U.S.'s Amazing New 'Don't Text and Drive' Ad Will Leave You Shaking

[Unknown Beatle]

Intense PSA reminds you to #justdrive

The most memorable safe-driving PSAs tend to be made overseas—in Britain, Mexico, Australia. But the U.S. adds a powerful new entry to the mix with this brutal spot from The Tombras Group for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Ushering in National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, the spot is so riveting, you should stop reading now and watch it, then share it with your friends and family. It's OK, we'll wait.

Welcome back.

Aimed at teens, it's incredibly straightforward, simulating an everyday scene cut short by a distracted driver. The theme is "U drive. U text. U pay," with the hashtag #justdrive. The police officer's dialogue is perhaps a bit confusing—he almost doesn't need to be there.

According to the new site distraction.gov, more than 70 percent of teens and young adults have sent or read a text while driving. The campign aims to get teen drivers to take a pledge to refrain from texting and driving, as well as give them the tools to help raise awareness.

Warning: This video is violent and may be upsetting.

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[NutmegYankee]

1. We need more ads like that.

People just don't seem to get it. I've nearly been sideswiped multiple times by people texting. And then there's the light going green and cars just sit there as they finish a text.

[bulloney]

2. Every day when I drive to work, I see at least one person texting and driving,

or they're admiring their crotch. They just look down toward their lap, smiling.

I see the same things you do, Beatle. People sitting at an intersection, almost running stop signs, drifting left of the center of the road, etc. And I know most of it is caused by texting.

[callous taoboy]

3. I barely made it through an intersection yesterday-

Light was green, doing the 35mph SL, I cruised through the busy intersection and a person driving an SUV cruised through her red light, slammed her brakes and missed taking out my back end by a hair. Shook me up. Whether she was texting or not I can't verify, but I suspect.

That is one hell of a gut-punch ad, and it needs to be run everywhere.

[argyl]

4. Several months ago I was rear ended by a girl texting while driving.

Fortunately, although we were both on a state highway and doing over 50 MPH, the difference in speed was negligible and there was no damage to people or vehicles.
She said she was texting and the phone slipped out of her hand. Her reflex was to go for the phone laying on the floor, like it was an extension of herself.
I told her she was indeed fortunate that no damage resulted from the accident and she should refrain from texting while driving. She agreed and Maybe she has but I'd be surprised.

[B Calm]

5. I drove 18 wheelers all my life. Looking down I've seen it all,

but there was one thing that pissed me off more than anything. Having a speeding state cop passing me and playing with his laptop computer!

[hobbit709]

6. I saw an idiot riding his bicycle and texting once.

[Art_from_Ark]

127. They do that all the time here in Japan

[customerserviceguy]

7. We need to ban texting, period

All you have to do is pass a law that orders the mobile telephone companies to unplug the servers that supply it. We got along fine without it a dozen years ago, and addicts have ruined it for the few people who managed to use it responsibly.

It's turned us into a nation of obliviots.

[morningfog]

10. Good luck with that. Why not just ban cellphones altogether while you're at it?

[nadinbrzezinski]

47. Actually there is a way to do it

but it is not one that people will like, You can have your phone disabled when you step into your vehicle. There are downs to this, though it could be unlocked if you use it for the ONLY LEGAL thing you can do while driving, calling 911.

It is a problem for other reasons, since it would penalize the passengers. But seriously, the technology does exist.

[WillowTree]

93. My GPS is through my phone and I hear it through my Bluetooth headset.

I don't need it often, but when I need it, I need it. Why would I want to disable that?

And as someone else pointed out, it is legal to talk on the phone with a hands free device, and not only to call 911.

I'm tired of being penalized, one way or another, for the stupidity of others,

[nadinbrzezinski]

95. The phone can have SMS disabled and phone disabled

If you are not using a blue tooth device. The technology exists. It would not penalize you, but might save lives. And it is not legal to text while driving.

In fact, parents are now encouraged to install the actual software in their kids phones.

Here is one for win phones

http://developer.vodafone.com/discuss/question/760/how-to-block-calls-and-sms-on-windows-mobile/

Here for iPhone.

http://www.iblacklist.com.br/

AT&T also has specific software solutions for their phones.

Now personally, as a trained emergency operations driver, I do not have a blue tooth device, nor intend to get one. It is still distracted driving. Less so, but still distracted driving. Though from where I at times call the boss having a mike might not be a bad idea.


As to the gps, just a point of info, in large urban areas, or main interstates it will work. In back country where cell service is dodgy, to be charitable, or the cell towers go down due to quake, fire, flood, what have you, your phone based gps will be worthless since it relies on triangulation from towers, not satellite. Why we actually got an actual, satellite based gps. If or when you buy a car, make sure your on board NAV, in case you decide to get that, is satellite based.

