walking and texting

[theletch1]

Chicago (if I understood the report correctly) passed this law this week. What do you think? Too Big Brother? Good idea to protect people from themselves? Me? I'm waiting for the "No walking and chewing gum" law to pass.

 

[Nolerama]

Haha. I don't think that'll pass. It's a way for the opposition to concede to what he really wants.

I do think there should be some sort of indication that you're on a Bluetooth earpiece, though. It's crazy when all of a sudden, the person you're talking to goes off into la-la land because he or she got a call.

 

[arnisador]

Yeah, they drive me crazy too!

 

[Marginal]

Chicago (if I understood the report correctly) passed this law this week. What do you think? Too Big Brother? Good idea to protect people from themselves? Me? I'm waiting for the "No walking and chewing gum" law to pass.

Seems like common sense would cover that. If you can't pay attention to where you're going, you deserve to walk into traffic.

Just using a cell phone seems to be enough to short circuit some people. I was coming out of the men's bathroom at a local mall and a girl was walking straight in until the janitor yelled "Hey!" at her. Then she stopped, looked at me, looked at the men's sign... Then it all clicked home and she finally retreated. :uhyeah:

 

[MJS]

Chicago (if I understood the report correctly) passed this law this week. What do you think? Too Big Brother? Good idea to protect people from themselves? Me? I'm waiting for the "No walking and chewing gum" law to pass.

The state I live in has a law against using a cell phone while driving. You need to use a hands free device. When the law was first passed, it was actively enforced, however, IMO, it seems to have declined. Don't get me wrong, cops still enforce it, but anytime something new is passed it has its phase, then slows.

As for this...basically if have to stop moving if you want to use your phone outside. I think its taking it to the extreme and I'm sure like the no driving law, it'll have its decline as well.

On the other hand, I've seen some dumb *** moves on the road while people were talking on the phone, so I can only imagine people getting so wrapped up in a conversation, that they're walking into traffic.

 

[stickarts]

The state I live in has a law against using a cell phone while driving. You need to use a hands free device. When the law was first passed, it was actively enforced, however, IMO, it seems to have declined. Don't get me wrong, cops still enforce it, but anytime something new is passed it has its phase, then slows.
c.

Yeah, I see it done here all the time, I almost got hit by one woman who was driving, talking and laughing on her cell phone, and eating! She nearly rammed me and didn't appear to even notice!

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

The absolute worse thing I saw recently was someone driving and reading a novel.

What is up with that?

 

[Sukerkin]

Blimey. Brian! I was going to post to say that in my student days I used to walk and read but I always had the good sense to stop reading and look about every now and again.

As to using a phone whilst driving, that is illegal here in England and rightly so.

The statistics are pretty unambiguous at something like a 400% increase in the accident rate for those who use a mobile in the car.

 

[MJS]

Yeah, I see it done here all the time, I almost got hit by one woman who was driving, talking and laughing on her cell phone, and eating! She nearly rammed me and didn't appear to even notice!

And then if you should happen to hit the horn, in an effort to alert this person to the accident they almost caused, they flip you off, and yell at you out the window, in an attempt to make it look as if they did nothing wrong and you are the bad guy. Go figure.

 

[MA-Caver]

Seems like common sense would cover that. If you can't pay attention to where you're going, you deserve to walk into traffic.

Just using a cell phone seems to be enough to short circuit some people. I was coming out of the men's bathroom at a local mall and a girl was walking straight in until the janitor yelled "Hey!" at her. Then she stopped, looked at me, looked at the men's sign... Then it all clicked home and she finally retreated. :uhyeah:

The Janitor shouldn't have said anything and let her find out the hard way to PAY ATTENTION!!
One gal I know did that... after dinner at a restaurant with a group of friends she had to go... quick! Rushed in to the nearest facility. We all sat out in the truck waiting... she came roaring out and jumped in the truck face red as a beet.
Seems that she managed to get all the way into a stall without anyone in there and when she came out there were a few using the urinals and she realized where/which bathroom she was in.
She said the men just grinned and shrugged their shoulders. Funny... never let her live it down to this day.

People who can walk and text at the same time ... sheesh... we're too hooked into our systems. Time for a break. I'd say we nuke all communication facilities.

 

[Jade Tigress]

Illinois is the worst state for laws. I swear there's a law against every stupid thing you can think of.

I'm with Marginal on this one.

If you can't pay attention to where you're going, you deserve to walk into traffic.

I can't remember what show this was on, or what city it was, but they were filming people walking and texting, showing them walking smackdab into streetlamp poles, walls, etc. It was funny, but jeez people, just look up every once in a while. Do we really need a law for this?

 

[Kacey]

And then if you should happen to hit the horn, in an effort to alert this person to the accident they almost caused, they flip you off, and yell at you out the window, in an attempt to make it look as if they did nothing wrong and you are the bad guy. Go figure.

