I am just glad I don't live in Pennsauken, NJ. But NZ has it's share of bad drivers too. Most of them tourists :LMAO:

Hi.

 

"Why not just get a kneeboard?"

 

A few years ago I got fairly seriously into classic car regularity road-rallying with my brother in the old man's Healey 3000. He drove, I navigated. I couldn't have managed all the paperwork, maps, road-books,timings and quiz questions without a kneeboard. It was made of corrugated cardboard wrapped around with duct tape and bulldog clips to hold everything in place- those old cars don't have much of a crumple zone and I felt if I was going to die in a RTA I wanted to be buried in a single coffin. Even so, there was never enough space for everything: stationary underfoot, the next 3 maps in the door pocket, timer, roamers & spare pens velcroed to the dash, gooseneck taped to the roof, loads more stuff on the (tiny) back seat...

 

What do other people do?

 

On my own? ... I pull over. Other drivers scare the pants off me and I don't like the thought of not seeing them when they're trying to kill me (usually when they're on the phone). My car doesn't have much stuff in it so anything I need is usually on the passenger seat or in the passenger footwell though really, with the exception of paper, I suppose it ought all to be secure in the glove-box. I don't mind going on a mile or two before finding somewhere to stop for five minutes.

 

Cheers,

D

Read this article a couple of days ago;

 

http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/06/12090348-massachusetts-teen-sentenced-to-prison-for-texting-while-driving?lite

 

I would offer a word of warning to Chuck, it's always the "other guy" that gets nailed, isn't it? I'm just glad that my days of driving any amount are over. Having one more distraction (smart phones) added into the mix would have made my time as a paid tourist (truck driver) even more fun.

New research suggests mobile phones may make some road-users pay more attention. :LMAO:

 

http://news.drive.com.au/drive/motor-news/using-your-phone-on-the-road-could-make-you-a-safer-driver-study-20110114-19qfx.html

Whoa, this thread really degenerated into hostility and backbiting MUCH faster than usual. (However, I did notice that it was done so by the usual band of hostile backbiters.)

 

I will address as many of your "concerns" as I can, just to soothe your frayed little nerves. Hopefully this will stop the lecturing and finger wagging, which from my POV actually sounds really foolish - I've been driving over 40 years and I've never had so much as a fender bender. I got my first cell phone in 1989 - yes, an old Motorola!):

 

1) Like I said, lecturing me about how to drive is really a waste of YOUR time -- by the looks of it I've been doing it a lot longer than any of you. A LOT longer.

 

2) I wouldn't be staring at my phone while driving! When the phone rings, I want to see the caller ID so I know if I need to pick it up, or can the caller go to voice mail, and, if so, how I should pick up - bluetooth or handset.

 

3) Ron Atwood: Who cares if I admit this behavior on a forum? Do you think the state police or the FBI is going to hunt me down or something? (You're one of a rare breed who actually puts his last name onto a public forum. :crazy: )

 

4) ZachLW: Read the topic title - in case you don't recognize it, that's what we call "a question" - that curly thing at the end is "a question mark". Oh, and I did say in my OP that I have a GPS. A less hostile person would have assumed that the GPS is already hanging off the windshield, so you see I CAN'T hang it off the windshield! :Applause:

 

5) Rockliffe and megs8888: How old are you? Yours were two of the silliest posts I've ever seen here . . . you both really took this and ran with it. (A coroner's report?? And fists up so quickly!) By the looks of it I've been driving about 25 years longer than either of you . . . up until now my attitude was fine. But thanks for the invaluable advice -- you've really made a difference in the world. :Silly:

 

6) ytzpilot: Judging from your attitude, I'm really glad you don't live in Pennsauken, NJ, too. I don't think you'd make it more than a few days. By the way, I just did a quick search on Google about NZ drivers, and the very first post I found was this one: New Zealand Drivers Suck :LMAO: http://lettersfromparadise.blogspot.com/2006/03/new-zealand-drivers-suck.html But don't get your feelings hurt: it was written back in 2006. I'm sure NZ drivers have gotten MUCH better since then.

 

I would really like to thank Dave_Morgan. I really appreciate your help -- you know exactly what I was talking about and gave me an answer I can use. And ramrunner800 : Thank you for speaking up: you were absolutely right. After the third patronizing post I did just slap my head and walked away.