Sorry for the long answer, but I got the leading edge of scrapping kids (and adults) off the road. You can blame me, and my team of paramedics for tracking that for a few years and putting the stats together, which lead to Baja California forbidding the use of cell phones in cars. When they passed it hands free was not even an option, it did not exist. They have since modified it. But when you put one too many kids and older adults in the back of your rig due to distracted driving...and yes, the lady who was putting make up was also charged by the cops before you say it for aggravated vehicular manslaughter, under that law.

[WillowTree]

99. I just love it when people respond to my posts.......

.......without ever having actually read them. So, to respond in kind

I do use a Bluetooth device, as stated in my original response.

and

I never said anything about text messaging, which I never, ever do while driving, by the way, so I don't get the need to point out that it is, in fact, illegal, bolded no less.

Oh, and are you really sure that the GPS on my phone is not satellite based? Really?

[nadinbrzezinski]

100. Funny, I read your post and I responded to your post,

so let me add again, the meat of the response.

IF YOU ARE USING A BLUE TOOTH DEVICE AND THE DAMN FRACKING THING IS ENABLED IT CAN BE DETECTED BY SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS AND YOUR PHONE WILL CONTINUE TO FUNCTION.


As to the rest, what-eeevvverr...

There are days I wonder about the but ME mentality.

[customerserviceguy]

58. You can actually talk on a cellphone

while driving, using a handsfree Bluetooth device. I have one built into the newer car I bought, and my hands always stay on the wheel, and my eyes on the road. Texting requires a person to look at a tiny screen, and that's what makes it fundamentally different.

[CBGLuthier]

13. Yes, we should base all our laws on the one percent that are idiots.

Ban cars too because lets be honest at least one percent of those operating cars are incompetent, we did not have cars 110 years ago and we do not need them now.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

42. "at least one percent of those operating cars are incompetent"? I'd say more like at least 25%.

[customerserviceguy]

59. You make a good point

What if we had restricted private cars when they were first seen to be a problem? Instead of having an entire transportation system built for over a century around personal automobiles, we'd have something that would be the ultimate mass transit system. Of course, once cars got a foothold, there was no taking them away.

I advocate getting rid of texting before it becomes that entrenched in our society. And if you think we're already there, then maybe that's a sign that you're addicted to it.

[Ecumenist]

76. TOO MUCH MONEY to be made...TRUST ME. HUbby works for the BIGGEST

TELECOM in the country.,

[customerserviceguy]

79. And they don't make scads of money

from people using up minutes of talk time? With unlimited texting as a feature on so many mobile phone packages, I can't really imagine that they really find texting lucrative.

All we need is someone famous or powerful to have a loved one killed or severely injured by a texting obliviot, and we're on the way to getting this thing banned before we get to the point where we can't imagine what life was like before it existed.

[Ecumenist]

85. Customer. you know that you charged MUCH MORE for DATA than talk

right? I would love to make you feel better but this is JUST FACT....

[customerserviceguy]

87. I wouldn't know

I have two smartphones, and I never text. In fact, I've disabled texting on one of the phones, I just haven't figured out how to do it on the other one (a Windows phone that I'm about ready to get rid of). It might come in handy someday to prove that I wasn't texting if I have an accident.

Ok, then maybe the telecom industry can pay victims of text-and-driving incidents. But it's never going to bring people back to life.

What are your suggestions for dealing with the fact that this addictive behavior is causing so much death and mayhem? Or, do we just accept it as collateral damage, as we're in effect doing right now?

Maybe the auto insurance industry can fight this. Provide proof that you don't text on your phone plan, and get a huge discount, refuse to provide it, and get a massive surcharge. They already have devices that you can hook into your car to prove that you don't drive like a jackass.

[Ecumenist]

89. Customer, we get a concession and we pretty much have free service BUT guess what..

NEITHER I nor my husband TEXT..that the one thing they DO NOT OFFER concessions on. WAY TOO BOTHERSOME AND EXPENSIVE. Yep, I agree with all of your recommendations. Back around 2000, texting was free, no data charges AND just when people became ADDICTED, guess what happened? They started charging an arm, leg and all firstborns for data. JUST like a drug dealer does when first rolling out a new product in a previously drug free zone.
Frankly, I've told my husband that I feel the penalty for texting and driving should be 1500.00 FIRST TIME AROUND and GO UP 3000.00 EVERY TIME YOU'RE CAUGHT but by the 3rd time, LOSE YOUR LICENCE...forevah!!

[customerserviceguy]

108. Thank you

I think the penalties for texting and driving should be at least as draconian as they are for drunk driving. Frankly, the texters make me look stone cold sober after I've had two beers with the gang in the couple of hours after work on an occasional Friday night.

