Distracted Driving

ggmae

Do you...

alixzafiris

Used to do both all the time. It's been illegal here since October so now I just Bluetooth.

crfische

I do both to a fault. It's bad. I've been trying to quit.

I think Oprah is about this today.

Nebb

I dont have anything so important to say to anyone that it cant wait until I get where Im going or im out of the car completely. Im not going to do something that is illegal (here) for some silly reason because my sense of importance is inflated.

alixzafiris

Oh, I should say I fully support it being illegal and knew even when I was doing it, what the statistics were for people who did it, but it's a very hard habit to break.

SarahPLiz

I do text at stoplights though, but once the car is in motion, the phone goes away.

EDIT: I forgot to say I do talk on the phone while driving. I don't see any difference with a hands free. FI's phone goes through his radio (fancy BMW stuff), but he is still concentrating on what people are saying, even if both hands are on the wheel.

ggmae

I used to talk on the phone while driving, but no longer do so because CT has banned it. I haven't texted while driving in a long time and don't plan to again. (EDIT - I used to text at stoplights, but now I just keep my phone silent in my purse in the car.)

The reason I posted this is because Oprah is talking about it on her show today and the stories are making me cry.

ricksang

I have done both but don't  text anymore because it's terribly dangerous. I still use my phone though

ricksang

It's not illegal here YET. We are 500 years behind everyone else.

salt78

I still talk on the phone, but I no longer text. I used to a lot though and it was pretty hard to break the habit.

angned

I should schedule my tivo to record it.  Is it people who crashed or died?

ricksang

Yes Ang it is.

goheels05

I never initiate phone or text conversations while I am driving.  If my phone rings and driving conditions are such that I can safely answer, I do.  I don't answer in heavy traffic, heavy rain, or when I'm driving somewhere that is unfamiliar.  If I get a text, I'll read it at a stop light, but when the light turns green, the phone goes away.

Texting while driving is now illegal in NC, and I judge people when I see them doing it, because they are usually driving way below the speed limit and/or swerving.  Glad to know your conversation is more important than my life.

ggmae

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_do-you-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:9c0e90b5-449d-4423-9e15-a72327d44ca2Post:3633a761-453f-4e26-885a-3b71fc8bdbef">Re: Do you...</a>:
[QUOTE]I do text at stoplights though, but once the car is in motion, the phone goes away.
Posted by SarahPLiz[/QUOTE]

While I used to do this as well, I still think it counts if the car is on, you are on the road (even at a stoplight or stop sign), and you (not you, but a general you) are texting/talking on the phone. You are still distracted while on the road.

JessAndTrav

I talk on the phone and drive, but I'm also not afraid to set down the phone during traffic that requires every ounce of my attention or in a school zone.

I text at stop lights and stop signs, but I can't text and drive with my phone. It's touch screen, so it requires attention.

Before my phone that I have now, I had a phone that didn't have the qwerty board, and I could text and drive, but it never required looking. I knew my predictive text well enough so that I could do it just by touching it and not looking at it.

cengle

If I get a phone call while driving, I'll answer it if my phone is in my easy-to-reach cupholder.  I only text when stopped at a red light or when sitting in not-moving traffic.

playtntsbpg30

I hardly talk on the phone driving or not.. I have though. I am usually texting, I can text without looking and if I mess up, o well they can figure it out..

ggmae

These stories on Oprah are so awful and sad. I would never be able to forgive myself if I killed another person (or persons) just because a text/phone call couldn't wait until later.

FutureMrsTR

I am ashamed to admit that I do both.  I have a half hour commute and I use it to call my mom in NC daily to chat with her because FI all up in my face when I get home because he's been alone all day (he's like a dog, seriously).  I need to get a new Bluetooth headset to help matters, but I know it's still bad.

I've seen they have some program that will cause your phone not to work when it senses the car is in motion, but I want to know what happens when you're just riding the bus or your a passenger in a moving car.

sarah0725

I don't think I've ever texted while driving, but I have talked on the phone. I sometimes do it on long trips, when I am drivin in the right lane at the speed limit with my cruise control on. I know it's still not ideal though. I hate it when somebody almost hits me when they're on their phone.

Actually, somebody did once rear-end me while on the phone, and then she wanted to fight me. What happened was that I got out of my car to inspect my bumper, and when I looked at her she was STILL on the phone. When she hung up, I leaned over to her window and said, "You know, it's a really fuucking bad idea to talk on the phone while you're driving." She then proceeded to jump out of the car and threatened to take a swing at me, all the time screaming "UPPITY BITCH!!!" It was one of the more interesting days of my life.

SarahPLiz

Texting is illegal here, but talking is not.
I don't think talking on the phone is any more distracting than listening to a morning show, having a conversation with a passenger or yelling at your kids, and those things are not illegal.
In fact, I often find that I am so concentrated on driving that I'm not even listening to what the person says.

And yes, texting at a stoplight is probably not legal, but the law is new and I'm not sure. However, if I am not moving, then there is no danger in texting, in my mind. I can still hear emergency vehicles. I don't think there is much concentration invoilved in sitting still in traffic.

aMrsin09

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_do-you-3?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding%20BoardsForum:9Discussion:9c0e90b5-449d-4423-9e15-a72327d44ca2Post:e7c3f34d-2463-4827-a80a-fd68dac9a07d">Re: Distracted Driving</a>:
[QUOTE]Texting is illegal here, but talking is not. I don't think talking on the phone is any more distracting than listening to a morning show, having a conversation with a passenger or yelling at your kids, and those things are not illegal.
Posted by SarahPLiz[/QUOTE]

This.  The insurance companies did a study a few years ago and it showed that changing the radio station caused more accidents than talking on the phone.  I am no more distracted on the phone than a mom who is fishing for the pacifier her kid spit out and is now screaming for.  If the mom who's child was killed by a driver that was yelling at her kids instead of a driver that was on the phone, would she be campaigning to have children outlawed from cars?  I doubt it.

tlv204

I never text, but often talk. Texting while driving is illegal here only for under 21 year olds, which I guess makes sense but I think it's funny. I always put my phone in my cup holder as soon as I get in the car, because I discovered that searching for my ringing phone in my purse on the floor causes way more issues than just talking.

I could swear that I read somewhere that hands free talking doesnt' make any difference and is just as dangerous. I also could swear I read that the reason talking on the phone is more dangerous than talking to people in the car is because if something happens while you're driving (car cuts you off, animal jumps in road, etc.) the other people in the car will react to it and possibly help you avoid collision, whereas people on the phone clearly do not since they're not there.

However, I have no research to support this whatsoever, I just think I remember it, so maybe don't listen to me.