 

Everybody else: why do you have to be so venomous? And on a Friday night too!! You all should be happy! I've been here longer than most of you and I can tell you that there was a time when I wouldn't have thought twice about posting here - now it seems everybody's just looking for a fight. Contributions have really gotten nasty the past couple of years, downright mean. You guys even started to fight amongst yourselves.

 

Here's some of advice for you: if you didn't like the topic you always, uh, just MOVE ON!! (WHAT a concept!) I didn't start this, but I am going to end it. I never even suspected that my question (asked and explained pretty nicely, too) would have stirred up so much trouble. 8P

My name is my name.That's two Ts please

Been driving since 1958. Clean.

Oh, and you DID start it.

6) ytzpilot: Judging from your attitude, I'm really glad you don't live in Pennsauken, NJ, too. I don't think you'd make it more than a few days. By the way, I just did a quick search on Google about NZ drivers, and the very first post I found was this one: New Zealand Drivers Suck :LMAO: http://lettersfrompa...-suck.html��But don't get your feelings hurt: it was written back in 2006. I'm sure NZ drivers have gotten MUCH better since then.

 

Don't worry about me mate...I am just making my usual jokes over the Fancy Fancy Interweb....My mother was born in New Jersey so just don't run her down is all....

 

I will admit motor vehicle accidents are very high in NZ compared to other nations so you are correct, the statistics here speak for themselves. They are high because it is mostly rural and mountain with poor roads and extreme weather blowing in off the ocean...Also the tourists crash because they are not used to driving on the otherside of the road or used to the road conditions here.

 

New Zealand Drivers don't suck....Driving here is a challenge and here is proof: http://www.stuff.co....-my-best-friend - It can even happen to the best of you.

 

I am 1/2 Canadian, 1/2 American and don't worry, my feelings never get hurt. For the most part I don't worry about things just have some fun on the interweb. Just don't get bent out of shape over it is all...

 

Cheers

Moderator: Could you please wipe this topic so that I can possibly repost it, in the hope of getting an answer that addresses the topic question, and is actually on point? I'm not trying to be sarcastic or combatitive, and I would appreciate the same from the other "contributors" to the thread.

 

Thank you.

 

Not a chance! It is what it is and it will stay that way.

The point is all you have to do is take your eyes off the road for just a moment and your life is forever ruined. This is a picture of the accident scene from the story I posted above. A van load of Students having the trip of a lifetime. The driver took his eyes off the road for just a moment. This accident killed 3 occupants including his best friend, and injuring 4 others. He is now charged with three counts of careless driving causing death, and four of careless driving causing injury:

 

From the news reports we've been having this accident was horrific:

 

 

 

Here is the article from the New York Post:

http://www.nypost.co...qjgkXqTLenHlRoM

If you use the GPS on your phone then you wouldn't have to worry about having a separate box. With 40 years of driving though you should know where you are going by now.

Whoa, this thread really degenerated into hostility and backbiting MUCH faster than usual. (However, I did notice that it was done so by the usual band of hostile backbiters.)

 

I will address as many of your "concerns" as I can, just to soothe your frayed little nerves. Hopefully this will stop the lecturing and finger wagging, which from my POV actually sounds really foolish - I've been driving over 40 years and I've never had so much as a fender bender. I got my first cell phone in 1989 - yes, an old Motorola!):

 

5) Rockliffe and megs8888: How old are you? Yours were two of the silliest posts I've ever seen here . . . you both really took this and ran with it. (A coroner's report?? And fists up so quickly!) By the looks of it I've been driving about 25 years longer than either of you . . . up until now my attitude was fine. But thanks for the invaluable advice -- you've really made a difference in the world. :Silly:

 

 

From someone who writes one of the silliest posts you have ever seen, I suggest you try using your 'I've been driving for 40 years' argument, with the parent of a child who's been killed by an idiot on a phone.

And I don't really need a lecture about safety and all that . . . I get it, and that would really just be a waste of your time.

 

Actually, it sounds like you do need a lecture about safety. The fact that you have apparently been "incident free" in 40 years of driving is irrelevant.

Massachusetts passed a law last year making it illegal to text and drive. This month, a young man was convicted of vehicular homicide under that statute. His victim was a hard-working 55-year-old Army veteran.

 

I'm encouraged by the response to this thread. Take it to heart, Chuck, really. Statistically, the person you're most likely to kill is yourself.

Drivers These Days:

 

Anybody thinks that this is not a subject to get worked up about needs to think again. Watch this video. I can't get the baby's face out of my mind.

 

[media]

[/media]

 

Kind regards,