret about it.

It's not about me. It's about the other people who start calling if you don't txt back in 5 min. Yes you can rail against your family and friends pleading that instant message is not instant response, but good luck depending on them to listen and not call after they send a txt and you didn't respond right away.

What's the problem with them calling? Either pick up using a carkit or don't answer. Talking over speaker in the car is about as safe as talking to passengers in the car, I don't see anybody making a problem out of that.

There's a difference between talking to a passenger and talking on the phone. Your passenger is sharing the driving experience and sensitive to the cues of the driver. The person on the other end of the phone is completely oblivious. They don't shut up and let you concentrate on dealing with whatever hazard a passenger sharing the ride would. Take note next time you have someone in the car.

 

[Montaire]

I work for AAA in Montana. If you want some stats on distracting driving in Montana specifically, or across the country let me know. We track that sort of thing.

 

[OffroaderMe]

I agree that existing laws should be enforced and more severe penalties must be imposed. this will teach the lawbreakers a lesson. let us keep our fingers crossed that accidents will lessen with these actions.

 

[Ozmodan]

I think people need to retrain themselves how to use the phone. If I am in the car the phone stays in my pocket. I am fortunate to have a car that supports hands free calls. If your car does not have that feature it is rather inexpensive to buy a car radio that supports the blue tooth connection on your phone. It it is something important they had better call because I will not answer any text in the car.

If I need to use a map application, I pull over, set it up and then proceed. You don't need to watch the phone to use it, just listen to the voice instructions.

People need to learn some phone etiquette. If you are with someone you should always ask if it is ok if you answer some texts. It is really rude when with someone and they proceed to conduct a text session with nary a word said.

A local sports anchor at the local TV station lost his daughter because she was texting while driving. He spends his free time going to all the high schools getting teens to sign the pledge not to text and drive.

Here is the foundation he set up to get the message across: http://www.mariatiberifoundation.org/

No one ever thinks it will happen to them.....

 

[justcauseisjustthat]

The best part of this whole debate about distracted driving is that states now post messages for people to read on signs thus distracting them from driving. The second best is advertisement billboards that continuously change to get a drivers attention.... Very mixed message.

By way of human nature (and socializing) we take our eyes off the road when we talk to passengers in the car, unless we start banning passengers the only solutions are autonomous cars and semi-autonomous cars that have accident avoidance.

PS distracted driving laws have been around my whole life, adding another law and then another law probably isn't going to change behavior.

 

[jdale]

Schnookums[/url]":1fwbhr5j]

eruffini[/url]":1fwbhr5j]

NinjaNerd56[/url]":1fwbhr5j]

eruffini[/url]":1fwbhr5j]I'm sorry, but I am still convinced that those who are texting while driving and getting into accidents are the people who literally stare at the phone the whole time while driving. The ones with no sense of situational awareness. These are the ones that get into accidents.



Do I text and drive? Yep. I see no problem with it. Why? Because I do it responsibly.




I make sure to keep my eyes on the road while doing so, sparing only half a second to look at the screen and digest the contents or type a reply. I do the same when I have to adjust the GPS on my phone while driving. Most of the time if I am driving in an urban area I'll wait until I am stopped at a stop light or stop sign, but when I am on a major highway like I-95 and on a longer drive, there's no harm in sparing a quick glance at the phone.

There are safe ways to manipulate and use your phone while driving that are no more dangerous than having to look at your center console to adjust your environmental controls or change the music.

And just for the record, I haven't been involved in any accident (minor or major) in ten years, and I have the maximum number of "safe driving points" allotted to my license from the state of Virginia.

Literally an oxymoron...by a moron...yay.

Someday, when they're scraping your dying ass off the road, enjoy that last thought; "but I have all the safe driving points!"

Except that I am far more likely to be hit by someone else than hit anyone.

I don't allow myself to be distracted while driving to the point where I lose control of my vehicle, or lose my situational awareness. If you're texting or doing a hundred other things and can't keep control of your vehicle or pay attention to what's going on around you then you shouldn't be driving. Period.

