Phone Addicts Are the New Drunk Drivers • Hacker News Board

Re: Phone Addicts Are the New Drunk Drivers

#161

Post by [deleted] » Tue, Apr 09, 2019, 11:43 PM UTC

koolba wrote: post #147

Pharmakon wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My wife got her start as an attorney in the U.S. and her first criminal cases as defense counsel were for drunk divers. It ended up driving (no pun) her away from defense work, because these guys were inveterate offenders and never got more than a slap on the wrist. The penalties on the books for DUI and the penalties actually administered are often miles apart. That may have changed in the last decade though, I can’…

What do you consider a slap on the wrist? Everyone I know that’s had a DUI lost their license for a min amount of time with exponential increases for repeat offenders (one month, then two years, then 10 years). And that’s only the ones that weren’t involved in a collision.

[deleted]

Re: Phone Addicts Are the New Drunk Drivers

#162

Post by mikeash » Tue, Apr 09, 2019, 11:51 PM UTC

nostromo wrote: post #4

This is taken as an obvious truth, but when you look at actual collision data, there seems to be no effect whatsoever. In fact, our roads have continued to become safer in the 10 or so years since the release of the iPhone.

Traffic fatalities in the US have been trending up since 2014.

Edit: corrected to 2014, not 2015.

Re: Phone Addicts Are the New Drunk Drivers

#163

Post by fzeroracer » Tue, Apr 09, 2019, 11:55 PM UTC

Pharmakon wrote: post #144

jeffdavis wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A citation is nothing. A couple drinks will put you in jail, cost you your license for a while, maybe your job, and thousands of dollars.

My wife got her start as an attorney in the U.S. and her first criminal cases as defense counsel were for drunk divers. It ended up driving (no pun) her away from defense work, because these guys were inveterate offenders and never got more than a slap on the wrist. The penalties on the books for DUI and the penalties actually administered are often miles apart. That may have changed in the last decade though, I can’…

Anecdotal, but I can confirm this as well. I've had extended family members get pulled over for (multiple!) DUIs while getting nothing more than a slap on the wrist. Nothing's really changed as long as you're of a certain demographic.

Re: Phone Addicts Are the New Drunk Drivers

#164

Post by wcarron » Tue, Apr 09, 2019, 11:57 PM UTC

As others have said, as a motorcyclist, my number one concern on the road is a person using their mobile device while driving. I am less worried about road rage (which is still a top concern for me) than distracted drivers.

I see it literally hundreds of times a day. People are driving their cars at over 70mph while texting. They use instagram and facebook at stoplights. They text or call while driving too fast down residential roads. They cause traffic delays because they don't accelerate at a green light for many seconds after the car in front of them has.

I have seen them hit other cars and narrowly miss pedestrians in crosswalks, completely oblivious half the time that they nearly murdered someone.

If I pull up next to them and tell them to put their phone down by pantomime, half the time they flip me off, laugh, or lay on their horn. They do not think they are doing anything wrong and that I am the asshole for telling them to put the phone down.

Distracted drivers are murderers. Distracted drivers are guilty of reckless endangerment. Distracted drivers need to be punished with prejudice. It is statistically more dangerous than driving intoxicated.

Re: Phone Addicts Are the New Drunk Drivers

#165

Post by matz1 » Tue, Apr 09, 2019, 11:59 PM UTC

Good thing we are on the verge of realization of self driving car.

Re: Phone Addicts Are the New Drunk Drivers

#166

Post by mastox » Wed, Apr 10, 2019, 12:00 AM UTC

btrettel wrote: post #156

cc439 wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>My father has a good one for going around blind corners and going up blind hills at night: Check trees and other objects in the direct path of oncoming traffic for light. Back in high school, I convinced one of my friends that I had a 6th sense for cars approaching on a long drive back home at night. My trick was that the light from a cars headlights slightly reflects off the semi-gloss black rubber of powerlines an…

Thanks, I was hoping someone would have another good object to check. Where my father mentioned this, there weren't any visible power lines as far as I can recall.

I wonder if something similar happens with the lines on the road, or crops like corn/soybeans, or even tall grasses.

Re: Phone Addicts Are the New Drunk Drivers

#167

Post by matz1 » Wed, Apr 10, 2019, 12:01 AM UTC

lobster45 wrote: post #48

Having the self driving features on a car such as Tesla auto pilot has really made this problem worse. People rely on their cars to stop in time, although this is not always the case

Self driving features is the solution of the phone addicts.

Re: Phone Addicts Are the New Drunk Drivers

#168

Post by fzeroracer » Wed, Apr 10, 2019, 12:02 AM UTC

btrettel wrote: post #34

I'm a cyclist. Over the past 5 years or so I've learned to check inside of people's cars to see if they have a phone in their hands. If they do, I try to keep as much distance between myself and them as possible. Until we change the incentives, distracted driving is very likely to remain a problem. Right now there's a lot of talk but very little action. I live in Austin, and I've spoken with the police about distract…

I live in Austin as well and unfortunately I can't see myself cycling anywhere in town. Not only would I have to cycle on the roads due to a lack of biking paths and sidewalks around my area, but having to deal with reckless drivers threatening my life is too much.

It's only going to get worse as more companies move to Austin while the city lags behind on infrastructure.

Re: Phone Addicts Are the New Drunk Drivers

#169

Post by davidrupp » Wed, Apr 10, 2019, 12:05 AM UTC

Driving my car (phone in pocket, do-not-disturb on):

Yesterday: Passed a college-aged kid on a (edit: motorized) scooter, no helmet, going about 45 mph, reading his phone.

Today: Passed a middle-school-aged kid (edit: on a bicycle), with a helmet, going about 3 mph, reading his phone.

Not sure which earns his Darwin Award first. It's a problem, either way.

Re: Phone Addicts Are the New Drunk Drivers

#170

Post by nl » Wed, Apr 10, 2019, 12:10 AM UTC

Isn't using a phone while driving illegal in most countries now?

Here in Australia you can only touch one if it is in one of those GPS holder things, with ~$400 fines for non-compliance.

The police put a few plain clothed ppl at traffic lights and raise thousands. Sure it's revenue raising, but the message gets out pretty quickly.