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Phone Addicts Are the New Drunk Drivers

blog.zendrive.com

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Re: Phone Addicts Are the New Drunk Drivers

#231

Post by bradgessler »

wcarron wrote: post #164

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…

PSA: iOS has a feature that puts your phone into DND while you’re driving. Turn it on if you haven’t and you find yourself tempted to use your device while driving. Maybe it will save a life.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208090

Re: Phone Addicts Are the New Drunk Drivers

#232

Post by mjevans »

jahewson wrote: post #95
mjevans wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's possible to go from composition to focused in the span of time it takes to move the hand (and eyes) from the phone back to driving mode. It isn't possible to become 'not drunk' that quickly. I rank drunk driving as worse than dealing with screaming kids as worse than writing something at a red-light as worse than just reading a preview on the screen for a measured quantity of time when in a situation that is saf…

The article suggest that this isn't true. You can't regain situational awareness instantaneously: > The researchers specifically found that cell phone users are: > - 9 percent slower to deploy the brakes > - 19 percent slower to return to normal speed after braking

That isn't relevant to the context I'm talking about. Any kind of actual composition of text should only happen while stopped; E.G. at a red light (and ideally NOT while first in line).

Re: Phone Addicts Are the New Drunk Drivers

#233

Post by dredmorbius »

kalleboo wrote: post #228
dredmorbius wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's make that Apple's problem and not that of the people they kill. If the phone cannot distinguish driver from passenger, shut it off.

Should it also shut off for the millions of train passengers?

How many people will you condemn to die innocently, if there is no means of distinguihing cases?

Is there no means to distinguish cases?

Re: Phone Addicts Are the New Drunk Drivers

#234

Post by nojvek »

Phillipharryt wrote: post #223
nojvek wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am guilty of this. What I wish to see is a better device that doesn’t distract the attention from the road. A better voice input so I don’t have to type. The biggest distraction is a notification comes and you want to see what it is. But you are right. The best soln is not to use your phone.

Honest question. Why do you feel you need any device when driving? Other than for navigation I suppose. As a confessed user do you actually feel it's important to have access to a device while you drive?

I like to be connected I guess. Waiting in traffic sucks, it’s boring as hell. My commute is 1.5 hours each way.

To be honest, I want a self lane following car. Reliably keep distance from car in front, keep the current lane, don’t exceed speed limit. Don’t bumps into objects, stop on traffic lights

5 simple things. I feel like this should be doable reliably in the next decade.

I don’t want to drive. I don’t have another more convenient option.

Re: Phone Addicts Are the New Drunk Drivers

#235

Post by cylinder »

alexktz wrote: post #214
wcarron wrote: post #164

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…

I emigrated from the UK to USA last September and the number of people I see on the freeway here with their phone in their hands is a constant source of amazement for me. As a keen road cyclist in the UK I actually have bought an off-road bike because I simply don't trust US drivers. In fact, the standard of driving here is frankly appalling. Tailgating and speeding is rampant. Lane surfing is rife. Couple that with…

I just came back to the US for a visit and was absolutely gobsmacked at the wide level of texting/phone usage while driving. People weren't even making an effort to hide it or using hands-free cradles. Just full on swiping and looking down while driving on freeways and at traffic lights. It felt like a surreal dystopian nightmare.

Re: Phone Addicts Are the New Drunk Drivers

#236

Post by rapind »

nojvek wrote: post #222
alexktz wrote: post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I emigrated from the UK to USA last September and the number of people I see on the freeway here with their phone in their hands is a constant source of amazement for me. As a keen road cyclist in the UK I actually have bought an off-road bike because I simply don't trust US drivers. In fact, the standard of driving here is frankly appalling. Tailgating and speeding is rampant. Lane surfing is rife. Couple that with…

I am guilty of this. What I wish to see is a better device that doesn’t distract the attention from the road. A better voice input so I don’t have to type. The biggest distraction is a notification comes and you want to see what it is. But you are right. The best soln is not to use your phone.

I admire the bravery it takes to admit it, and so I'll abstain from judgement.

To help you put it in perspective though, simply ask yourself if you'll stop caring about the notifications the day after running into a pedestrian or a cyclist.

Re: Phone Addicts Are the New Drunk Drivers

#237

Post by fenwick67 »

colejohnson66 wrote: post #218
e40 wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is proving it. What a DUI perp says: I'm not drunk! Cops check blood alcohol level. What a phone user says: I wasn't on my phone! Cops can't/won't check anything, and even if they could, how could the accident time be exactly (for proof) correlated? My wife was rear ended by an SUV and has health effects to this day (it was over 10 years ago). There was no way to prove, or not, the other drive was on the…

If they’re texting, you can ask the phone company if their phone sent a text

Sure but a minority of people on their phones are sending text messages at that moment.

Re: Phone Addicts Are the New Drunk Drivers

#238

Post by fenwick67 »

jeffdavis wrote: post #140

Matthew Walker's book Why We Sleep makes a clear case that drowsy driving is worse than drink driving, too. So that would mean drunk driving is actually the third leading cause of impaired driving damage. Why is the third cause villified, but not the first two?

> So that would mean drunk driving is actually the third leading cause of impaired driving damage.

That's a hard "citation needed" claim you're making.

Re: Phone Addicts Are the New Drunk Drivers

#239

Post by thatoneuser »

ryandrake wrote: post #66
thatoneuser wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why not check your phone while at a stop sign? Why not check your phone while on a straightaway with no cars in sight? Why not check your phone to make sure you're on the right route? I get what you're saying but these are the thousands of little thoughts in the back of your mind that encourage you to use your phone in the car. "Just leave the phone in your pocket" has to defend itself against every one of these litt…

What I don’t get is what is so important that requires “checking” every 5 minutes? Are we all business executives now, executing million dollar deals? Or day trading stocks? What’s so urgent? I run my phone in Do Not Disturb mode 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No notifications. No texts. No calls. No E-mails. I’ll check these things at night sometime when I’m not doing other things like driving a 2000 pound steel dea…

I've gotta say out of everybody I know even my 80+ year old grandpa - your phone notifies you of the least. Idk if you're in a contest here but that's just now how most people's lives go. Most peoples lives are engrained with their phones and I think most of us are healthy enough to make it be a net positive. (Not implying anything you're doing is wrong!)

I'm not defending or justifying doing it - im simply explaining why it's such a common phenomenon. People are often in conversations all day long with others. Or engaged in online discussions like this. Life is filled with boring moments and phones alleviate us of that. That's why people do it.

Re: Phone Addicts Are the New Drunk Drivers

#240

Post by Schwolop »

wcarron wrote: post #164

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…

I'm a motorcyclist as well, and I've often wondered about trying to pitch a vigilante hardware product to our police force. I'd build a product around a button that when pressed marks the previous 15s plus the next 15s of helmet-cam footage as a candidate, then uploads that somewhere when the camera is next being charged. If the police would accept a clear camera recording of a numberplate plus a person using their phone, they could make back the cost of supplying the hardware to any motorcyclist who offers to be a vigilante in a matter of days.
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