Gingerbread Man on 16/11/2009 at 22:19
Quote Posted by Queue
Texting and driving (while I HATE it, and the dumb fucks that do it) isn't a crime. Stupid, but not a crime.
Pretty sure it's a crime here in Cali.
Although a $20 fine's a bit weak. Luckily it shoots up to $50 for subsequent offenses!
R Soul on 16/11/2009 at 22:28
Quote Posted by caffeinatedzombeh
It was already an offence before they made up a new one for it, it was pretty well covered by inconsiderate, careless and dangerous driving.
I think it's already covered by 'not paying due care and attention' and 'not being in proper control of the vehicle'. And I think both of those offences should come with harsh penalties. Every motorist knows they could kill someone if they aren't paying attention at a crucial moment. By deliberately compromising their ability to see and react to hazards, they are deliberately increasing their chances of killing someone. That's very serious and the punishment should reflect it.
Zygoptera on 16/11/2009 at 23:00
Quote Posted by R Soul
Every motorist knows they could kill someone if they aren't paying attention at a crucial moment.
I think you'd be surprised by how many people give it absolutely no thought whatsoever and are absolutely convinced it not only won't happen to them, but
can't happen to them. People are people and find arguments like "well, I text all the time and have never crashed, and in any case I'm careful when txting, therefore it's safe for me and there's no risk of someone even getting hurt" to be entirely logical because that's how they are conditioned to think.
Or in other words, car crashes are things that only happen to other people.
R Soul on 16/11/2009 at 23:05
When I say they know it's dangerous, I mean if they tried to deny in court that they knew it was dangerous, they'd be lying.
gunsmoke on 16/11/2009 at 23:14
Quote Posted by Queue
So last night, around 9:30, we noticed a sudden deluge of emergency vehicles at the neighbor's place. Not being one to go gawking, I took a few peeks from afar to see if I could tell what was going on, but couldn't--plus, the last thing emergency personal need is some ding-a-ling civilian fucking around trying to "help out"; really what super powers would I have that'd help the situation that trained professionals wouldn't? Best to stay the fuck away from the scene.
Anyway, they proceeded to block off the road until well after 1 am.
Turns out, they were waiting for the coroner to arrive. The neighbor had gone out to get his mail, and some fucking cunt (God damn Soccer-Moms) came around the corner a little too fast, while typing out a text-message, and blasted him. Really blasted him hard--there's a greasy splat on the side of the road about 80 feet from the mailbox.
While I'm not for enacting laws to ban anything, people are too fucking stupid to show any bit of personal responsibility and not do stupid things that endanger the rest of us (like texting and driving).
So what do you think, should there be laws set in place to ban text-messaging in cars? Texting and driving is not a necessary function for your happiness and well-being, but...
This is pretty much what started my last confrontation. Excessive speed, insufficient attention being paid, my dog almost getting hit, my anger reaching a boiling point. I fucking see people drive like absolute shit every day. Almost ALL of them are distracted by a phone. Whether it is texting, calling, surfing, etc... and I am fed UP.
Thief13x on 17/11/2009 at 01:29
Heh, quite ironically I just received this email tonight
Quote:
Subject: Distracted Driving
From: "PA House Democrats" <PAHouseDemocraticCaucus@pahouse.net>
Date: Mon, November 16, 2009 2:45 pm
Distracted Driving
Studies show that a substantial number of vehicle accidents are caused by texting or talking on a hand-held cell phone while driving.
In this episode of i on PA, learn about proposals House Democrats are working on to reduce driving distractions and make Pennsylvania roads safer.
After watching the podcast, you can learn more about Pennsylvania House Democrats' policy agenda at (
www.pahouse.com).
Go dems!:o
Aerothorn on 17/11/2009 at 11:00
The main obstacle to these laws is the cell-phone lobby, which spends massive amounts of money to prevent them. In Washington, there was a "compromise" where talking on your cell phone while driving is illegal, but they can't pull you over for it - you can only "get caught" if you're doing something else illegal. Which is pretty stupid.
Enchantermon on 17/11/2009 at 11:16
That's how it is in Virginia too, and then it's only if you're under 18.
Zontik on 17/11/2009 at 14:07
Most of drivers I see on the road are smoking, listening to the radio (on max volume) and talking by the phone AT THE SAME TIME.
It seems to me, they even won't notice if somebody paints their car's head glass with black.
It is not stupidity, it's crime. And they are not just silly suicides, they are murders. Responsibility? Don't make me laugh. They are sure they will be given another life after this one...
But I hope they won't.
Stitch on 17/11/2009 at 15:20
I'll agree with you all in a second but I know the CD I want to listen to is in my backseat somewhere :mad:
