Worst cell phone driver

[Gurndigarn]

I know driving wiht a cell phone attached to your ear is a national pasttime in the states, but this one blew me away. I'm at one of my work stops, disassembling video games for transport, when I see a lady who's playing a driving game-- one that, incidentally, is supposed to simulate 300 KPH racing along a famous race course-- whip out a cell phone and make an outgoing call. She's doing this while she's playing a game she paid to play... what am I missing here?

And I'm glad I don't work for her car insurance company, considering how practiced that move was.

[Phone Jockey]

I'm guessing she just needed MORE practice b/c she keeps crashing her car while driving & talking. I have no idea why ppl do this.

[Seanette]

I know driving wiht a cell phone attached to your ear is a national pasttime in the states, but this one blew me away. I'm at one of my work stops, disassembling video games for transport, when I see a lady who's playing a driving game-- one that, incidentally, is supposed to simulate 300 KPH racing along a famous race course-- whip out a cell phone and make an outgoing call. She's doing this while she's playing a game she paid to play... what am I missing here?

And I'm glad I don't work for her car insurance company, considering how practiced that move was.

About what general geographical area was this in? I'm afraid this person might live near me.

[karma_gypsy]

That's one thing that drives me nuts, when I see people on the opposite side of the road on cell phones . . . they've even had tests where they put this device over a person's eyes (they could still see through it) and it's design to follow their pupils.

They did two tests, one without a cell, and one with.

The test without the cell, the person was looking everywhere - road, sidewalks, other cars ('getting the big picture').

The next test they put the person on the cell, the entire time they were talking on the phone, their eyes were straight in front of them. Never moving, just staring at the road directly in front of them ('tunnel vision').

That's why talking on cell phones is dangerous, because a lotta people can't handle doing those two things at once. I'm sure some people can do it, but not a whole lot.

[powerboy]

When I am driving, and I am talking on a cell, I am a much better driver.

[Jester]

Have they done that test with the handsfree devices, i.e. Blue Tooths and other ear pieces, or just with someone holding a cell in one hand? Just curious.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

I'm guessing she just needed MORE practice b/c she keeps crashing her car while driving & talking. I have no idea why ppl do this.

Girlfriend, you just described at least half the drivers here in this part of the state.

I can't figure out why they do this either. Maybe it's because they see "everyone else" doing the same and don't want to be unpopular.

Either way, it's highly dangerous IMHO.

[Gurndigarn]

Have they done that test with the handsfree devices, i.e. Blue Tooths and other ear pieces, or just with someone holding a cell in one hand? Just curious.

Handsfree doesn't do anything, really. It's not where your hands are; it's where your mind is.

[JustAGirl]

I guess I'm one of the few, I usually don't answer my phone while driving, the only times I do is if my B/F or my parents or brother call, everyone else (including work) get the voicemail.

And when I AM on the phone with them, I think I look around MORE often than when I'm off the phone LOL and I try to keep it short "i'm driving, make it quick"...

that lady, woo, I'm just glad she was on a driving GAME, and not actually on the road. scary though, she prolly does it on the road too... hopefully NOT since it was only a game... bleh

[Pagan]

When I am driving, and I am talking on a cell, I am a much better driver.

Please tell me you were being sarcastic??

[0oAmericanGirl]

I'm a cyclist and I hate drivers on cell phones. I got hit by a driver on a cell phone that didn't even realize he hit me. I was fine but, how could you not see me and my bright red helment in bright daylight on a strait road with no other traffic?

I support banning cell phones while we drive, it's just as bad as drunk driving in my opinion.

[Brighid45]

A few days back, some lady yakking on her phone while driving came into my lane (yes, she swerved into oncoming traffic; thankfully it was in a parking lot and not on the road) and ended up with her Jeep about two inches from my car, almost nose to nose. And she was totally oblivious until the last two feet, when she finally hung up and realized where she was! I even laid on the horn and she didn't hear it.

Cell phones + driving = DO NOT MIX.

[stormtreader]

In the UK, it is now illegal to use a cell phone while driving unless its a totally hands-free call (with the phone hooked into a unit on the dashboard).

[Rapscallion]

Indeed. There was a nasty case of someone who was driving a truck while texting his girlfriend. He ran off the road onto a parking area and killed two people in a parked car.

He claimed not to have been on his phone, but the logs from the phone company had a message along the lines of "luv u 2 shit gotta go"

I kid you not.

Rapscallion

[skeptic53]

In my area few years ago a woman in an SUV gabbing on her cell on the freeway plowed into a stalled car, which caught on fire. The family in the car all burned to death. She is the wife of a county sheriff deputy. Initially she was not charged, probably because of her law enforcement connection. There was a big outcry, she was charged, the phone records showed she was on the phone at the time of the accident, but she still got probation and a small fine.
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsourc...ry=sarah+potts

Unfortunately for UK, New York State and other places, the hands-free phones are just as distracting as hand-held cells. Voice dialing eliminates taking one's eyes off the road to dial, but otherwise the accident rate is the same as hand-held cell phones.

Even talking to passengers can be very distracting. For this reason, several states in the US have passed laws making it illegal for new drivers (mainly teens) to have passengers in the car until they've had their license for a certain length of time. This has saved many lives in my state.