Texting and Driving, Do you do it? Why?

[FirstV8]

I have blue tooth and an phone bracket with the controls on my steering wheel . So answering is a breeze . Using  GPS is the only reason i touch the phone . I dial the destination in before i leave office and only have to touch the screen to get it going . I never phone out while driving . 

[gummibear]

I have blue tooth and an phone bracket with the controls on my steering wheel . So answering is a breeze . 

You are still distracted even if you on a speaker.I try to keep conversation short or pull over.

[Vetplant]

Sadly I observe this more and more and it is going to get worse....

 

We are so attached to our phones nowadays, look around when you stop at a robot in traffic and notice how many people will have quick look at the cellphones while waiting for green (I often caught myself wanting to do the same when my mind drifts for a few seconds...)

 

And because so many of us do it, it's not even really socially unacceptable

It happens waaaay too many times that both guys in front of the queue at the traffic light are on their phones and don't realise the light turned green. Then you need to honk to get people moving and then someone else down the line gets cut off when it turns red, the perp suffers no loss for his/her selfishness.

[Quagga]

It happens waaaay too many times that both guys in front of the queue at the traffic light are on their phones and don't realise the light turned green. Then you need to honk to get people moving and then someone else down the line gets cut off when it turns red, the perp suffers no loss for his/her selfishness.

Exactly what happened to me this morning.....and I was stuck at red light for another Red light cycle...but hey their time is more important than ours

[Vetplant]

Sadly I observe this more and more and it is going to get worse....

 

We are so attached to our phones nowadays, look around when you stop at a robot in traffic and notice how many people will have quick look at the cellphones while waiting for green (I often caught myself wanting to do the same when my mind drifts for a few seconds...)

 

And because so many of us do it, it's not even really socially unacceptable

Smartphone are highly addictive and it is easy to be drawn into using it while driving.

 

I confess that yesterday afternoon on the way home I started up DSTV Now to follow the TDF Team Time Trial as it was in the heat of the moment. Followed it like I would follow a radio show, but did look accross where it is mounted on the bracket a couple of times when something exciting happened.

 

Fact is, it is something we need to be consciously aware of and we need to actively manage our interaction with our phones.

 

Best is to set your destination on Waze or whatever GPS app, mount it on the bracket and don't touch it again. Only answer calls if you have Bluetooth active and keep the discussion short.

 

Lastly, alcohol and driving needs a mention and one serious intervention. "Don't drink and drive" has lost its effectiveness. People say "ah, I'm not drunk, I am not a danger on the road"

 

We need to get in the habit that if you are planning to have even one drink, you need to have a plan in place for who is going to drive you home, don't leave it to chance and then that one beer becomes 3. And just like that two families are torn apart when you kill someone.

[Skubarra]

Smartphone are highly addictive and it is easy to be drawn into using it while driving.

 

Fact is, it is something we need to be consciously aware of and we need to actively manage our interaction with our phones.

 

 

Very true this - people are becoming way to addicted to their phones, it's bigger than just using your phones when driving.

 

(Every day is a conscious effort for me to restrict my interaction with my phone.)

 

Remember a thread few weeks back where someone was seriously annoyed that the new Garmins cannot do whatsapp - this is the point where we are now. I guess the Garmin that can also do whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram while you are riding is not far off.

[Quagga]

The people that voted for this option

"I text and drive, mind your own business (3 votes [5.36%])"

 

 

 

They are more than likely the 1st to shout when a car passes them within 1.2M

 

And will say things like

 

"no -one assisted when my car/house was being broken into.../ I was being attacked"

 

EDIT: 

 

Very good to see how many do NOT text and drive..... :-)

[dave303e]

I have bluetooth in the car for phone calls- as for the people saying you are distracted while talking on bluetooth, do you drive with your family and not speak to them at all in the car?

 

GPS, when you get in the car, you know where you are going, so start the GPS before leaving. not rocket science people.

 

The real thing they need to ban in cars is little kids, distracting their mom screaming and crying and causing k@k. the back seat should be sealed off from the driver unless there is someone else in the car to tend to them. The number of times a mom in an SUV is driving like sh!t trying to interact with a baby is a joke.