[snooper2]

91. SMS is old school, we are moving forward with IM&P on a new product

IM&P = instant messaging and presence-

You know, like when you are on your desktop computer and you can see who is online via whatever IM client you are using and send an instant message? (presence knowing if they are online/in meeting/away)

I've been testing an app from one of our vendors in the lab for a while.


Snooper2-
Proud telecom employee adding more convenience for the busy worker! (Plus, it's tied to your business identity (work number))

[customerserviceguy]

109. Sounds invasive

Doesn't anybody from Gen Y know what it is like to have time to yourself, when nobody can bother you? Don't they realize its value?

[snooper2]

116. What the hell you talking about, I'm GenX baby!

Old school!

Gen Xers were often called the MTV Generation.[29] They experienced the emergence of music videos, new wave music, electronic music, synthpop, glam rock, heavy metal and the spin-off glam metal, punk rock and the spin-off pop punk, alternative rock, grunge,[30] and hip hop.[31]

[customerserviceguy]

119. Well, then you should know

how good it was to have time to yourself. I would imagine that anyone who grew up in the last 25 years would think that you always have to be connected 24/7 to the rest of the world by an electronic leash.

[malokvale77]

126. It depends on the plan

I have unlimited text, but 250 min. voice and 200 mb data. That's AT&T where I live.

[Ecumenist]

128. THEN, MALOKVALE, if you only have 200MB DATA....

SOMEONE LIED TO YOU! HUSBAND works for AT&T and trust me when I tell you that TEXTING IS DATA. So, you're paying for an UNLIMITED plan that is NOT unlimited! You're being REGULATED. DON'T BELIEVE ME? See what happens if you text in an area where you're NOT on WIFI....EASY to do even in the SAME city. NOT all areas in Cities are covered by 3G/4G. VERY easy to find yourself with a HUGE bill when you go over your 200mb data. My brother has an UNLIMITED plan through AT&T, which includes 2GB of data, unlimited text & talk BUT he went to LA on the train and texted his friends to pass the time and QUICKLY used up that "UNLIMITED" plan and owed almost 300.00 at the next billing cycle. IT'S NOT UNLIMITED...This is a serious case of WORD PARSING.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

96. I genuinely can't tell if you're joking, or just insane.

If this is satire, you possibly need to mark it as such for it to be appreciated.

[customerserviceguy]

106. Why do you think I'm joking?

It would be the very simplest way to stop all of the daily carnage that goes on because addicts are misusing a new technology.

[Donald Ian Rankin]

111. Because it's such an absurd (and illiberal) suggestion.

Being a liberal is about letting people make their own choices as much as possible, and only compelling them to do things your way in extreme cases.

Banning texting was already a ridiculous suggestion; expressing regret that private ownership of cars wasn't restricted... words fail me.

[customerserviceguy]

114. The video in the OP

tries to illustrate people "making their own choices", and it depicts a result that is a daily occurrence in many places in the US. All for something that we got along without perfectly fine fifteen years ago. A progressive society does try to identify problems that are caused by the unintended consequences of new technology, especially since they are so very severe, and involve those not engaged in the activity.

All I said about private cars was that we have traded the reliable mass transit systems found throughout Europe for the myriad problems of a fully-self directed transportation system. At this point, yes, it's unthinkable to take away private cars, I'd like to get rid of texting before it becomes so ingrained in society that we blithely accept the collateral damage of dozens or even hundreds killed or severely injured per day as the price of "progress".

Having texting is just not worth it.

[Warpy]

101. It's not one percent

and idiots who text while driving are a lot more dangerous than drunks and I live in the land of spectacular drunks who like to do over 100 MPH the wrong way on the interstates. Texters are worse, they're totally oblivious to everything but that damned phone.

I'd love to see cars with jammers that disable the fucking things. You'd have to get out of the car to use them.

[Logical]

20. Lol, and take those darn new fangled radios out of cars too they distract people!!! Nt

[customerserviceguy]

60. Why do you think

we don't allow TV's in the front seats of automobiles? Maybe there's a difference between how one uses a TV and how one uses a radio?

[LanternWaste]

29. The obliviots are the ones who use a post-hoc-ergo-prompter-hoc fallacy to validate their low-grade

"It's turned us into a nation of obliviots."

The obliviots are the ones who use a post-hoc-ergo-prompter-hoc fallacy to validate their low-grade "luddacy"?

[customerserviceguy]

61. And the pretentious

like to use a lot of obscure Latin phrases.

Don't you see all the mindless robot-resembling buffoons walking without looking where they're going in intersections, and in public places? YouTube is chock full of stupid people running into things because they're too tuned into some tiny screen. It's one thing to do that when you're a pedestrian, but quite another when you're operating a motor vehicle.

