Behind the Wheel - Texting & Driving

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I listened to an interesting interview on CBC Radio this morning. A young woman from Edmonton was being interviewed about texting on her cell phone at the same time that she was driving her car. To add to the distraction, she would also smoke and eat while she was texting.

This was not a big deal. Yes, she had narrowly missed pedestrians in a crosswalk once and would frequently fail to notice that the traffic light had turned green as she focused on the text message. I just need more practice to get better at it was the observation that she made to the interviewer.

Thank goodness I don't live in Edmonton because I don't want to meet her!

No problem said ex-Solicitor General John Les, BC had plenty of laws to deal with drivers who use a cell phone while driving. This is true, but really only after that driver has done something wrong like failing to see a red light or straying onto the wrong side of the road. Then police can write a ticket for the bad driving behaviour.

What about driving without reasonable consideration for others using the highway or driving without due care and attention, both offences under the Motor Vehicle Act? In my experience it is difficult to obtain a conviction for these offences after a crash. It is highly unlikely that the court will convict just because the driver is holding a conversation with one hand and the lives of those around them on the highway in the other.

Do we need a preventative law? A law that realizes that using a cell phone to talk or text while driving is a dangerous thing and stings the driver before something bad happens because they are distracted? Some Canadian provinces agreed with this viewpoint. Newfoundland led the way followed by Quebec and Nova Scotia in prohibiting the use of a hand held cell phone while driving. Unless drivers choose to hang up and drive on their own I think that it is time for the BC Legislature to have another look at the subject.

Reference Links

[blueripper6]

yea. Its not gonna stop me though... i text and drive all day

[Eleanor]

Originally posted by blueripper6
yea. Its not gonna stop me though... i text and drive all day

[rinny]

Originally posted by blueripper6
yea. Its not gonna stop me though... i text and drive all day

I'll admit it, I do too...but I have successfully mastered the text while not looking at my phone, so Im able to stop at the red lights, but do narrowly miss pedestrians occasionally.

[86_lude_86]

ya i will admit i text and drive too but like rinny i dont have to look at my phone to send a message.

[nightfx]

Saw a woman smoking and steering with her left hand and texting with her right the other day. Pretty damn scary watching her drive.

[MR.Ladner]

yeah i text and drive all the time...im prolly texting at least 80% of the time while driving but i dont have to look at my phone only to read the text i can type with it on my lap...im that good

[gqmw]

^LOL, I try to bring my phone up to the steering wheel, so that at least I can see the road while I read the text, instead of looking down even if it's for a second.

[MR.Ladner]

well i better be good at it i get around 1000 texts a week...every day i empty my inbox like 4 times...its crazy...i live by texting i dont know why???

[gqmw]

Originally posted by MR.Ladner
well i better be good at it i get around 1000 texts a week...every day i empty my inbox like 4 times...its crazy...i live by texting i dont know why???

I text a lot too
hahaha get a blackberry, you won't have to empty it as much..

[codetrap]

Bah.. the only time I ever had an issue doing email on my BB was when I was riding my Katana, and I had to switch my other hand from my cheeseburger to my beer while responding to an email in the other.

I almost dropped my beer....

[no_joke]

Don't worry, I only text and drive in playground zones and by old folks' homes.

[GC84ever]

Did anyone watch Canada's Worst Driver 2?
They did a simple test of driving around a circle. Everybody passed the first time without distractions. But once they started doing other stuff, it got dramatically worse. The things they did was eat a sandwich, put on makeup, make a cell phone call.
There was a so-called master multi-tasker and he failed like everyone else. Basically you might as well be drunk.

Unfortunately, it's one of the laws that will be hard to enforce. And with all the blue-tooth technology in cars nowadays, cellphone in cars will never disappear.

[86_lude_86]

Originally posted by GC84ever
Did anyone watch Canada's Worst Driver 2?
They did a simple test of driving around a circle. Everybody passed the first time without distractions. But once they started doing other stuff, it got dramatically worse. The things they did was eat a sandwich, put on makeup, make a cell phone call.
There was a so-called master multi-tasker and he failed like everyone else. Basically you might as well be drunk.

Unfortunately, it's one of the laws that will be hard to enforce. And with all the blue-tooth technology in cars nowadays, cellphone in cars will never disappear.

i would have to agree. either way its a distration but i would like to see the cps trying to pull people over and giving tickets for using a cell phone.

[canuckcarguy]

some drivers are bad, and being distracted makes them worse. But plenty of people are competent enough to drive and use a cell phone or send text messages.

Until they ban the drive-through, CB radios, stereos, passengers, GPS, and all controls not within reach of hands upon the steering wheel, I figure cell phones should be Kosher.

Isn't there a certain irony that cops will be asked to enforce cellphone legislation while using their onboard computer, talking on the CB radio, and eating a donut?

[MR.Ladner]

Originally posted by codetrap
Bah.. the only time I ever had an issue doing email on my BB was when I was riding my Katana, and I had to switch my other hand from my cheeseburger to my beer while responding to an email in the other.

I almost dropped my beer....

ohhhh i sure lol'd over that one...hahaha....

im not going to stop using my phone as a drive...if i were to get pulled over and issued a ticket for it...still not going to stop me...my phone is my one cummunication as a drive and i need to use it for many reasons so just like wearing a seatbelt...lots of people dont and there is actually a ticket for it...nothing cops ever doo will stop me and many others from texting while driving...its not gonna end...unless the invest some kinda device that disables cell phones once you get into a car or somthing...i dunno

[86_lude_86]

Originally posted by canuckcarguy
some drivers are bad, and being distracted makes them worse. But plenty of people are competent enough to drive and use a cell phone or send text messages.

Until they ban the drive-through, CB radios, stereos, passengers, GPS, and all controls not within reach of hands upon the steering wheel, I figure cell phones should be Kosher.

Isn't there a certain irony that cops will be asked to enforce cellphone legislation while using their onboard computer, talking on the CB radio, and eating a donut?

no kidding. i always love watchin cops driving around using a laptop. and ya everything is really a distraction wonder what will end up happening

[r0g3r]

i got a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt once, it was $110. I wasn't even driving at the time, my mom was, she also got a ticket. Now whenever i get into a car the first thing that comes to mind is, seatbelt...wear it...

As for texting while driving, I never really had to do that, as I just call the person back instead

[86_lude_86]

personally i would rather text a person then actaully talk. its like msn. i really dont have a full need to make a call and have a conversaion to say like one thing so i will send a text.

[MR.Ladner]

Originally posted by r0g3r
i got a ticket for not wearing a seatbelt once, it was $110. I wasn't even driving at the time, my mom was, she also got a ticket. Now whenever i get into a car the first thing that comes to mind is, seatbelt...wear it...

As for texting while driving, I never really had to do that, as I just call the person back instead

thats cuz your not cool like us texting whores...hahaha... ive gotten a seat belt ticket...right after i got the ticket i left without my seatbelt on...i hate seatbelts..ive been in a few car accients...not even all mine while driving but its safe to say the one accidnet i was wearing a seatbelt was the one that hurt me the most...and ive wrote off a cavalier stopped on the highway going 110...without a seatbelt nor airbag...i only had a sore arm and shoulder...so im ture to not wearing a seatbelt cuz i think they are more pain in the ass then anything...somthing falls at your feet...can you get it NOPE seatbelt holds you back...oh no then it goes under your brake pedle and SMASH into a car...well seatbelt may have kept you in place but sure made your car a hurting unit......so people wont change...never happen...there will always bee contriversy on this tipic i garentee that but it wont make people stop texting nor think its wrong