Makeup

tablets both the digital and non digital type, people popping uppers and pain meds and driving, it is illegal to race cars on myprodol but jonny with a hangover pops 2 and then drives.

Uber drivers- the worst when it comes to being distracted by technology while driving

[urbanroyal]

You are still distracted even if you on a speaker.I try to keep conversation short or pull over.

I don't get the distraction part....reason I'm saying this I'm a tour guide... and besides driving ...looking at the guys cycling up chappies whilst I'm delivering commentary etc....I'm yet to endanger anybodys life. For me the bluetooth built in is cool....it switches off the radio and mine is usually loud...so no more missed calls....I cover about 70 000kms a year.

[Quagga]

I don't get the distraction part....reason I'm saying this I'm a tour guide... and besides driving ...looking at the guys cycling up chappies whilst I'm delivering commentary etc....I'm yet to endanger anybodys life. For me the bluetooth built in is cool....it switches off the radio and mine is usually loud...so no more missed calls....I cover about 70 000kms a year.

I think you hvae learned this skill with experience....however for me that only drive 25min per trip twice a day it is different.

 

But the main problem here is people texting and looking down at there phones...I wont even mention the video watchers normally on Durban road in the afternoon

[Dirt Tracker]

I tend to only txt n ride. I don't text and drive as I'm too busy checking the hub on my phone and can't multi task.

 

Joking. Though it does seem in Cape Town and wider SA now that when you're in a car driving the thing is way down the list somewhere below doing make up, eating breakfast, reading the paper, using phone etc. 

 

And don't get me started on the 'keep left unless over taking' thing. That's a Friday thread on it's own. 

[Eldron]

I have bluetooth in the car for phone calls- as for the people saying you are distracted while talking on bluetooth, do you drive with your family and not speak to them at all in the car?

 

GPS, when you get in the car, you know where you are going, so start the GPS before leaving. not rocket science people.

 

The real thing they need to ban in cars is little kids, distracting their mom screaming and crying and causing k@k. the back seat should be sealed off from the driver unless there is someone else in the car to tend to them. The number of times a mom in an SUV is driving like **** trying to interact with a baby is a joke.

Makeup

tablets both the digital and non digital type, people popping uppers and pain meds and driving, it is illegal to race cars on myprodol but jonny with a hangover pops 2 and then drives.

Uber drivers- the worst when it comes to being distracted by technology while driving

 

Brace yourselves - we're going on a rant trip....

 

What comes through strongly on this and other safety threads in the "but theeeeeeeey do it" line. People justify their own "dangerous" behaviour by saying other people are the same/worse.

 

It's complete bullsh1t. Your behaviour is not connected to anyone else's behaviour. You get to choose your own safety level when driving. The perfect scenario is zero distractions in the car. Any distraction from there ups the danger level.

 

Kids in the car - they need to get to doctors, nursery school etc so you (hopefully) mitigate the risk by making sure they've eaten, done toilet duties etc so the risk of distraction is the lowest possible.

 

Family in the car on holiday. Chat when the road is open and quiet but try and keep distractions low when navigating traffic, road furniture etc.

 

Phone calls in the car ARE distracting - keep them to a minimum. The "well you talk to your family so I can make phone calls line" is bollocks. Actively decide on your own distraction/safety - control what you can control. You can't control other people - using their actions to justify your is ridiculous.

[Odinson]

Imagery-inducing distraction leads to cognitive tunnelling and deteriorated driving performance

 

https://www.medicaldaily.com/distracted-driving-hands-free-bluetooth-cell-phone-388911

 

• Dual tasking drivers experience attentional ‘cross talk’ between tasks.

• Conversation imposes visual demands which interfere with visual perception.
• Distraction leads to decreased visual awareness and poorer hazard detection.