When we get the self-driving car, then maybe we can have texting again. It's the stupid people who are ruining it for you.

[nadinbrzezinski]

97. Here is where SMS will be invaluable

In case of a disaster, to get in contact with family when the phone signal cannot get out. It is a fact jack that SMS uses the lowest tier signal.

We also use it to keep in contact with family across borders, much cheaper than the phone. Some services are free to the end user, don't ask me how they make their money.

And in the business of covering news we use it. I get alerts from my local PD, fire and Sherriffs office. It is convenient to be honest.

Yes, there are people out there that live on SMS, but you tube videos are hardly the majority.

[customerserviceguy]

105. True

But is it worth the body count? Does it need to be higher for you to see that it might need to be taken away because of the very addictiveness of texting?

I compare it to Asian wars that the US gets itself into every couple of decades or so. Our "leaders", political and military, think that the casualties will be minor. It's only when there are planeloads of caskets coming back that the people demand an end to them, and eventually vote in congresscritters who cut off funding, if the executive and military branches of government don't pull out fast enough.

We got along just fine without texting a decade and a half ago, we can certainly live without it today. There are other ways of being able to keep track of what first responders are up to, people used to use police and fire radio scanners for that.

[nadinbrzezinski]

110. I frankly don't think it is that addictive

that said, SMS should be disabled the moment you step into a vehicle. Ok. to be more precise, the moment you turn the vehicle on.

I pointed above that there are software solutions that do that already. Though that has to include twitter and facebook, which incidentally I use from the field as well.

As to the body count... you can blame me, and a bunch of my medics for the first ban in Mexico for using the cell phone while driving. We compiled the stats and made the case to lawmakers.

When that law was passed there were no hands free devices, so originally it was akin to driving while drunk, no exceptions with exactly the same penalties, which in Mexico they are nothing to sneeze at. Believe it or not they are far worst than the US, and god help you if you kill or injure somebody. For the record they also applied it to things like applying make up while driving, and one woman was charged with aggravated vehicular manslaughter for doing that. When hands free came out, they modified the law, under pressure from the companies. But like the US, if your phone is within reach and you crash, chances are you will be P1 in an accident. This has a few issues for me since at times we run the scanner app on top of the scanner on the way to a fire. But that is why the phone is in the cup holder. If I can get the damn thing... now you will make me finally get the hardware to use the speakers in the vehicle.

[IronLionZion]

31. We should ban people too!

People are the worst!

[pipi_k]

32. How about if we just

ban thumbs instead?

[kcr]

37. You'll pry my thumbs from my cold, dead hands

[oldhippie]

33. Or just require that the smartphone disable all .....

... texting, email, and other distracting apps whenever the GPS reports that it is moving?

Too bad for those on busses, trains or taxis.

[Kablooie]

39. There could be a manual override with a password.

Easy to do if you plan to text on a bus but unlikely for people to do everytime they get in their car.

[WillowTree]

94. You don't know many teenagers/twenty-somethings, do you?

[Kablooie]

104. I sure do.

I know a lot of them.
They've just gotten old, that's all.

[L0oniX]

35. Remove the vanity mirrors now!

[customerserviceguy]

62. Having them on the driver's side

has been a pet peeve of mine, but I've seen countless drivers (almost invariably female) utilize the rear-view mirror for this function when it didn't come pre-equipped on their cars.

[Kablooie]

38. With gps phones could sense when they are moving.

And a law could require phones to disable texting if the phone is moving above a certain speed.

[nadinbrzezinski]

48. The technology to do this

already exists.

[Kablooie]

52. The ultimate would be for the phone to sense ...

when it's in the driver's seat area and moving above a certain speed before it locks messaging.

The car would probably need a special sensor for that but then it would allow passengers to still use their phones and wouldn't affect train or bus riders.

It would probably be something that would need to be required by law before it would be widely implemented.

[nadinbrzezinski]

65. Very true, but what do you do with british cars?

The problem is that this will fought to no end, and it has some lovely potentials for abuse as well.

[Egnever]

129. My phone already knows when I am driving

And switches to hands free automatically.

Moto x from google!

It is an awesome freaking phone!

[Boom Sound 416]

40. What about the passengers

[Kablooie]

53. see my reply to Nadin above.

[Boom Sound 416]

57. The driver sensor?

That would take decades to implement.

Unless you forced people to have them installed say when they get the inspection sticker. Seems like a tall order though.

[Vashta Nerada]

41. Let's ban radios and mirrors too.

[customerserviceguy]

63. See my reply above

on the issue of radios. Also, mirrors (when not used to apply makeup) are quite useful safety devices for a driver of a moving vehicle.