Frankly, what scares me the most are the drivers that look like they hate driving, or are leaned into their seat like they're taking a nap. Most of the time it's these people that "forget" to use their turn signals, cut across three lanes of traffic to get to an exit, etc and cause accidents.

Source?

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illusory_ ... ng_ability

 

[Schnookums]

justcauseisjustthat[/url]":3r11i029]The best part of this whole debate about distracted driving is that states now post messages for people to read on signs thus distracting them from driving. The second best is advertisement billboards that continuously change to get a drivers attention.... Very mixed message.

By way of human nature (and socializing) we take our eyes off the road when we talk to passengers in the car, unless we start banning passengers the only solutions are autonomous cars and semi-autonomous cars that have accident avoidance.

PS distracted driving laws have been around my whole life, adding another law and then another law probably isn't going to change behavior.

edit: apparently they take submissions

 

[AM16]

I'd love for a 20% insurance discount for turning on a "drive mode" on the insurance app... but besides being costly and hard to measure, it could open you up to all kinds of privacy and security holes, and even fraud.

Perhaps piggy back on GPS apps?

I know I'm in the minority, but I do not use the phone while driving except as gps or hands free calling for very emergency type calls.

Icy roads and speedy drivers guarantee my attention and two handed driving at most times around here.

 

[close]

new transportation companies like Uber

I think they prefer "IT company" ).

 

[close]

amp88[/url]":2xap2yqi]

Fifth Element[/url]":2xap2yqi]

amp88[/url]":2xap2yqi]I think part of the detection and enforcement process should be done by undercover motorcycle police with helmet-/body-worn cameras. Take a look at this Australian police video for an example. The penalty for the first offence should be an immediate loss of licence (for a short time, such as 3 months), escalating with each successive offence (something in the order of a doubling of the ban period each time). Action needs to be taken and the penalties involved should be severe.

More laws do not work. Clearly.

Educate kids and have parents take their phones away if they are teenagers. Raise responsible young people.

It's about enforcing existing laws and introducing more severe penalties, actually. Additionally, if you think that only irresponsible young people are guilty of using mobile phones while driving then you're sorely mistaken.

If you just stack up more laws and penalties without educating people you're just motivating them to find more creative ways around those laws. Would you exclusively use the threat of ever more severe punishment to put your kid on the right track or would you try education first? Then why would you do it to everybody else?

If you want a showcase for how education is better than a whip look at the difference between the US and some European countries when it comes to guns or drug related crimes. US laws impose some of the most cruel penalties for some crimes. What did that do to stop the trend? It simply motivated people to look for ways not to get caught instead of not doing it in the first place. The US is the one of the largest consumers of illegal drugs in the world. Meanwhile, even in countries where light drugs are legal consumption of legal drugs is as much as 4 times lower and illegal drugs consumption is a tenth to half of the US. Gun crime is almost non-existent even when gun ownership is as high as 60%.

That's because education is the main focus. Education is both prevention and deterrent and will always work better than just a fine or even prison time. It works because it starts at an age when it might become so deeply rooted that you will no longer need to be threatened in order to avoid texting. Education sticks with you even when there are no cops around and it probably stopped you from stabbing your boss a lot more efficiently than the threat of prison.

I'm not against punishment but it should always come second to education as a fallback for when educating a person fails. But if punishment is the priority used to *replace* education then that country has failed its young generations.

 

[r3loaded]

No states have bans on using hands-free devices totally, but 38 prohibit novice drivers from using cell phones in any capacity.

The solution is simple then. Follow the UK's example, and ban the use of any hand-held device (phone mounted on dashboard is fine, if you're not being distracted by it). If you crash because you're texting, you really get the book thrown at you nowadays.

As for the dopamine response issue, I get around that problem by not driving a boring car. A car that handles well, has a bit of torque, and has a manual transmission gives you plenty of dopamine and forces you to fully concentrate on driving without any distractions.

 

[theSeb]

Danathar[/url]":3pd9aku1]Jeeze!!! I HATE having a txt sent to me while driving. All I need on hangouts and iMessage are two things and just one of the two would fix it.

1. A configurable option to send an automated response to anybody while I'm traveling over 5 miles an hour using the accelerometer that I can edit to say something like "I'm either driving/biking/running or riding in a car and cannot or don't want to answer your txt right now. Get back to you soon!"