I honked at someone who nearly hit me while he was backing out of a parking space; he followed me to where I parked, said something like "Your horn works" in a very sarcastic tone... I asked him if I should have let him hit me instead and he gave me a dirty look, said something about how I should have backed up out of his way (he was coming out of a space; I was driving around the lot looking for one - I had the right of way) and drove off making rude hand gestures because (from the comments I heard) I had startled him when I honked. I thought getting the other driver's attention was the point of the horn? :idunno:

 

[stickarts]

And then if you should happen to hit the horn, in an effort to alert this person to the accident they almost caused, they flip you off, and yell at you out the window, in an attempt to make it look as if they did nothing wrong and you are the bad guy. Go figure.

LOL! Thats true!

 

[stickarts]

I honked at someone who nearly hit me while he was backing out of a parking space; he followed me to where I parked, said something like "Your horn works" in a very sarcastic tone... I asked him if I should have let him hit me instead and he gave me a dirty look, said something about how I should have backed up out of his way (he was coming out of a space; I was driving around the lot looking for one - I had the right of way) and drove off making rude hand gestures because (from the comments I heard) I had startled him when I honked. I thought getting the other driver's attention was the point of the horn? :idunno:

The problem in your approach is that you were trying to use logic with someone that had none!

 

[JadecloudAlchemist]

I don't get texting.

Here

Warning may have offensive language.

 

[MA-Caver]

Illinois is the worst state for laws. I swear there's a law against every stupid thing you can think of.

I'm with Marginal on this one.


I can't remember what show this was on, or what city it was, but they were filming people walking and texting, showing them walking smackdab into streetlamp poles, walls, etc. It was funny, but jeez people, just look up every once in a while. Do we really need a law for this?

Heck no! Let 'em... we all could use a laugh once a day at least. Makes for great videos... eventually it'll sink in to people. Safety through humiliation.

 

[shesulsa]

Illinois is the worst state for laws. I swear there's a law against every stupid thing you can think of.

I'm with Marginal on this one.


I can't remember what show this was on, or what city it was, but they were filming people walking and texting, showing them walking smackdab into streetlamp poles, walls, etc. It was funny, but jeez people, just look up every once in a while. Do we really need a law for this?

I agree. Which mob has taken over Illinois, anyway?

 

[RandomPhantom700]

I agree with the laws about using cell phones while driving because you're a danger to pedestrians and other drivers; when in control of a vehicle, you need split-second reaction time, which (I think hands-free or not) you don't have while concentrating on a message or conversation.

While walking though? The only danger is to yourself, and even then it's much easier to say "oh sh**!" and jump back out of the street at the last second, as opposed to while driving, when by the time you realize that danger, it's probably too late. There's also room for error, I think, in enforcement: a guy stops walking to receive a call, then moves to an ATM 5 feet away to punch in a code while on the phone. Did he break the law?

 

[theletch1]

I drive for a living and have used a bluetooth for about as long as the things have been out. It's amazing to watch a car rolling down the interstate nice and smooth, watch them pick up their phone and immediately begin weaving like a drunk. I have no problem with cell phone laws while driving. That is a general public safety issue. My problem with this law is that it's another in the long line of what I call the "Anti-Darwin Award" laws. Laws that are created to protect us from ourselves. I'm big on personal responsibility. I've always considered myself a conservative but lately am discovering that I'm much more of a libertarian at heart on a lot of matters. If you want to ride a motorcycle without a helmet, go ahead, but don't come whining to me when your brains are laying on the ground. You want to text while crossing the street, go ahead, but don't come whining to me when you get run over. Laws like these simply let the sheeple of this country off the hook just a little bit more from common sense and taking personal responsibility.

 

[MJS]

I honked at someone who nearly hit me while he was backing out of a parking space; he followed me to where I parked, said something like "Your horn works" in a very sarcastic tone... I asked him if I should have let him hit me instead and he gave me a dirty look, said something about how I should have backed up out of his way (he was coming out of a space; I was driving around the lot looking for one - I had the right of way) and drove off making rude hand gestures because (from the comments I heard) I had startled him when I honked. I thought getting the other driver's attention was the point of the horn? :idunno:

A similar story. I was leaving the grocery store on a Sunday morning. I was approaching a traffic light. At this point, the road splits into 3 lanes...1 to turn left only, the middle to just go straight, and the right to go straight or right. A gas station is on the corner. A woman is attempting a left out of the station and began her turn as I was approaching. I saw this, and to avoid a crash, I stopped, and motioned her to go, while saying, "Are you gonna go?" Now, I didn't say this loud enough for her to hear me, but she obviously saw my mouth moving.

As luck would have it, the light is red, so I can't turn, and sure enough, she pulls into the middle lane, so now we're side by side. It was warm, so the windows are down, and she starts to yell at me while we're at the light. Despite my attempts to tell her that I did was I did to avoid a crash, it wasn't working. As hard as it was to not say a few choice words and hurl a few insults her way, the light, after what seemed like forever, finally changed, and I went on my way.

As usual, in both our cases here, fine examples of people making a mistake, we try to bring it to their attention and somehow, we are the bad guys.