[frylock]

44. no

[customerserviceguy]

64. It's just a matter of time

Right now, about 9 or 10 people a day die from texting drivers. Do you expect texting to still be legal when it gets to 90 to 100 people a day? How about 900 to 1000?

All we need is for a texting-caused death to involve a famous person, and maybe we'll consider that this was a road we shouldn't have gone down.

[frylock]

70. 79 people die every day as a result of prescription drug overdose..

REAL people, not like the 900-1000 people you pulled out of your ass. famous people, even.

[customerserviceguy]

71. False comparison

Prescription drugs alleviate pain, suffering and keep people alive. Texting doesn't do that.

You seem to be super-fond of this, tell me, what does texting enable you to do that you simply couldn't do with a much safer phone call?

[frylock]

75. i don't text and drive..

what texting allows me to do is communicate with people. texting doesn't require a strong signal, whereas voice communication does. moreover, sometimes I don't WANT to or CAN'T talk. why would I call someone when I can have an exchang like this:

beer tonight?
what time?
6
kk

[customerserviceguy]

78. And one other thing

Your friends can and do ignore voicemail messages that you'd leave them, but they simply cannot resist a text from you, right? That's what makes this so incredibly dangerous.

Under what circumstances can't you talk, but you can use both hands and both eyes to chatter about things that people just used to say to each other? That's another thing that makes texting dangerous, the assumption is that reading and responding to the message takes so very little time, that it couldn't hurt to just read or answer THIS text.

Its the nature of this communication, how it saps the concentration, how addictive it is, and how trivial many people view the consequences that make it worthy of being banned, like any other drug that incapacitates so many.

[frylock]

81. you seem to presume a lot..

what have I posted here that would indicate to you that this texting is occurring in situations that are so incredibly dangerous? here's some full disclosure for you: sometimes I respond to texts while I'm taking a shit. so rather than involving strangers in my one-sided conversations I find it easier to respond with SMS. sometimes those texts are when i'm sitting in a conference room prior to a meeting, where getting into a prolonged conversation is not desirable. in any case, I really don't feel a need to justify my texting to you or anyone, so i'm done communicating with you on this subject. good day.

[customerserviceguy]

83. Well, we'll communicate again

when the first bill comes up in a state legislature to ban this, I guarantee it.

[obxhead]

112. A better option

Would be requiring car manufacturers to install cell blockers in all cars. Pit it in gear and it kills all signals to your phone.

End of the problem.

Texts have their place in life, just not behind the wheel.

[customerserviceguy]

115. That would take a long time to fully implement

And would be most ineffective with the part of the population who is the bulk of the problem. Who usually has the older cars? Younger people who think they are indestructable.

And what place does texting have in life that simply cannot be accomplished in another fashion? Why the reluctance to just dial someone's number and speak with them, rather than transmitting butchered abbreviations?

[obxhead]

117. I'm sure some people said the very same thing when the phone was invented.

Why spend all that time and money when a letter works just as well.

I find texting to be a huge help in my business. I can convey a message quickly to a large group of people without interrupting important business they may be involved in.

Just because you don't utilize a technology, doesn't mean millions of others do so and are happy to have it available.

As for the time frame on blocking cells in cars.... airbags were required on cars starting in 94. Yes it did take a long time but today most cars on the road have airbags, including the junk many kids drive. I'm sure their parents are grateful their kids are better protected.

[customerserviceguy]

118. I find that a poor comparison

Phones are immediate, and two-way, like conversation between two people in the same room. Letters are clearly much slower. I'm sure that high cost was a prohibitive factor for those contemplating moving from letter writing to telephoning, but it's clear that by a century ago, the telephone was able to compete with postage of only two cents a letter.

Also, getting a telephone didn't mean that you would use it to distract yourself to the point where you're a danger to others. Even the cellular mobile phone allows one to use one's eyes to track one's surroundings while carrying on a conversation (despite the fools who seem to need to look at the general direction of the phone), whereas texting ALWAYS involves visual distraction.

As for communicating to many people quickly, that was figured out when we developed email. You could always use that. Of course, once upon a time, people were excited to get an email, now we know that a "You've Got Mail" is much more than likely to be a piece of spam, even if it's from a trusted sender. In other words, there is no addictive compulsion to check email like there is with a text. Maybe junk texts would change that attitude.

Your comments on airbags are apt, you use a timespan of 20 years to make your point. Airbags only protect the occupants of the car that is equipped with them, what protects me from the teenaged obliviot who seems to need to LOL with his/her BFF at the exact moment the light turns red? Frankly, one of the reasons I bought a new car about a year ago was the advanced airbags, including side curtain ones. Still, I'm not as indestructible as the texting clown who hits me thinks he is.

