n my experience driving isn't dependant on whether someone uses their indicators or not. It's about the ability to read what is, or maybe, going to happen.

 

Yeppers.  They've changed how they teach this now, but the Motorcycle Safety Foundation used to teach this as SIPDE

 

Scan

Interpret

Predict

Decide

Execute

 

What all this does is to develop an intuitive feel for what's going on around you.  It's a process that needs to be constantly in action.

 

Most people do an OK to poor job of Scanning, and then fall down completely at Interpret and Predict.  I constantly watch people "drive right into trouble" by not properly reading a developing situation. Deciding and Executing meaningful actions are completely off the table by then.

 

Scott

You can look where you are going while texting too. I think there is a same amount of distraction between these two.

 

If you can't see the error in the above statement, then you really shouldn't be allowed to drive a car at all.

Yeppers.  They've changed how they teach this now, but the Motorcycle Safety Foundation used to teach this as SIPDE

 

Scan

Interpret

Predict

Decide

Execute

 

AKA: Defensive Driving

If you can't see the error in the above statement, then you really shouldn't be allowed to drive a car at all.

If you cant understand talking to passengers while driving is distraction, then you shouldn't be allowed to drive a car at all.

 

 

AKA: Defensive Driving

 

Sure, but "Defensive Driving" is a pretty generic term.  SIPDE is a simple mnemonic, outlining specific things which should be happening constantly.  Most people break down at least partially at the very first step - they look, but they really don't scan (they target fixate) and don't "see" (interpret).  And very few carry it on to the next step, predicting and so on.  Obviously, activities like texting interfere badly starting right at the very first step. 

 

BTW, MSF now simplifies this to SEE (Search Evaluate Execute).  I think this overly simplifies, but...

 

Scott

n4gix, on 08 May 2013 - 6:21 PM, said:

Well Ró, that depends. There are folks who seemingly cannot talk without using both hands to somehow give "added meaning and emphasis" to what they're saying...

Just the other day I was poking along in traffic, both hands on the wheel, when I noticed the woman behind me holding her phone in one hand and talking loudly with the other.

 

At least I wasn't in a middle seat in coach next to her, I suppose....

 

I hardly text at all, and certainly not while driving or even while simming.

 

I don't make calls under those circumstances, and I won't even answer if I'm in what my friend calls Black Diamond driving at rush hour.

 

Here in Massachusetts it's illegal to text and drive, or for teens to use a cell phone at all while driving.  Good rules.

Interestingly after reading and commenting in this thread I was taking a walk near my home and had something of an encounter. I was crossing a crosswalk with a car approaching from my right. I easily had the right of way, and the car had to stop for a stop sign anyway. As I got about halfway across the street, the car just rolled right in front of me, and the girl driving was completely heads down texting on her phone. If I had been two steps faster, she would've coasted right into me. She came to a stop with the drivers side door about a foot in front of me, so I just stood there and stared at her (more of a death glare really...) until she finally came back into the world and noticed me. She looked startled and I just shook my head and loudly remarked "Come on." as I walked around her car. Hopefully she got the point!

 

tl;dr, a texter almost hit me.

Given your stance on everything that is a known distraction to driving, and your defense of it "g_precentralis", somehow I'm still worried about you. I AM, however, incredibly glad you "learned your lesson" about drinking and driving. I'm sure my brother-in-law would love to come over and personally congratulate you. Except... well, he's dead. Because of a drunk driver who wasn't as lucky as you were. But hey, I guess we all have to learn our lessons, eh?

 

There was a column in Flying Magazine many years ago (may still exist) called "I Learned About Flying From That." It was about common mistakes pilots would make that got them into trouble. The by-line in each month's column read, "Don't try to make all the mistakes everyone else has - you won't live long enough." Might be something you want to consider. With all the examples of what texting and driving; and drinking and driving can do and how it can ruin so many lives (like the two semi-orphan boys my sister ended up having to raise on her own), why do you feel it necessary to prove the obvious by texting and drinking while you are supposed to be watching the road and being alert? Maybe over time you'll "forget" your lesson and decide that, "Well, it really wasn't that bad, so I'll try it again" only next time somebody gets killed? You'll sure prove the theory then, and you can then know in both your heart and mind, that yup, "the stats are right after all, and I just proved it." 

 

I wonder if you know how they determine that texting and driving is a dangerous combination. Let me fill you in. They take the number of accidents in a given where people were observed or admitted to be texting at the time of the accident. They divide that by the total number of accidents for the same time period, and multiply that by 100. That gives them a percentage. Then they take the number of accidents where texting is not a factor and divide that by the total number of accidents, and multiply that number by 100 to get a percentage again. When you see that 45% (a made up number) of people texting get into accidents and only 5% don't, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that texting is more dangerous.For some real numbers from my country, read this:

 

"In 2011, 3,331 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver, compared to 3,267 in 2010. An additional, 387,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver in 2011, compared to 416,000 people injured in 2010"

 

That is from a government agency. The short of it is, greater than 90% more people were injured by distracted drivers in 2011 than in 2010. I can't wait to hear your defense of that one.