2. A button which turns on/off an auto response message that I configure.

Why is either of these things so low on Apple or Googles priority list? It would SAVE LIVES!!

Why do you even feel the need to respond and tell people that you are driving? Here is a crazy thought, just don't respond. Google and Apple have nothing to do with your inability to control yourself. People can wait. You've illustrated the problem though. People these days seem to think that everybody should be responding to them and should be responded to within seconds.

 

[theSeb]

tetrapyloctomy[/url]":2vihnj3n]Yeah, it's baffling to me that people think that their texting is just so damned important. I can understand people (mistakenly) believing that hands-free calling is safe, but texting? Seriously? As others have remarked above it's bad enough that car manufacturers seem intent on making basic automobile functions difficult or impossible to perform without taking one's eyes off of the road, but "not texting while driving" should be a given.

There should be tests and if people can't handle hands free calling, then they need to be forced to never drive a car. Some people are clearly simply not designed to be able to drive.

 

[theSeb]

James A[/url]":34czr0fs]As a recent convert from a "dumb" phone to a "smart" phone one of the first things I noticed was the smartphone was unusable in a car due to the lack of tactile feedback. I don't text and drive, but I used to place and receive voice calls. The dumb phone was simple because using only my thumb I could feel the keypad buttons to dial a shortcut in a few seconds without taking my eyes off the road.

If I want to place a call on a smartphone I have to open the phone app, scroll through the list of contacts, and hit the dial button. This requires at least five seconds of full visual attention and is too dangerous to attempt.

My newer car's integration solution is another touchscreen in a different spot. The only safe solution is to engage a sense less critical for driving. I want a good old fashioned numeric keypad, knobs, and buttons in the center console connected to my phone so I can safely make calls and change the current music playlist.

"Siri/Google/cortana/whoever, call Peter"

 

[Kressilac]

amp88[/url]":ri67qcrs]

Fifth Element[/url]":ri67qcrs]

amp88[/url]":ri67qcrs]I think part of the detection and enforcement process should be done by undercover motorcycle police with helmet-/body-worn cameras. Take a look at this Australian police video for an example. The penalty for the first offence should be an immediate loss of licence (for a short time, such as 3 months), escalating with each successive offence (something in the order of a doubling of the ban period each time). Action needs to be taken and the penalties involved should be severe.

More laws do not work. Clearly.

Educate kids and have parents take their phones away if they are teenagers. Raise responsible young people.

It's about enforcing existing laws and introducing more severe penalties, actually. Additionally, if you think that only irresponsible young people are guilty of using mobile phones while driving then you're sorely mistaken.

All you have to do is watch the drop off line at any elementary school to see that. Every parent pulls out into traffic with cell phone in hand. Messages flying off to their work, spouse, kid's coaches, you name it. I'm not innocent either but now that my 16 year old is driving, I'm at least conscious of it when I start to answer a text while I am driving and stop. But let's also be real here. Texting isn't all of it. I see people wearing headphones while driving. Can't understand for the life of me why the in-car stereo isn't good enough but that's distracted driving too. As I would get closer to downtown, I'd see more and more women with their rear view mirrors turned vertical putting on makeup. They really couldn't get up early enough to do that at home? I've even seen students studying for tests and men reading newspapers in the car. Let's not forget the parent trying to swat their misbehaving kids behind them in the back seat while driving. Distraction comes in a lot of forms. Texting is a big part of them but not the only one.

Autonomous vehicles cannot come fast enough.

 

[root1]

I think some cars with phone support have ability to show texts on the MID; don't know if this happens while driving or can it speak the text. I think if it could speak the text it would be better, similar to answering a call on the handsfree system.

 

[Wintaru]

As an owner of a newly purchased Jeep with a manual transmission, I can say without question that getting rid of automatic transmissions would totally solve this problem

 

[MrDrWho13]

"for more then three seconds." in the image caption where it should be "more than".

 

[ckm8kng2]

isidorem[/url]":2gpqypry]I do not understand why this is so difficult in the US. In the UK if you text while driving you will lose your licence. If you hurt or kill someone while using a phone you will go to jail. If there is a serious accident your provider records will be examined to establish if your phone was in use at the time of the accident. End of story.