Why shouldn't we take away that which too many people are so incredibly willing to misuse, with devastating results to the innocent?

[obxhead]

120. If we take away everything people misuse that cause injury or death

Not even pillows will be legal.

Emails also are not a good option for my line of work. Every employee has a cell that can receive a text, that is not so for email.

Furthermore texting and driving is already illegal. People still do it, just like they will speed, drink and drive, operate cars that are not road worthy, etc etc etc.

Punishing the millions upon millions of safe text users is not the answer.

I bet if we sat down I could find a number of things you use/do that I find irritating and potentially dangerous. I'm sure you use those things safely though. I wouldn't propose taking them away just because you have other options or I find them tacky or annoying.

[customerserviceguy]

121. It's a balance between risk and reward

Right now, the "rewards" of texting are nothing that can't be accomplished by phone calls (with voicemail) or emails. The risks are depicted in the video in the OP. Do nine or ten people a day die from pillows?

You correctly point out that in most jurisdictions (I'm sure there are a couple of them that have not yet gotten around to it) that texting and driving is illegal. Yet, the very addictive nature of this thing causes a high proportion of drivers to become lawbreakers. In places like where I live, law enforcement is a joke. I routinely see drivers texting, and there's no cops pulling them over. My lady even knows a woman at work who FINALLY had to go to court on about the twelfth time a cop noticed her texting and driving. She has to be pretty hard core to have been warned that many times, the police here don't enforce much of anything.

"Punishing"? Blame the people who cannot control their obsession, rather than those of us who are trying to take away the scissors from those who run with them. And it's not about tacky or annoying, it's a health issue.

If I went back in time fifty years ago, and told the people of 1964 that we would have public spaces where smoking was not allowed, they would not have believed it, smoking was so very widespread and socially acceptable in many confined situations. Yet, when we focused on the damage that tobacco does, we were able to deal with the problem in a responsible way, no matter that it seriously inconvenienced the smokers.

[obxhead]

122. people also crash while sending emails and driving.

I had a friend do this and I called him an idiot and was thankful nobody was injured.

Should we ban emails? Maybe we just ban phones that have the internet and make emails available?

People have crashed and died while just talking on the cell phone.

Do we ban cell phones alltogether?

People make poor decisions all the time that put innocent people at risk. Banning the device is not the answer.

I've provided a real life potentially helpful solution. Yes, it would take years, even decades to be extremely effective, but you have to start somewhere.

The solution you propose is to take the scissors away from billions of otherwise safe scissor user simply because some will misuse them. History has proven time and again that it is a failing policy to do such a thing.

Another thing I would suggest is making texting while driving the same charge as a DUI. In my mind they are nearly one in the same for safety.

I'll stick with the billions of safe users though and be happy I have such a handy and safe technology available.

[customerserviceguy]

123. Very true

And indeed, there are really stupid obsessive people who have done and will do this. However, I don't find the compulsive nature of the text message to be anywhere as pronounced with an email, most people know that it doesn't have to be responded to immediately. Blame (or credit) spam for that, most people know it's not worth risking your life for an email about a sale at Kohl's.

Can you at least support taking texting away from those who have been multiple offenders? If you get busted for driving while drunk, you may be in a jurisdiction that requires you to install an ignition interlock for a period of time. I know a guy at work who had to have one, it was very expensive to pay for on a monthly basis, including monitoring fees. How about that cell phone blocking device being required for those who have been busted on two or more occasions, with licence suspension for those who can't follow the rules?

The two conditions are similar in their destructive effects, but I observe that it would be much, much easier to stop a dozen telcos from offering texting than it would be to eliminate bars. When we get the self-driving car, the world will be a much safer place, but until we're there, can't I just worry about drunks, and not the growing popularity of texting?

[obxhead]

124. Well that's exactly in line with what I original ally proposed.

And it would be a good way to get the device installed in those older cars.

Fix the problem, not the device. The problem is a small percentage of users who don't think of others, not the tech itself.

Would you hang an adult for drinking a beer in the comfort of his home while safely watching a baseball game? No, you make laws that make it illegal for the asshole to down a case at a friends house while watching the game and then driving.

Punish the offenders, not the myriad of safe users.

[DrDan]

8. it goes beyond texting - putting on make-up/shaving, eating, reading, pets in the driver's lap

a few years back, we saw a guy in a pickup with the Sunday paper resting on the steering wheel as he drove down the interstate.

driving is secondary

[Logical]

18. Smoking! nt

[Whiskeytide]

30. Actually you CAN smoke and drive...

... the trick is lighting the cigarette while driving, and taking care not to drop an ash in your lap.

[pipi_k]

34. Long long ago...

when I was very young and still smoked I had a few incidents with cigarettes...

One of them that happened while in the car....


