Texting and driving is now illegal in MN!

[Metroid]

Remember that thread where Tiki said he could drive while high?

Well, I feel like this thread is going to go in that direction VERY quickly.

Yeah and Tiki lives in MN too....I wonder if Tiki texts while hitting the hippy lettuce and driving?

Probably.

[Dawinner127]

If I get a text, I'll check it really quickly if I'm stopped at anytime and then the next time I'm stopped, I'll respond.

[treat24]

If I get a text, I'll check it really quickly if I'm stopped at anytime and then the next time I'm stopped, I'll respond.

exactly, i'd venture to guess that less than 1% of text are important enough they need to be checked and replied to that urgently. might as well just wait the few minutes until you get to your next stoplight to check and or reply.

[Guru13]

Aaawall and FFG are both making me laugh.

"Oh my god, it's so dangerous. There should be a law that bans it! I do it, and it's so risky!"

Use some common sense.

I realize it's unsafe, and realize I do it, it's not like I'm oblivious to the fact that I'm part of the danger, I'm just pointing out that it's dangerous and with nothing to stop me, I obviously don't have the common sense to not do it.

[aaawall91]

...For how I live my life. I do think texting while driving is wrong, but I do it anyways, as safely as possible. In texting I look at the phone for as little as possible (less than a second) and then type as much as I can before having to look again...similar to playing with fire...I love to see how close I can get to fire, or how long I can put things in fire (one of my nipples were completely black after last weekend). So with both, I don't do either for an extended period of time...but in small increments there should be no harm done if your smart, about being dumb. The irony.

you kinda sound like the guy that has 7 beers and says, i'm only a little buzzed, i'm not drunk, then drives home and kills someone. You shouldn't be doing it at all. less than a second with your eyes away from the road? uh huh, keep telling yourself that, you may start to believe it... actually... looks like you already do.

I can understand why you would think that from what I said, but believe me its not the case. I don't drink and drive, just doesn't happen unless its a very small amount and a large amount of time goes by.

The thing with drinking is, it impairs your judgment and decision making as well as vision. Now, if your sober you can be aware enough to realize whether or not the current situation your in is safe enough to glance away for a second. I live in the middle of no where, when I'm driving along country roads at 40 miles an hour and all around me is a bunch of fields, I think I can realize at this point it would be okay to glance away for a second to text, or grab my drink, or whatever I need to do.
Now this being said, I know its not safe, and when I do it I make sure the only person who is at risk is me. There can't be any cars around me, no people near the road, nor people in my car. Once again, I know its not right, but neither is eating in your car, changing clothes, listening to loud music, putting headphones in your ear, and the list goes on and on (Note: I don't do most of those) and I don't think texting is nearly at the top of the list of dangerous things. But I do agree, it should be illegal.

[treat24]

cool, glad you clarified yourself... the other post kind of... like CF said... reminded me of tiki from that other thread.

[gtabaplayr]

Jeez, I can't even figure out how to text message when I'm not in the car!

Up here in the great white north, they've talked about banning cell phone use in vehicles unless they are hands-free units.

I actually read somewhere (can't find the link right now) that hands-free units are actually more hazardous than talking with a cell phone next to your ear. I guess people tend to get "lost in the conversation" more with a hands-free unit and also tend to have extended conversations. When someone is using a regular cell phone they tend to keep the conversations more brief and concentrate on the road since they don't quite feel as comfortable.

[scottaa1]

Up here in the great white north, they've talked about banning cell phone use in vehicles unless they are hands-free units.

That reminded me of a study done a few years ago:

Cell phone use while driving, whether hand-held or hands-free, leads to poor driver performance, according to a new study published Thursday by the National Safety Council.

http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/08/16/cell.phone.driving/index.html

[treat24]

Raff is the Coolest.


edit: raff stole my computer to type this...

[sportsaddict]

Jeez, I can't even figure out how to text message when I'm not in the car!

Up here in the great white north, they've talked about banning cell phone use in vehicles unless they are hands-free units.

I actually read somewhere (can't find the link right now) that hands-free units are actually more hazardous than talking with a cell phone next to your ear. I guess people tend to get "lost in the conversation" more with a hands-free unit and also tend to have extended conversations. When someone is using a regular cell phone they tend to keep the conversations more brief and concentrate on the road since they don't quite feel as comfortable.

I don't really think the physical act of holding your cell phone to your ear while driving is unsafe. One-handed driving is used by most everybody and isn't putting anyone at risk. What's risky about using a cell phone is that you do get "lost in the conversation," like you said, and you aren't paying attention to the road as much as you should. So I don't see any difference between using a regular cell or a hands-free cell- they are equally dangerous.