Do you think its OK to text and drive because you're a great driver? If so, chances are you're a guy.
A new study published in the International Journal of Sustainable Strategic Management found that 4 out of 5 college students texted while driving, and that males in particular were more likely to downplay the dangers of distracted driving, because they believed they were skilled drivers.
Yes, you can get a ticket for driving while wearing the new eyewear-like Google Glass wearable computer, which is now being tested nationwide for possible entry into the consumer market.
Cecilia Abadie, 44, who lives in Temecula and works at a golf store in San Diego, got just such a ticket Tuesday night after being stopped by a California Highway Patrol officer on Interstate 15 for speeding.
Effective Wednesday, Illinois law will provide: "(b) A person may not operate a motor vehicle on a roadway while using an electronic communication device." 625 ILCS 5/12-610.2. A hand held cell phone is such a device. First offense: $75 fine. Only use for texting was previously prohibited.
Unclear whether violation of this criminal statute will constitute negligence per se with respect to any harm resulting to another, or bar your ability to claim collision insurance coverage for damage to your own property. A Senate Floor Amendment provided the first offense is not considered a "moving violation" for insurance or license purposes.
So, all the most populous states (besides Texas) now have such a ban.
A sophisticated, real-world study confirms that dialing, texting or reaching for a cellphone while driving raises the risk of a crash or near miss, especially for younger drivers. But the research also produced a surprise: Simply talking on the phone did not prove dangerous, as it has in other studies.
My real world experience leads me to believe that talking on a cell phone does pose a safety risk. I stopped driving while talking on a cell phone back when I drove ten miles while gabbing away with a friend on my car phone before I realized I had no memory at all of those ten miles! I was totally on autopilot.
Janette
Posts: 674 | Location: Austin, Texas, United States | Registered: March 28, 2001
"Reading and texting on a phone influence your ability to walk, but the problems we see are much greater when you text than when you read," says the study's lead author, physical therapist Siobhan Schabrun of the University of Western Sydney in Australia. "It is hard not to (text while walking), but people have to be very careful. … We need to be aware."
Almost 7 in 10 American drivers — 69% — rate their fellow drivers who text, e-mail or talk on a phone while driving as among the most aggravating motorists on the road.
In an associated thread, I suggested the easiest way to keep someone from talking on the phone while driving was to make that conduct a form of negligence for purposes of civil liability. Last week the Texas Supreme Court may have moved in that direction by determining the failure to wear a seat belt is now a form of negligence in Nabors Well Services v. Romero. Not sure how much weight jurors will assess to this, but I am betting it will influence insurance settlements. The court recognized that proportionate responsibility incorporates both occurrence-causing and injury-causing conduct and that a plaintiff who breaks the law or otherwise acts negligently by not using a seat belt is at least partially responsible for the harm that befalls him.
The court seemed to find some support (or courage) in the fact that seat belts "have become an unquestioned part of daily life for the vast majority of drivers and passengers." The opposite is still true for cell phone drivers, but the causation issue is clearer, so, beware, the rule may change.This message has been edited. Last edited by: Martin Peterson,