Here, here. Oh, and we dont need a plethora of new laws and gadgets for the police. As stated in the article, using your phone is not the same as texting on it. So, some gadget says I touched the screen.....and???? I also touched the heat, radio, mirror, drank some soda, replaced soda in cup holder, on and on. If you are dialing phone numbers or texting, staring at screen tapping on it, thats a different story. Obviously EMS doesnt have time to be checking a phone in a accident.......but police do. Its called RECKLESS DRIVING!!!!!!! The notion that texting wouldnt fall into this category is laughable. Dont think we need a special law to ban it. You do it, you crash, bye bye license. Done.

 

[tetrapyloctomy]

theSeb[/url]":2t10uw6n]

tetrapyloctomy[/url]":2t10uw6n]Yeah, it's baffling to me that people think that their texting is just so damned important. I can understand people (mistakenly) believing that hands-free calling is safe, but texting? Seriously? As others have remarked above it's bad enough that car manufacturers seem intent on making basic automobile functions difficult or impossible to perform without taking one's eyes off of the road, but "not texting while driving" should be a given.

There should be tests and if people can't handle hands free calling, then they need to be forced to never drive a car. Some people are clearly simply not designed to be able to drive.

That's everyone, according to the data. Hand-free calling has been studied at length and ranges from "maybe slightly safer than hands-on calling" to "worse than driving while intoxicated" (though that sample size was only 41 participants).

 

[NetworkElf]

The nav system on my car and Waze are both smart enough to know that my vehicle is in motion and they limit my ability to do anything. This would be a nice feature to add to the base OS of mobile devices as an option. IIRC Waze asks you if you're a passenger or not.

 

[sonicmerlin]

BeowulfSchaeffer[/url]":wt30hkd2]

chipmunkofdoom2[/url]":wt30hkd2]Back when I was in high school, one of my friends got into a very serious accident due to distracted driving. He wasn't texting, he was merely looking at his radio.

Back when I was in college I used to have a motorcycle I used for transportation. This is in NJ, the most densely populated State in the US. I was stopped on major road, waiting to make a left into a motorcycle dealership to replace some parts, 20' of pavement to my right. I saw in my mirror a car speeding up to me fast. I looked at traffic ahead to see if I had space to turn. This is when I realized "he didn't pass me..." boom. A 19 year old kid driving a Karmann Ghia slammed into me. No skid marks. I flew over 40 feet, fucking up both my knees from hitting the front of the bike. As I was flying through the air I saw my bike flying down the road, bouncing from one side to another.

If it had been any other type of car, I would be dead. The Karmann Ghia engine is in the back, trunk in the front. Bumper height was smack in the middle of where my tire was. My back was saved because I had a backpack on full of dirty laundry I was taking to my parents to wash.

I go to court, and the kid says he was looking at his radio and didn't see me. His attorney said that "no one was hurt". I was in shock at what was happening and just sat there, not saying anything. He gets off with nothing. This kid almost killed me. In the parking lot I saw his car. It had a two foot "V" in the front.

Maybe you shouldn't have kept quiet during the court case? Not saying anything (and not having a lawyer of your own) might have been why he got away with nothing. Otherwise your story makes no sense. At the very least you could sue him for personal injury.

 

[Danathar]

Danathar[/url]":1ygdosm9]Jeeze!!! I HATE having a txt sent to me while driving. All I need on hangouts and iMessage are two things and just one of the two would fix it.

1. A configurable option to send an automated response to anybody while I'm traveling over 5 miles an hour using the accelerometer that I can edit to say something like "I'm either driving/biking/running or riding in a car and cannot or don't want to answer your txt right now. Get back to you soon!"

2. A button which turns on/off an auto response message that I configure.

Why is either of these things so low on Apple or Googles priority list? It would SAVE LIVES!!

Why do you even feel the need to respond and tell people that you are driving? Here is a crazy thought, just don't respond. Google and Apple have nothing to do with your inability to control yourself. People can wait. You've illustrated the problem though. People these days seem to think that everybody should be responding to them and should be responded to within seconds.

