Driving and the cell phone.

[achris]

Having just seen an article on the TV, I'm curious....
Please be truthful as it's totally anonymous.

Chris..........

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Driving and the cell phone.

I talk on my cell phone while driving however, I tend to pull over. We have some of the worst cell coverage here in Vermont and if you have a signal it is best to pull over to take advantage of it.

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: Driving and the cell phone.

It is now against the law to use a cellphone while driving in Ontario. That is unless you have a hands free system.

 

[rainman99]

Re: Driving and the cell phone.

I cant concentrate on my driving so I avoid the phone. I don't text .

 

[kend301]

Re: Driving and the cell phone.

I will take a call or make a call only if I have to and keep them very short. I pull over to answer a text if it is important otherwise I wait until I get where I am going.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Driving and the cell phone.

i only answer incoming calls, and make it short. (unless lost in a strange place)

 

[Dave Barnett]

Re: Driving and the cell phone.

A very good friend of my daughter was killed in a car accident because she was using a cell phone while driving. My son rear ended a school bus because he was trying to text while driving. No one was hurt in the school bus incident but my sons truck was totaled and he now has hash marks on his driving and insurance records. To top it off, is what could have been. All those students not to mention he himself could have been hurt or worse. Driving is enough of a responsibility without added distraction. If not for ourselves, please folks for others sake, lets leave the phones alone until we are out from under the wheel or stopped in a safe place. I have yet to see a phone call or text that is worth our lives or the lives of others we meet on the road. God Bless All. Dave

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Driving and the cell phone.

i only answer incoming calls, and make it short. (unless lost in a strange place)

I tend not to answer the outgoing calls too

 

[avenger79]

Re: Driving and the cell phone.

i very seldom talk on it while driving. only if needed for something, never just to talk.

then again i very seldom talk on mine in general. LOL I've been asked why I bother with it at all as I'm very likely not to answer it when i rings.

 

[JB]

Re: Driving and the cell phone.

I pull over, if possible, or ignore incoming calls. I do not initiate calls unless stopped.

I have barely avoided two serious collisions with other vehicles in which the drivers were talking on a cell phone. Without ABS and Stability Control I would have killed two young women who turned into my path or pulled out of a rural side road.

 

[mike64]

Re: Driving and the cell phone.

When I see someone swerving around on the freeway, I used to assume they were drunk. Now I assume they're on a cellphone, and sure enough, when I pass them, (2 lanes over to give them a wide berth) 9 times out or 10 they're having an animated conversation on their cell.

The texters are worse because they're not watching the road at all. I was driving with my son in the back seat a month or two ago, and a woman driving from the other direction and texting crossed the median and almost sideswiped me-- had to swerve to avoid her. She never looked up from her all-important message and probably didn't even know it.

 

[HopeSheFloats]

Re: Driving and the cell phone.

Never turn mine on unless I need to and never do while driving...pretty much hate the things in general. Marriage saver is about all I it use it for, you know..."honey, they're biting too well to head home just now, see ya soon"

 

[rjlipscomb]

Re: Driving and the cell phone.

I use a little hands free blue tooth device, pretty much all of the time. I sometimes forget the thing is on my ear. :redface: When driving, I use voice dialing or only answer calls. I use a blackberry and don't read the screen while driving (hard to read the screen without my reading glasses anyway). If I need to look up a number or read an email, I do it while stopped at a light or I pull over.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Driving and the cell phone.

hum, guess i'm the odd one out.

i talk on the cell phone while driving. incoming for sure and sometimes make outgoing.

i don't text or use my cell phone for anything other than a telephone.

i also write and talk on the cell phone while driving...

heck, the police do it. why can't i?



can't remember the last date of my accident. but i'd venture a guess at 10+ years ago. it was not related to a cell phone distraction either.

 

[DECK SWABBER 58]

Re: Driving and the cell phone.

This one of my biggest pet peeves. How hands free devices are not mandatory in all 50 states is beyond me.

I only have a cell phone for business reasons. The rest of the time it is off.
NO out going calls while moving.
I sometimes will answer incoming if not in heavy traffic, if the call is not going to be brief I pull over.

I can't begin to count how many near misses I've had with distracted drivers.

Texting while driving became illegal in IL. Jan. 1st

 

[izoomie]

Re: Driving and the cell phone.

Ontario just made it illegal to use any hand held device while driving. I use a wireless headset to talk on the cell when driving but I never touch it.

 

[ezbtr]

Re: Driving and the cell phone.

I voted talk only, but only with earbud/hands free.

 

[paulspaddle]

Re: Driving and the cell phone.

Alright get ready to shiver....

When I drove truck I drove the same route from Wpg-Chicago twice a week. If you have driven through North Dakota and Minnesota you know there is not much going on. Cell phones were not really popular then and long distance charges were ridiculous so that really wasn't an issue, BUT I used to read the paper every day. I read novels, made my sandwiches from the cooler. One time I left the steering wheel to get something from the back as fast as I could. Nine years and a million miles I was lucky to never get a traffic violation.

Now, it depends. I rarely make outgoing calls and I check who it is incoming first. If I answer it I pull over probably 80% of the time. Never text, I suck at it standing still.

 

[Bigprairie1]

Re: Driving and the cell phone.

As Ken said, it is now illegal in Canada to talk, text or putz with GPS toys and stuff while driving. You can use a handsfree bluetooth, etc...thats legal.
This is a great idea and I'm all for it. Whats funny tho' is for the teens and 'millenials' to put down their social networking for 15-20 minutes while they drive somewhere....lotso' tickets going their way these days.
No communication is more important than controlling your vehicle at speed, at that moment.
My two bits.
BP

 

[thefairlaneman]

Re: Driving and the cell phone.

Im happy to see the police are starting to verifly if the ones in accidents were on the phone. Reports say more accidents are caused by cell phone users than drunks. I say anyone caught using the phone while driving should lose his licence for a year..PERIOD. The cops could catch the offenders easy if they wanted to. Just park near the exit of any high school.