Injured motorcyclist Linda Brown wages battle against distracted driving | News | Tor

Well we have to do something. Good on her for the effort.

Crashing sucks, more so when it's not your fault.
 
We have an addiction that we still do not understand. Society will not be easily dissuaded from distracted driving. I see it daily and it has become commonplace. We still have issues with drinking and driving. Only vigilant enforcement and a widespread education program can turn this tide. Canada is not alone as this is a world-wide scourge.

Linda will have her work cut out for her.
 
I hope her the best for her recovery. Distracted drivers come in all forms - not just cell phones, but timmies drinkers, the sightseers, the parent with the kids in the rear seats, the driver with the dog in the front seat/lap, the driver daydreaming, etc. Driving a vehicle has become an easier thing to do with the modern age - automatic transmissions, powerful/fuel injected engines, electronic gadgets for lane changes and automatic braking. Its making the onus of the driver to be engaged while driving even less.
 
I think every motorcyclist should be active in fighting distracted driving and in particular texting while driving. When the opportunity presents itself make sure your family, friends and co-workers know how distracted driving puts your life and others on the line. I for one have no problem tapping on windows at lights and requesting people put down their phone. Sure some people get angry but in reality they are only angry because they got caught.

On using a cell phone while driving, how is it that they can afford a cell phone, gas, insurance and the car yet don't have a measly 20 bucks in their jeans for a hands free device. Makes my blood boil.
 
Old Suzy said:
I think every motorcyclist should be active in fighting distracted driving and in particular texting while driving. When the opportunity presents itself make sure your family, friends and co-workers know how distracted driving puts your life and others on the line. I for one have no problem tapping on windows at lights and requesting people put down their phone. Sure some people get angry but in reality they are only angry because they got caught.

On using a cell phone while driving, how is it that they can afford a cell phone, gas, insurance and the car yet don't have a measly 20 bucks in their jeans for a hands free device. Makes my blood boil.
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Because you can't easily text and check your selfies on Facebook with a hands free device.

This really does make my blood boil...because of someone's narcissism another person might lose a leg. The phrase in the article is absolutely correct...these accidents are completely avoidable. Chuck the book at people caught doing this.
 
Is a hands free device the answer anyway? Even if hands free you're still going to be distracted if talking about anything weighty that might require complex mental computation. Ever had a customer grille you over the phone and you're doing mental back flips trying to come up with new and ingenious reasons? You get that far away look in your eyes? That's distracting no matter what your hands are not doing.
 
jc100 said:
Because you can't easily text and check your selfies on Facebook with a hands free device.

This really does make my blood boil...because of someone's narcissism another person might lose a leg. The phrase in the article is absolutely correct...these accidents are completely avoidable. Chuck the book at people caught doing this.
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Problem is not many people are being caught, far easier for police to sit at the side of the road with the radar gun.
 
I was dangerously cut off by someone on their cell. After that she still proceeded to use the phone. People can be so dense.

Wait till they plough into a tractor trailer
 
Apparently death by distracted drivers in Ontario will be greater than DUI alcohol related deaths according to OPP.

The cell is an addiction worse than alcohol for some. In fact, one day it may be classified as such.

BB
 
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We should have the technology by now for phones such that when they are moving at a speed greater than, say, 20kph they blank their screens (at the very least.) For passengers in private cars, too bad: we don't allow open bottles of liquor either.

Perhaps buses and taxis could incorporate encrypted Bluetooth beacons that let a phone know the user is not likely driving (can't help with texting bus & taxi drivers...)

Problem is that everything can be hacked and such measures would be bypassed by device addicts the second they were rolled out in new phones and OSs.
 
inreb said:
Is a hands free device the answer anyway? Even if hands free you're still going to be distracted if talking about anything weighty that might require complex mental computation. Ever had a customer grille you over the phone and you're doing mental back flips trying to come up with new and ingenious reasons? You get that far away look in your eyes? That's distracting no matter what your hands are not doing.
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Totally agree and yet, it's ok. Not only that, it's encouraged. My employer provides a company vehicle with hands free connectivity so, I can conduct business on the phone.

The truth is, when I'm in the city with a lot of different things going on, traffic lights, drive ways, multi lanes, intersections, I avoid phone calls. I park and talk. I also turn off the radio and avoid conversations under these circumstances.

But, I do conduct phone calls on the highway when there is light traffic. It maybe just as dangerous but, I find the highways have less distractions, everyone traveling the same way and relatively the same speed etc. I get a lot of business taken care of driving from Toronto to Montreal or Ottawa etc.
 
I guess in someways talking on the phone using a hands free device is really no different than having a conversation with your passenger. Albeit can be distracting especially if the conversation is heated or intense. I have a tolerance for hands free cell phone users taking or making phone calls. If I know the call is going to require any significant brain power I will park the car.
Its the texting drivers that make me go ballistic. There is no way any reasonable individual with half a brain can claim that you can read or make texts while driving. Driving requires you to look at the road in front of you, beside you and in back of you. Looking down at the phone on your crotch implies that you are not driving but the vehicle is driving itself. I hear the technology is coming, but for right now if you want to text take a freaking bus!
 
Ok. Before the cell/mobile / car phone, how many of you remember turning down the radio when looking for an address? #NuffSaid

Sent from a Samsung Galaxy far, far away using Tapatalk
 
Blackfin said:
We should have the technology by now for phones such that when they are moving at a speed greater than, say, 20kph they blank their screens (at the very least.) For passengers in private cars, too bad: we don't allow open bottles of liquor either.
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ok there...what a dumbass idea, good thing you're not in charge of making the laws. I hate distracted idiots on the road just as much the next guy and never hesitate to point them out but this is just plain nonsense.

I use my phone as my primary gps, I guess its distracting for me to look at it and see what's coming up. Hell, I shouldn't even touch any of the buttons on the center console of my car even skipping to the next track or adjusting the heat/ac may be far too distracting
 
Not to take away from the distracted driving, but when riding on a two-lane highway it is best to stay behind a car. That way, he gets hit instead of you. Cars drifting over the centre of the road on two-lane highways has been a common cause of death for decades. As for cell phones, in the future we could seen laws forcing drivers to put them in the trunk, somewhere out of reach of drivers. Current legislation is just not going to stop the stupidity.
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