I was driving my VW Beetle while holding a lit cigarette in my right hand...forgetting it was there, I went to brush back my hair so I could see better.

Lit cigarette brushed the interior roof, knocking the lit head off and causing it to go down the sleeve of my winter jacket.


I've also burnt off parts of my hair with disposable lighters set too high.

Oh, and never try to throw a lit cigarette into the toilet, between your legs, while you're sitting on it. Bad things happen...

[dionysus]

45. !

[neverforget]

80. Anything like The Dude smoking weed and drink beer in the car while driving

[Eleanors38]

113. Big danger...

[MisterP]

43. practice the trumpet with the notes on one's knees ...

[customerserviceguy]

66. While all of that is true

it's way too late to ban makeup, or ways to shave. And the Sunday paper is becoming a dinosaur, besides, far more obliviot drivers try to read the news (or whatever) on a smart phone than ever read the newspaper while driving.

The vast majority of people can wait for the news, or just turn on the radio if they really need some while driving, but seemingly, a text message from their BFF wanting to LOL over a silly picture of a cat seems to be completely irresistable.

[Uben]

9. How to fix it!

Make phones in cars inoperable while the ignition is on. Wanna use the phone? Pull over, switch the ignition off, dial or text away! To me, it seems this is the best way to address this problem. As long as you can use the phone in a car, people will abuse the privilege and kill others in the process.

[morningfog]

12. Is that even possible? I would also worry about the inability to make emergency calls.

There are times when calls or texts would need to be made while the engine is still running. And, what about passengers? Shouldn't they be permitted to use their phones at all times?

[CBGLuthier]

14. Ever heard of passengers?

Should passengers be subject to this? What exact technical means would you use for your "best" solution. A jammer? Those are illegal in the US. Next idea? Some kind of magical electrical field suppressor thingie? Got the specs on that?

[customerserviceguy]

67. If a passenger

has a cell phone, then why not just make a call with it? Every phone I've ever heard of with text capacity can also be used to make voice calls. And guess what, they're faster to make, too!

[frylock]

72. better solution: if you don't like to text then don't text

[customerserviceguy]

77. I don't text

And I don't want you doing it while driving. Since so many seem to be so addicted to it, and so much that PSAs like the ones in the OP are going to do nothing to dissuade them, we need to get rid of this completely unnecessary practice before it kills more people.

It's the addicts who are ruining it for "responsible" people like yourself. (I assume you have never, nor would you ever text and drive.)

[frylock]

82. apparently you don't read either..

what part of me telling you that I don't text and drive did you not understand?

[customerserviceguy]

84. I did not see that post

when I made the one above this one. I did see it later, however.

Glad to see that you don't subscribe to the idea that it's a little OK to text and drive. Too many people clearly disagree with you. Not here, of course, but on the roads, they sure do. I can always spot them by the following distances they keep, even at a stoplight. And in those cases, they don't notice that the light has changed as fast as everybody else does.

Really, if they gave out a bounty for turning in a texter, I'd quit my job and just do that, it's like shooting fish in a barrel where I live.

[B Calm]

16. Pulling over and parking in the emergency lane is a terrible suggestion. If

any of you do pull over, get completely off the roadway. The shoulder on exit ramps are bad too. People exit highways at a high rate of speed. The shoulder on the get on ramps is much safer.

[Logical]

17. Terrible idea. Nt

[dionysus]

46. problem; it's legal to talk on the phone whiledriving if you use a headset or bluetooth.

and as they said, what about passengers?

[Politicalboi]

54. Yeah, what about passengers

What about people who can't wait 20 minutes to talk and text or watch movies. They might have to carry a conversation. We want it NOW!

[SevenSixtyTwo]

11. Warning:

This video is reality and may be enlightening!

[littlewolf]

15. that is a powerful ad .. this is one that really got to me.

[VWolf]

21. Interesting

Both this ad and the one in the OP depict girls/women texting. No guys anywhere.

Is this a stereotype, or are they merely directed ads? Just curious.

I've seen just as many men texting while driving as women.

[nadinbrzezinski]

49. That is a british add

and they pulled no punches

[Glassunion]

55. I don't think it's a stereotype.

Just a coincidence that these two (of the many out there) were posted that featured females.

To balance things out...

[VWolf]

90. Thanks n/t

[FailureToCommunicate]

26. THAT one is devastating. Holy crap.

[nadinbrzezinski]

50. One of the best PSAs on the subject ever made

our chickens will never run anything close to this on our airwaves. They actually produced one similar to this with HS students after a major crash. The kids were actors, they had the moulage and the destroyed cars for the FF to play rescuers.

The add never saw the light of day. It was just as hard as this one. The kids WANTED to produce it, after one of their classmates got killed in a devastating crash.