Are you married? If you are, try ignoring your wife calling you on the phone or text on a regular basis and see where that gets you.

 

[anachronon]

Driving is boring, or at least we’ve been acculturated to believe so—the lone reward for most is getting where we need to go. So as we travel along this dull journey from point A to point B, many instead pepper themselves with mini dopamine hits—snacks, music, or by mainlining digital dopamine like text messages, Snapchats, Vines (RIP), or whatever. If we can get these mini seeking hits from dopamine while driving, the experience is far more pleasurable.

The other alternative is to buy a car that is actually fun to drive. I get far more dopamine from driving a sports car than I could ever get from a smartphone. It doesn't even need to be expensive. Used Miatas and Mustangs are cheap, and can still provide plenty of entertainment.

I agree, to a point. I bought myself a convertible, and it was great to drive. I didn't need it to prevent using my cell phone; in fact, I used my phone more because I could connect my music to the car speakers. I still didn't call or text while driving.

However, the OTHER GUY was on the phone when he blew through the stop sign and crossed the highway exit ramp right in front of me! Bye-bye nice car.

 

[anachronon]

I think some cars with phone support have ability to show texts on the MID; don't know if this happens while driving or can it speak the text. I think if it could speak the text it would be better, similar to answering a call on the handsfree system.

My car does display that I have a text when my phone is connected to the car. I don't like it, it's intrusive because it announces the text; the phone never did that. It won't let me read the text while the car is in motion, but will let me listen to it if I reach over, find the "listen" button and press it. That's even more distracting - trying to figure out what the artificial voice is trying to decipher from some of the cryptic or misspelled texts. I haven't figured out how to turn it off, if I even can. I think automatically connecting phones to car consoles is a BAD idea!

 

[geminiman7]

SunnyD[/url]":vhyjz2p6]Many car makers, however, have touchscreened what should be basic button and knob adjustable functions.

This. It's getting REALLY bad with the lack of controls you can simply feel by hand without having to stare at a screen to operate. I hate this trend, and it's dangerous for automobiles.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

dlux[/url]":22moahjj]

Danathar[/url]":22moahjj]It's about the other people who start calling if you don't txt back in 5 min. Yes you can rail against your family and friends pleading that instant message is not instant response, but good luck depending on them to listen and not call after they send a txt and you didn't respond right away.

Those of use who grew up pre-Internet sound like old men yelling at clouds, but... really?

It's easy to caricature a lot of the population as ADHD, but each time I hear things like this I wonder if it might be true. Are we really evolving into a society with no impulse control?

Believe me, some of us young people feel the same way. How did the human race evolve when so many people cant seem to think 30 seconds into the future? The only thing I can think is that, yes, the internet and cell phones are making us a society with 0 impulse control.

Would explain a lot actually.

Danathar[/url]":22moahjj]

dj__jg[/url]":22moahjj]

Danathar[/url]":22moahjj]Jeeze!!! I HATE having a txt sent to me while driving. All I need on hangouts and iMessage are two things and just one of the two would fix it.

1. A configurable option to send an automated response to anybody while I'm traveling over 5 miles an hour using the accelerometer that I can edit to say something like "I'm either driving/biking/running or riding in a car and cannot or don't want to answer your txt right now. Get back to you soon!"

2. A button which turns on/off an auto response message that I configure.

Why is either of these things so low on Apple or Googles priority list? It would SAVE LIVES!!

Or just put your phone on silent whilst driving? If you don't know about a message, you won't fret about it.

It's not about me. It's about the other people who start calling if you don't txt back in 5 min. Yes you can rail against your family and friends pleading that instant message is not instant response, but good luck depending on them to listen and not call after they send a txt and you didn't respond right away.

So turn your phone off or put it on silent mode then? This is not a difficult problem to fix. If your family members get their panties in a knot over you not answering while driving, tell them to stuff it. End of story.

If they have a problem with you telling them to stuff it, tell them you are not talking to them until they pull their head out of their @$$ and learn some self control.

