Cell phones and driving

[JB @ C and L Machine]

Am sick of it!!!! 9 times out of 10 when am behind a car/truck and there driving erradically... there on a cell phone and have no clue whats going on around them!!

 

[Shovelhead]

I'm tired of playing dodge(not the truck manufacturer) with these morons while on my H-D.

It's not like they can't hear me comming, they're so absorbed in their conversation that NOTHING else registers.

Yeah I've heard the old saying "I'm sorry, I didn't see you" waaaaay too many times.

 

[o_mccarroll]

As another motorcycle rider, I can't stand to see someone not paying attention to the road and who is around them. However, I don't agree with banning cell phones because they aren't the only culprit. I see a$$holes doing all kinds of things other than paying attention to their surroundings, from putting on makeup to (get this!) reading the paper while driving! I think that people just get too casual about driving and forget how deadly a weapon an automobile can be.



Shovelhead- I know they hear me, too (Buell S1). But that never seems to help (Love that sound, though)

 

[Papa Joe]

Though I agree about the poor driving, I can't go for an outright ban. Increased penalty for erratic driving - you bet.

I have a cell phone in my truck. My driving goes south when I'm on the phone for more than 30 seconds. I can receive a brief message from the office or tell the wife I'll be late from work. But any more than that, and I pull over (even on the freeway) because either the phone conversation suffers or my driving goes to hell. It ain't worth it either way. Joe

 

[Shovelhead]

The main trouble I see with just increasing the penalty for distracted driving is I just might be the poor biker under their front end as the cop is writing them a ticket.

 

[o_mccarroll]

No amount of law or enformcement will make people drive more responsibly. Us bikers just have to ride under the assumption that everyone on the road is trying to kill us! I ride my bike a lot different than the way I drive the truck.

 

[Amianthus]

o_mccarroll, I don't ride a motorcycle any other way. And I'm with you on the banning thing. You'd have to ban radios, passengers, kids, food, maps, billboards, whatever. No telling what people will be distracted by (I almost caused an accident from looking at a girl in a bikini, not looking at the road. Would we ban them too? I hope not. ).

 

[redneckdr]

divin' 'n ridin'

several years i started trying to ride like i am invisible. we basically are on our bikes. with straight pipes on the hd, i should be heard. drivers have no respect for any vehicle. you can't expect the driver who will pull out in front of an 18 wheeler to even give a bike a thought. personally i fear teenagers in new hondas more than folks on cell phones. not to say cell phones and driving mix--even with hands free units attention is divided!!

 

[GSchlegel]

Amianthus, I absolutly agree!!! You can't ban every form of destraction. If we are to ban anything, we ought to ban idiots.

The only problem with that is I might get lonesome since there would only be a few of us TDR members on the road.

Not a bad idea though???

Gene

 

[o_mccarroll]

Funny thing I've noticed about having loud pipes, at least in my own experience, is that they don't seem to attract much attention until you are alongside or infront of the other vehicle. Doesn't help much for people pulling out in front of you or coming into your lane on you. Be careful out there.

 

[JMorrow]

Last week end I saw a guy on a Goldwing talking on his cell phone. One hand on cell and one on right handle bar?

 

[redneckdr]

ridin'

jmorrow,

that same goldwing rider is the one who rides in a tank top and shorts and sandals without socks... dummmmmmmmmmmmm

 

[JMorrow]

I think you are right about the tanktop and the sandles but I am not sure about the socks.

 

[Papa Joe]

I'm back. My brother rides a Valk and I ride a VTX. (No flames please. . ) Our policy, as stated by redneckdr above, is to pretend we are invisible. Having riden MC for over 35 years, I watch for bikes. But Joe-public does NOT see us. Phones are only a piece of the problem. I watch front tires and eyeballs like a hawk. Shiny side up, guys.



Joe

 

[DieselDoghouse]

Don't ban cell phones - ban idiots!! I use my cell phone when necessary while driving - its hands free and voice dial ('course you gotta program it with the d*mn engine runing first!!) or I would NOT use it at all. It should not be a distraction from vision, wheel control or driver concentration or it shouldn't be in there. No conversation is ever as important as piloting a 7000 lb rocket. If you're that bored that you NEED a distraction from driving, hire a dang chauffer!! I think we need more stringent driver testing - here in MA you never see people actually looking behind themselves when backing out - and no they CAN"T handle doing it from mirrors! Instead every Neon blocks a 4-lane freeway just backing out of a driveway, or they just go until they hear glass break!! But banning cell phones still leaves that very dangerous piece of hardware dangling from the edge of the steering wheel (the driver).

 

[Wade Hogg]

I agree with banning idiots. If there is a will there is a way. I have seen just as many poor drivers eating food and putting make up on, as on a cell phone. Sad thing is, I have seen many that are jsut crappy drivers.



I used to have a bike. 90' Suzuki Katana 1100. It was my first and last. Sold it with only a few thousand on it (no accident just wife and parents), but owning it gave me a new respect for those on 2 wheels. People never notice a bike.

 

[Dkevdog]

Let's put little bulls-eyes on the cell phones and see how accurate the scope is. I hate the stupid SOB's!!



Kev