 

Do us all a favour. Learn from others. Please. There is a family out there somewhere who WILL thank you for that.

If you are involved in a serious accident in the UK the police will check if you were using a mobile at the time. It can mean the difference between penalty points and a fine and prison if it's serious

Honestly... if drivers would just spend more time being aware of their surroundings, slowing down, and stop being so impatient on the road then maybe those accident statistics BeaverDriver quoted would go down a bit. When you're driving, you're just like the PIC; responsible for your vehicle and your actions while operating it.

Interestingly after reading and commenting in this thread I was taking a walk near my home and had something of an encounter. I was crossing a crosswalk with a car approaching from my right. I easily had the right of way, and the car had to stop for a stop sign anyway. As I got about halfway across the street, the car just rolled right in front of me, and the girl driving was completely heads down texting on her phone. If I had been two steps faster, she would've coasted right into me. She came to a stop with the drivers side door about a foot in front of me, so I just stood there and stared at her (more of a death glare really...) until she finally came back into the world and noticed me. She looked startled and I just shook my head and loudly remarked "Come on." as I walked around her car. Hopefully she got the point!

 

tl;dr, a texter almost hit me.

"Come on" was the best you could do? Snatching her phone from her and stomping on it wouldn't have been out of order.

 

 

Given your stance on everything that is a known distraction to driving, and your defense of it "g_precentralis", somehow I'm still worried about you.

 

Defense? Did you actually read my posts?

It's very easy with standard keyboard.

 

Sure looks like you don't see it as a problem here. Of course, I could be wrong...

 

That said, for every counter argument here that supports texting and driving as a bad thing, you seemed to have an argument the other way. Yeah, maybe smoking and talking in general aren't good things (certainly the smoking) and drinking coffee, etc., but two wrongs definitely don't make a right. Arguing another wrong is just as bad doesn't make texting right.

Study: Texting while driving now leading cause of death for teen drivers

Originally published: May 8, 2013 8:38 PM
Updated: May 8, 2013 10:29 PM
By DELTHIA RICKS  [email protected]

http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/study-texting-while-driving-now-leading-cause-of-death-for-teen-drivers-1.5226036

 

 

Texting while driving has become a greater hazard than drinking and driving among teenagers who openly acknowledge sending and reading text messages while behind the wheel of a moving vehicle.

The number of teens who are dying or being injured as a result of texting while driving has skyrocketed as mobile device technology has advanced. Researchers at Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park estimate more than 3,000 annual teen deaths nationwide from texting and 300,000 injuries.

The habit now surpasses the number of teens who drink and drive -- a hazard that has been on a dramatic decline in recent years, researchers say.

An estimated 2,700 young people die each year as a result of driving under the influence of alcohol and 282,000 are treated in emergency rooms for injuries suffered in motor-vehicle crashes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr. Andrew Adesman and a team of Cohen investigators found that while driving between September 2010 and December 2011, among 8,947 teenagers aged 15-18 nationwide, an estimated 49 percent of boys admitted to texting while driving compared with 45 percent of girls.

Texting also increased with age. Only 24 percent of 15-year-olds tapped out messages while driving, compared with 58 percent of 18-year-olds, the data showed. "A person who is texting can be as impaired as a driver who is legally drunk," said Adesman, noting that a texting driver is distracted from the movement of traffic and the function of his or her own vehicle.

The new data are in sharp contrast to findings about drinking and driving among teens. The CDC reported last fall that alcohol use among teen drivers has decreased by 54 percent since 1991. Texting, however, has quickly grown in the last five to seven years, Adesman said. "Fifty percent of high school students of driving age acknowledge texting while driving," said Adesman, chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Cohen.

"When we compared states where there are no laws in effect [barring texting while operating a moving vehicle] and states where there are laws on the books, we found there was no difference in their responses," Adesman said. "Clearly, the laws are not effective."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration acknowledged Wednesday that distracted driving of all kinds -- including the use of handheld cellphones -- is a growing hazard.

Agency officials describe texting as among the worst of driver distractions because conversing by text simultaneously involves manual, visual and mental distractions.

Observational surveys cited by the agency suggest more than 100,000 drivers are texting at any given daylight moment, while more than 600,000 drivers are using handheld phones while operating a car.

As an expert in teen behavior, Adesman puts texting while driving in the same risk category as other hazardous activities, such as lack of seat belt use; drinking and driving; binge drinking; drug and tobacco use; unsafe sex, and tanning devices.

"We have very strong taboos against drinking and driving. Kids don't drink and drive every day. But some kids are out there texting and driving seven days a week -- and they admit it," Adesman said.

His research dovetails with a recent California study, which demonstrated that it isn't just the teens who are texting but a large proportion of moms, dads and even grandparents.

That analysis of 715 adults between the ages of 30 and 64 found that nearly two-thirds admitted to using a cellphone while driving with children in the car, and one-third acknowledged texting while driving.

"Come on" was the best you could do? Snatching her phone from her and stomping on it wouldn't have been out of order.

 

While that would have been a blast, I'd rather not deal with the fallout. Also, her door was closed...  <_<