 

[amp88]

close[/url]":2pl6nxut]

amp88[/url]":2pl6nxut]

Fifth Element[/url]":2pl6nxut]

amp88[/url]":2pl6nxut]I think part of the detection and enforcement process should be done by undercover motorcycle police with helmet-/body-worn cameras. Take a look at this Australian police video for an example. The penalty for the first offence should be an immediate loss of licence (for a short time, such as 3 months), escalating with each successive offence (something in the order of a doubling of the ban period each time). Action needs to be taken and the penalties involved should be severe.

More laws do not work. Clearly.

Educate kids and have parents take their phones away if they are teenagers. Raise responsible young people.

It's about enforcing existing laws and introducing more severe penalties, actually. Additionally, if you think that only irresponsible young people are guilty of using mobile phones while driving then you're sorely mistaken.

If you just stack up more laws and penalties without educating people you're just motivating them to find more creative ways around those laws. Would you exclusively use the threat of ever more severe punishment to put your kid on the right track or would you try education first? Then why would you do it to everybody else?

If you want a showcase for how education is better than a whip look at the difference between the US and some European countries when it comes to guns or drug related crimes. US laws impose some of the most cruel penalties for some crimes. What did that do to stop the trend? It simply motivated people to look for ways not to get caught instead of not doing it in the first place. The US is the one of the largest consumers of illegal drugs in the world. Meanwhile, even in countries where light drugs are legal consumption of legal drugs is as much as 4 times lower and illegal drugs consumption is a tenth to half of the US. Gun crime is almost non-existent even when gun ownership is as high as 60%.

That's because education is the main focus. Education is both prevention and deterrent and will always work better than just a fine or even prison time. It works because it starts at an age when it might become so deeply rooted that you will no longer need to be threatened in order to avoid texting. Education sticks with you even when there are no cops around and it probably stopped you from stabbing your boss a lot more efficiently than the threat of prison.

I'm not against punishment but it should always come second to education as a fallback for when educating a person fails. But if punishment is the priority used to *replace* education then that country has failed its young generations.

I wish I could agree with you about the importance and effectiveness of education, but alas I cannot. I live in Scotland, where we have widespread education and enforcement campaigns related to speeding (the enforcement is toothless, ineffective and a big waste of money, but let's leave that for another day...). We have some of the most brutal TV adverts against speeding and drink-driving in the world. We have roadside signs warning drivers about the dangers of excess speed. We have speed cameras all over the place. When learning to drive, a lot of emphasis is placed on keeping within speed limits ("the speed limit is not a target") by instructors and examiners. Do people still speed? You better believe they do.

One of the oddities of our law is that fixed speed cameras must be clearly identifiable. In practice this means they're painted bright, fluorescent colours and usually preceded by roadside signs warning of a camera ahead. What do (many) drivers do? Speed on approach to the camera, decelerate to the speed limit as they pass, then accelerate back up to ~10mph over the limit after they've passed.

The problem with emphasising education over enforcement is that the people who are willing to risk their lives and the lives of others by texting and driving simply don't care enough. Whether that's because they're addicted to technology, narcissistic or bored out of their heads piloting a ~1.5 tonne death machine makes no difference to those on the receiving end. In general I'm a very liberal person, but when there's an epidemic of drivers paying far too little attention to the act of driving who pose a very real risk of killing or seriously injuring other motorists or pedestrians I see the benefits of strict penalties.

 

[mmiller7]

President Obama has been a supporter of anti-texting and driving measures. Pictured: In 2010, he invited students to a White House science fair and honored the kids behind a device that sends out an alarm when you take a hand off the steering wheel for more then three seconds

I see this causing other issues. There's a fair number of reasons to take your hand off the wheel for 3 seconds...
-people with stick-shift preparing for a maneuver
-prepping money for toll
-drive-thru windows (bank, food, etc)
-people who use 2-way radios (CB, work radios, amateur radio, etc)
-adjusting climate control (since now you have to hammer a button instead of turning a knob)

You get the idea.

 

[chickensevil]

renny[/url]":2yaqk258]

conan77[/url]":2yaqk258]
It shouldn't be hard to adjust the heat or radio. Many car makers, however, have touchscreened what should be basic button and knob adjustable functions.

