Texting and driving game

[Sweetrice80]

Not sure how many of you text and drive. But I am guilty of it all the time. (wife is deaf, texting is only means of communication). But I saw this up on New York times today.


http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/07/19/technology/20090719-driving-game.html

let me know how good you scored, if you play through it you will get a spread sheet on how well you did.

David

 

[Goldie]

Well I didnt miss any gates, but my reaction time was .23 slower while texting. I didn't see the woman either. I think this is a decent way to gauge your distraction, but I don't change lanes 64 times in a week, let alone in one trip. Definitely interesting to try though.

Edit: grammar

 

[Poronico]

I call shenanigans because I don't look what I text... its all about the feel baby!

 

[Devil Doc]

I don't need a test to know it's a dumb thing to do. It ought to be illegal to use a cell phone while driving period. Not a flippin' day goes by when some idiot on a cell phone nearly causes an accident in my vicinity.

Doc

 

[DirtyDave]

I don't need a test to know it's a dumb thing to do. It ought to be illegal to use a cell phone while driving period. Not a flippin' day goes by when some idiot on a cell phone nearly causes an accident in my vicinity.

Doc

AMEN!!

 

[b.dawgson]

I call shenanigans because I don't look what I text... its all about the feel baby!

Same here. Texting, like typing, becomes a second nature once you do it enough. I can watch TV and type a novel.

 

[whopper]

I don't need a test to know it's a dumb thing to do. It ought to be illegal to use a cell phone while driving period. Not a flippin' day goes by when some idiot on a cell phone nearly causes an accident in my vicinity.

Doc

In the past year at my job I've had two confirmed drivers' deaths caused by inattentiveness due to texting while driving.

 

[lurch]

Virginia and Tennessee made texting while driving illegal on July 1st. It's definatley very dangerous and distracting.

 

[DirtyDave]

What a timely thread. Look what just popped up in the news: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,535640,00.html

 

[Sweetrice80]

Its very dangerous, I agree. Its also, I believe against the law to talk and text in Maryland and DC. I lived in Ohio for awhile where its been legal. I have been making it a point lately to tell Anna my wife when I am leaving so she knows when to expect me. before I would text her throughout the drive.

 

[ngetal]

I don't need a test to know it's a dumb thing to do. It ought to be illegal to use a cell phone while driving period. Not a flippin' day goes by when some idiot on a cell phone nearly causes an accident in my vicinity.

Doc

naaa.... just make it mandatory that cars with the engine on will render cell phones and the like unusable in the vicinity...

 

[TheVitaleMob]

I'm refraining from a 6 page long rant about inattentive drivers. I deal with this EVERY flipping day. Suffice it to say that it's amazing how stupid people are, even on their BEST days.

 

[gtadroptop]

Cell phone is bluetoothed to my truck's sound system for 'hands free' operation. Even that is distracting.

 

[amateuraficionado]

They were just talking about this on news radio the other day. They said people who text while driving are 25 times more likely to cause an accident than if they were not. Statistically, this makes texting more dangerous than driving drunk!!! Every a**hole I see on the road doing something stupid always, and I mean always, is doing something with a damn phone! Morons!

 

[Aeroscott]

I don't need a test to know it's a dumb thing to do. It ought to be illegal to use a cell phone while driving period. Not a flippin' day goes by when some idiot on a cell phone nearly causes an accident in my vicinity.

Doc

Amen Doc, I have a bumper sticker on my truck that says "Hang up and Drive"

Edit, a Neighbor just got the cel phone ticket, cost him 135 bucks the first time, double it for a second offense.

 

[Devil Doc]

I'm proud to announce that The Gov. of N.H. has just signed a bill making texting illegal while driving. And this from a state that has no seat belt law and no helmet law.

Doc.

 

[JayBay]

By definition, doing anything besides driving while behind the wheel is a distraction - and that includes eating, talking (on the phone or to somebody in the car), drinking, smoking, or even adjusting the radio.

It's my opinion that accidents are caused by those who don't understand the limitations of their own attention span. I'm guilty of texting while driving, however there are times when traffic conditions dictate I put my phone down and concentrate on navigating the vehicle. There are also times when traffic conditions dictate I hang up the phone. There are those who don't know where to draw the line between 100% focus on driving and whatever non-driving distraction they've chosen to become immersed, or to be more specific; when too large a percentage of concentration efforts are directed to the distraction.

So what should be illegal since technically every non-driving activity is a distraction? Texting? Texting and phones? If phones are a distraction, what about using a handsfree headset? And if the headset is ok, how is that different from simply talking to the person in the passenger seat? And if I can't push buttons on my phone, then why is it ok to push buttons on the radio? The line gets blurry.

 

[DesertRat]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I generally use a steering wheel to drive not the number keys on my keyboard.

I couldn't pass that test regardless of me ignoring the cell phone popping up :laugh: