Distracted Driving - Just A Cash Grab?

[schocker]

gahhhhh this is awesome, they are pulling over bike couriers who are running lights etc. now too
They seem to have a new 2014 Ram 1500 crew cab in navy also

[Seth1968]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt


Yes it is legal:

- using a cell phone in hands-free mode - this means the device is not held in the driver's hand and is activated by voice or a single touch to the device

But good luck convincing an officer of that. You're screwed either way.

People get tickets for being on their phones without even having a phone in the car at all, or for driving a manual transmission because their hands disappeared for too long from the officer's view so there was a chance they touched a phone. You can bet if you touch your phone you're getting a ticket, since you can't prove you just touched it once. Guilty until proven innocent with wildly ambiguous laws like distracted driving. Just like it's illegal to even HOLD onto your cell phone, but you can hold a boiling hot cup of coffee or lit cigarette no problem. If an officer glances over when you happen to be accepting the phone call I would bet any money you get the ticket.

So you go to court, your word against the officer's, you instantly lose once again.

Many cases I'm sure the officer does honestly believe you used your phone or whatever, but it doesn't matter if you did or not, you're the one who has to go to court with it where you will lose if the officer shows up. Best case scenario the ticket gets reduced or thrown out at the cost of a vacation day, which for most people are probably worth $300-500.

+1

[clem24]

Originally posted by rage2
Wonder if you'll get a ticket driving around like this haha.



Make sure you point your dashcam the other way for evidence in case you do get one.

WAY too fucking funny because your prayers have been answered:

http://www.thesource.ca/estore/produ...roduct=8012419

[Cos]

.

[firebane]

Prohibited only in BC She could drive elsewhere though. But still fucking awesome.

[killramos]

To be fair that was over 5 years. Somehow 3 distracted driving infractions in a year doesn't seem that excessive to me. I know people who always use their phones who must get that many a year?.

Shit luck more than anything or maybe a flagged file after almost running down the officer?



Based on the the comments of that CBC article it seems the public thinks she deserves a worse sentence than Omar Kadr

[firebane]

Originally posted by killramos
To be fair that was over 5 years. Somehow 3 distracted driving infractions in a year doesn't seem that excessive to me. I know people who always use their phones who must get that many a year?.

Shit luck more than anything or maybe a flagged file after almost running down the officer?



Based on the the comments of that CBC article it seems the public thinks she deserves a worse sentence than Omar Kadr

1 distracted is too many. I can even say myself I just don't bother anymore as I don't feel anything on my phone is worth looking at while driving.

[Feruk]

I love how the article mentions a 234% increase in tickets year over year for distracted driving. Another case of where "people just aren't getting it." Or is that the cops that don't get it? Tickets don't change behavior.

[bjstare]

Originally posted by killramos
To be fair that was over 5 years. Somehow 3 distracted driving infractions in a year doesn't seem that excessive to me. I know people who always use their phones who must get that many a year?.

Shit luck more than anything or maybe a flagged file after almost running down the officer?



Based on the the comments of that CBC article it seems the public thinks she deserves a worse sentence than Omar Kadr

If a person makes any type of infraction 14 times, they clearly DGAF and other measures need to be taken to get the point through their thick skull. 3 tickets for the same thing, every year? That's a shitload, IMO. And if she's not paying attention frequently enough to get caught that many times, I seriously doubt she has the ability to drive safely.

[lilmira]

Originally posted by firebane
Prohibited only in BC She could drive elsewhere though. But still fucking awesome.

I wonder what having this on the record may do to her insurance?

No problem with this at all. They should do the same for drunk driving.

[killramos]

Originally posted by cjblair


If a person makes any type of infraction 14 times, they clearly DGAF and other measures need to be taken to get the point through their thick skull. 3 tickets for the same thing, every year? That's a shitload, IMO. And if she's not paying attention frequently enough to get caught that many times, I seriously doubt she has the ability to drive safely.

Oh don't worry, i think distracted driving is stupid and wrong and that this girl probably shouldn't be allowed not leave her own home. She deserves the prohibition.

I just don't think nearly as many people would be advocating for taking her license for 3 DD tickets in a year is all.

Who cares enough about their cell phone to risk those tickets, beyond me

[Sugarphreak]

...

[firebane]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak


I can almost guarantee that being this was Richmond, she is just a bad driver with or without a phone in her hand

Goes back to my point that we need tougher driver training, and not everybody should be able to get a driver's licence.

It was... look at the image in the article lol.

[gretz]

"According to one expert, distracted driving, especially texting while driving, will become the largest cause of youth driver deaths in Canada in the not too distant future, overtaking impaired driving and speeding."

It's a wonder how any of us are still here considering this was legal at one time and it's more likely to die distracted than wasted behind the wheel...

[killramos]

Originally posted by gretz
"According to one expert, distracted driving, especially texting while driving, will become the largest cause of youth driver deaths in Canada in the not too distant future, overtaking impaired driving and speeding."

It's a wonder how any of us are still here considering this was legal at one time and it's more likely to die distracted than wasted behind the wheel...

Don't even try to pretend that cell phone usage patterns haven't changed at all in the last decade.

People aren't just accepting calls on their Nokia or sending 10 character messages like kk, sup, or omw anymore.

People are using their phones for everything, using touch screens ( which require far more user concentration to use than old key based phones ), updating Facebook, twitter, instagram, looking up a new song to stream to their car, checking the weather, sports scores. In addition to what everyone else did before. Heck people write paragraphs for text messages these days because smartphones let them easier than ever before.

Also consider, for the older demographics on here, that younger people use their phones an order of magnitude more than you do. Younger people are also less likely to be in a car with things like standard Bluetooth for answering calls than someone older ( and with more money ). Teens these days even still use their phones more than even young adults in their 20's do.

It doesn't surprise me in the least that doing all those things while driving is a leading cause of death.

[Sugarphreak]

...

[gretz]

Originally posted by killramos


Don't even try to pretend that cell phone usage patterns haven't changed at all in the last decade.

People aren't just accepting calls on their Nokia or sending 10 character messages like kk, sup, or omw anymore.

People are using their phones for everything, using touch screens ( which require far more user concentration to use than old key based phones ), updating Facebook, twitter, instagram, looking up a new song to stream to their car, checking the weather, sports scores. In addition to what everyone else did before. Heck people write paragraphs for text messages these days because smartphones let them easier than ever before.

Also consider, for the older demographics on here, that younger people use their phones an order of magnitude more than you do. Younger people are also less likely to be in a car with things like standard Bluetooth for answering calls than someone older ( and with more money ). Teens these days even still use their phones more than even young adults in their 20's do.

It doesn't surprise me in the least that doing all those things while driving is a leading cause of death.

I am devils advocating here, so grain of salt it lol

You do admit that people were accepting calls back then and sending text messages (10 char.), are you saying phone calls and short texts were acceptable / safe?

I don't believe touch screen texting (one button per letter) requires more attention than the 3/4 button pushes per letter (old nokia) for texting, coupled with awesome auto-correct we have now, making it " easier than ever before" to do what we used to.

So you are also saying the "bad apples" committing the atrocity of things such as "selecting songs to stream" (which is pressing a button and saying the song title) are more unsafe than looking for that CD your friend burned for you in that CD packed visor overhead? lol

I do agree, texting and driving (much like anything in the perfect storm circumstance) can be dangerous. I don't agree with the "phone call" being an offence. Even if you follow every rule of the road / drive perfectly, you get demerit points because your hand is on your head.

Edit - sugar, you monster lol

[rage2]

You could type a message without looking at the phone using a t9 or even a touch keyboard. You can't do that with a touchscreen without looking to make sure you're typing properly due to the lack of tactile feel of the keys.

Funny enough, this was why it took me so long to switch to an iPhone, because I couldn't text and drive without being distracted haha.

[killramos]

Originally posted by gretz


I am devils advocating here, so grain of salt it lol

You do admit that people were accepting calls back then and sending text messages (10 char.), are you saying phone calls and short texts were acceptable / safe?

I don't believe touch screen texting (one button per letter) requires more attention than the 3/4 button pushes per letter (old nokia) for texting, coupled with awesome auto-correct we have now, making it " easier than ever before" to do what we used to.

So you are also saying the "bad apples" committing the atrocity of things such as "selecting songs to stream" (which is pressing a button and saying the song title) are more unsafe than looking for that CD your friend burned for you in that CD packed visor overhead? lol

I do agree, texting and driving (much like anything in the perfect storm circumstance) can be dangerous. I don't agree with the "phone call" being an offence. Even if you follow every rule of the road / drive perfectly, you get demerit points because your hand is on your head.

Edit - sugar, you monster lol

The problem with the touch screen texting is that you have to look at your phone to do it with any semblance of proficiency. Whereas with previous tactile phones you could often do it without taking your eyes off the road. I am not saying that was safe.

But the individual actions themselves are not all I am getting at its that lots of people near constantly use their phones while driving. The rule rather than the exception compared to 10 years ago.

Do i think answering a phone call, physically while driving is dangerous? Maybe, not nearly as dangerous as everything else people are doing on their phones.

I think everyone is on the same page that, similar to alcohol or even sleep deprevation, any amount of distraction from the duties of driving CAN be dangerous.

I think for a good long while people used their phones reasonably responsibly while driving. That changed, people started abusing it and accidents and deaths went up accordingly. I think the mass use of smartphones is a big factor in that. Guess what happened? Now its illegal.

We only have ourselves and a society who refuses to acknowledge the root causes of anything to blame.

[dandia89]

Originally posted by rage2
You could type a message without looking at the phone using a t9 or even a touch keyboard. You can't do that with a touchscreen without looking to make sure you're typing properly due to the lack of tactile feel of the keys.

Funny enough, this was why it took me so long to switch to an iPhone, because I couldn't text and drive without being distracted haha.

blackberry was a game changer haha