That's my biggest gripe with Tesla's interiors. I get the appeal of the giant touch screen, but it seems way too distracting.

For what it is worth, as a Tesla owner, I find the large touch screen less confusing and distracting compared to other cars (or trying to use my phone). Because the screen is so large it is easier to catch the important things in your periphials rather than needing to stare right at it, or focus in on it. Especially in the case of the navigation as they put it both on the giant center screen and on the left side of the instrament cluster.

Most everything you would *need* to do while driving can be done through the controls on the steering wheel and/or voice commands. And a note about the voice commands it is the least complicated voice system I have seen in a car as well. It just works. If you want to navigate somewhere and you are specific enough with it you can tell the car in one command "navigate to ... blah" and it will change everything for you without needing to confirm anything. As a quick comparison, Lexus, if you want to do navigation through voice you have to give it an initial command such as "navigation", then it's like "did you say: Navigation?", then you say "yes", then it asks: "where do you want to go", then you give it the location "blah blah", then it says: "did you say: blah blah", and then you have to tell it "yes". Heaven forbid it didn't understand you and you have to fight and argue with the car to get it back on track... The voice system is just terrible which leads to me just doing it via their overly annoying interface which means I either risk death, pull over and do it, or possibly (if lucky) can do it at a stop light.

This is all before you take into account Tesla's driver convenience features they already have put in place that make it less of an issue if you are momentarily disctracted because the car is doing most of the heavy lifting for you.

 

[RickRoyLeonPrisZhoraRachael]

Clearly, there are reasons there are cell-towers near roads and not in rural areas: its about communications and profit. They don't care about you or the auto accidents you cause while not paying attention. They do care about you paying your bills.
The government doesn't care, as they actually raised the speed limits, but neglected to add more lanes, longer decel/acceleration lanes (they were designed to exit/enter 55mph roads when constructed). And since most enjoy going faster, like the car makers have more +200HP cars than ever, that mean less reaction time (ABS stops you, eventually).

I am tired of those that keep stating "we need autonomous cars" for the reason of self interest. It is just like those that want electric vehicles but take the federal tax credits, and complain (actually avoid paying) about contributing to the road maintenance. Seriously, we need more mass transit (and it HAS to be subsidized, and without automaker interference). Where are the monorails? When is the last time we had a new city?

And about touchscreen dashes, they should be classified as a distraction. You don't see a touch screen on an F1 do you? Yet (especially Ars) most seem to drewl when they see an article about a +500mph sports car.

Too many people on this rock. Correction: Too many stupid people on this rock.

 

[mmiller7]

AM16[/url]":81k7cshu]I'd love for a 20% insurance discount for turning on a "drive mode" on the insurance app... but besides being costly and hard to measure, it could open you up to all kinds of privacy and security holes, and even fraud.

Perhaps piggy back on GPS apps?

I know I'm in the minority, but I do not use the phone while driving except as gps or hands free calling for very emergency type calls.

Icy roads and speedy drivers guarantee my attention and two handed driving at most times around here.

The thing is no "app" can really tell what's going on. It's impossible for your phone to know if you're the driver or passenger.

Even if you say "get a car you can pair bluetooth" that still means nothing...what happens when you change drivers part way thru a trip and now the person who owns the car isn't the driver anymore?

Same goes for piggybacking on a GPS app...we usually use whoever's phone started the navigation nomater who's driving so we don't have to re-program the route. Or we use a dedicated GPS.

 

[Kiru]

The amount of older people (70's and older) I see with their eyes glued to their phone while they're driving on the I-95 is chilling.

It's like they were addicts just waiting for the right drug to get off on, and smart phones gave it to them.

Seeing a youngish woman getting ON the freeway with her head buried in a screen (while merging into 65mph plus traffic...) made me gnash my teeth. I "startled" her with a nice doppler effect horn blast as I passed her, and SHE had the gall to look offended.

To add to the chorus: Why the f*&k can't you wait a few minutes to answer the damn phone. I hate to point it out, but you can't be that important. *You just can't.*

If it's an emergency, pull the hell over.

Now when I see a car that consistently drifts into other lanes (or incoming traffic), I figure it's phone, not alcohol. How sad is that?