[Politicalboi]

56. I was waiting for her to

Look for her phone.

[RoccoR5955]

19. This does no good...

NYS police are EXEMPT from this law. I see them all the time on their cell phones, and texting while driving. Why don't these laws pertain to them. Until the police have to obey the same laws, they will not be enforced.

[littlewolf]

22. Oh I disagree .. the police will enforce the law if for no other reason

then money. tickets ya know.

[Glassunion]

36. But the police are highly trained driving experts. They can handle distractions...

[nadinbrzezinski]

51. It is against poiicy for local officers to drive and text

or use their on board computers.

Yeah, some do it. and they hate it when they get caught on camera and reported to supervisors or worst, the civilian commission. The ONLY exception is when they have to acknowledge dispatch while responding to a call, and if two officers are on board a cruiser during a hot pursuit, the passenger handles the radio

[customerserviceguy]

68. From what I've observed

in the seven years I've lived here, most laws are regarded as mere suggestions by the local driving population. I know that when I moved here, I was not asked to take either a written or driving test, and believe me, the results show on the roads around here.

[Feral Child]

23. K&R n/t

[alcibiades_mystery]

24. I drive my daughter to school and often drive to work on surface streets in Chicago

I'd say 40% of other drivers are actively texting while driving. It's fucking terrifying. If you add people who "responsibly" only text when they're stopped at a red light, it's probably closer to 60%.

[FailureToCommunicate]

27. Here in MA law say no texting while engine in gear...so that applies to stopped at a red

light as well.

No texting, or ANY non calling activity (status updates, Facebook browsing, re tweeting etc.). You must be pulled over and in "park"

And drivers under 18 can not use ANY mobile device for ANY reason -even calls- while car is in gear.

Gov Patrick signed this into law in 2010, joining 27 other states with restrictions on mobil device use in vehicles.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/07/03/new_state_law_spells_it_out_no_texting_behind_wheel/

[alcibiades_mystery]

28. That's the law here, too

[customerserviceguy]

69. That's nice

but is it enforced? My lady works with a woman who only got a ticket from a cop on the dozenth time that one nailed her for texting while driving. If it's not enforced, then it will be ignored.

Here's another idea: You LOSE your license to drive by the third time you get busted for texting while driving, and the first time you're in an accident while doing this. We do this to drunk drivers, are texting drivers any different?

[FailureToCommunicate]

73. Good idea. Under 18 does lose their licence in MA, and have to complete a course on consequences

which would probably include watching PSAs like the above.

From the law: "The prohibited activities will be primary offenses, meaning police will not need another reason to stop a car and ticket the driver. Violations will result in a $100 fine, and drivers under 18 will also have their licenses suspended for 60 days and be required to complete a course to change their behavior."

But yes, only good if the police enforce it. They claim they do.

[customerserviceguy]

74. Good for you

I would imagine most police in most places enforce it, they're the ones who see the results of crashes more than just about anybody. However, most laws are a joke around here, and there are so very many ways to wiggle out of anything that you'd get caught for. You should see all the police-ass-kiss bumper stickers, and even license plates around here.

[FailureToCommunicate]

25. Powerful ad all right. But the policeman should have said "It just might have saved

her life, and her friends."

Friends don't let friends text while driving.

[Taitertots]

86. This is as much an ad for police pulling over people they think might have been texting as it is

a public service announcement against texting while driving.

[customerserviceguy]

88. And why would a cop suspect that?

Lots of good reasons: The person driving constantly has their face towards their lap. Not staying in one's lane. Not signaling lane changes or turns. Large following distances, even at red lights. Slow to respond to a green light, or the car in front of them when the light turns green.

All of those are really good reasons to pull people over. There should be an implied consent law that gives a cop to find out if a particular phone has been texting while the cop observes the suspicious behavior, just like there is for breath testing for alcohol.

[Glassunion]

92. I see where you are coming from, however that would lead to

abuse by law enforcement.

[nadinbrzezinski]

98. This is distracted driving month

Local officers will enforce the statue and it is far from just texting. They announced it

[lob1]

102. I was run off the freeway by a guy talking on his cellphone.

And he never even realized what he'd done.

[rwork]

103. The app

on your cell phone where you cannot text above 45 mph sounds like a good fix..

[customerserviceguy]

107. OK, so you think texting

at 44 MPH is just fine?

I sure hope you're kidding.

[Rhiannon12866]

125. I have enough trouble texting when I'm just sitting at home

Make lots of typos that I have to fix. I can't imagine doing it and trying to drive at the same time...

[Skip Intro]

130. I see people driving on the intertate highways glancing from road to phone and back.

They need to be off the roads.

Harsh penalties for texting and drivng.