 

 

 

Abstract

The effects of imagery-induced distraction on hazard perception and eye movements were investigated in 2 simulated driving experiments. Experiment 1: sixty participants viewed and responded to 2 driving films containing hazards. Group 1 completed the task without distraction; group 2 completed a concurrent imagery inducing telephone task; group 3 completed a non imagery inducing telephone task. Experiment 2: eye-tracking data were collected from forty-six participants while they reacted to hazards presented in 16 films of driving scenes. 8 films contained hazards presented in either central or peripheral vision and 8 contained no hazards. Half of the participants performed a concurrent imagery-inducing task. Compared to undistracted participants, dual-taskers were slower to respond to hazards; detected fewer hazards; committed more “looked but failed to see” errors; and demonstrated “visual tunnelling”. Telephone conversations may interfere with driving performance because the two tasks compete for similar processing resources, due to the imagery-evoking aspects of phone use.

[DieselnDust]

Smartphone are highly addictive and it is easy to be drawn into using it while driving.

 

I confess that yesterday afternoon on the way home I started up DSTV Now to follow the TDF Team Time Trial as it was in the heat of the moment. Followed it like I would follow a radio show, but did look accross where it is mounted on the bracket a couple of times when something exciting happened.

 

Fact is, it is something we need to be consciously aware of and we need to actively manage our interaction with our phones.

 

Best is to set your destination on Waze or whatever GPS app, mount it on the bracket and don't touch it again. Only answer calls if you have Bluetooth active and keep the discussion short.

 

Lastly, alcohol and driving needs a mention and one serious intervention. "Don't drink and drive" has lost its effectiveness. People say "ah, I'm not drunk, I am not a danger on the road"

 

We need to get in the habit that if you are planning to have even one drink, you need to have a plan in place for who is going to drive you home, don't leave it to chance and then that one beer becomes 3. And just like that two families are torn apart when you kill someone.

 

 

 

Good point.

I attended a race driver course in Italy many years ago. At the end of the course the instructor took us out and most of the fellow attendees got smashed. A bus was arranged for transport so no one had to drive back to the hotel. The sting in the tail was before  we could get our diplomas we had to pass a collision avoidance practical on the skidpan.

I was one of three who passed that day because we didn't have any alcohol during the celebrations. My company had paid for the course so I was on my best behavior.

However the point hit home. Even really good drivers can't drive well 8 hrs after drinking alcohol so how can someone who has only acquired a K53 drive within a couple of hours after getting smashed at the rugby match?

I get drunk at home if at all. I'm boring that way

[Quagga]

Brace yourselves - we're going on a rant trip....

 

What comes through strongly on this and other safety threads in the "but theeeeeeeey do it" line. People justify their own "dangerous" behaviour by saying other people are the same/worse.

 

It's complete bullsh1t. Your behaviour is not connected to anyone else's behaviour. You get to choose your own safety level when driving. The perfect scenario is zero distractions in the car. Any distraction from there ups the danger level.

 

Kids in the car - they need to get to doctors, nursery school etc so you (hopefully) mitigate the risk by making sure they've eaten, done toilet duties etc so the risk of distraction is the lowest possible.

 

Family in the car on holiday. Chat when the road is open and quiet but try and keep distractions low when navigating traffic, road furniture etc.

 

Phone calls in the car ARE distracting - keep them to a minimum. The "well you talk to your family so I can make phone calls line" is bollocks. Actively decide on your own distraction/safety - control what you can control. You can't control other people - using their actions to justify your is ridiculous.

   Well said SIR

[Allrounder]

Very true this - people are becoming way to addicted to their phones, it's bigger than just using your phones when driving.

 

(Every day is a conscious effort for me to restrict my interaction with my phone.)

 

Remember a thread few weeks back where someone was seriously annoyed that the new Garmins cannot do whatsapp - this is the point where we are now. I guess the Garmin that can also do whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram while you are riding is not far off.

 

 

Smartphone are highly addictive and it is easy to be drawn into using it while driving.

 

 

 

I used to spend a lot of time on my phone. Couple of months ago, phone meets paving. And I decided that there are better things to do with the amount of cash they want to fix the screen. Took out my old iPhone 4S. 

 

Addiction solved. whatsapp less, surf less, no games. It is so slow that it is a frustration to use. So now I just use it when I need to. It does not even support strava anymore. 

 

Did I say it is slow? If I open whatsapp it takes about 10 seconds to open the already open app....