Texting Taking a Deadly Toll on Roads

[Donger]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20100924...dlytollonroads

THURSDAY, Sept. 23 (HealthDay News) -- Distracted driving fatalities caused by cell phone use and texting soared in the space of three years, according to new U.S. government research released Thursday.

Texting alone caused more than 16,000 deaths in car accidents from 2001 to 2007, the researchers estimated. But auto deaths involving cell phones and texting while driving rose 28 percent in just three years, from 4,572 in 2005 to 5,870 in 2008.

"The increases in distracted driving seem to be largely driven by increased use of cell phones to text," said lead researcher Fernando Wilson, an assistant professor in the School of Public Health at the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth.

"Overall use of cell phones have been pretty steady, but texting volumes have increased dramatically in the last few years," he added.

Distracted driving and its deadly toll was the focus of a government summit this week in Washington, D.C., at which officials called for tougher laws to counter the growing trend. They reported that more than 5,000 people were killed last year in distracted driving crashes.

In January, the government banned truck and bus drivers who travel interstate roadways from using a handheld device to send text messages.

The latest report, published online Sept. 23 in the American Journal of Public Health, uses data from the National Center for Statistics and Analysis's Fatality Analysis Reporting System, which recorded all fatalities that occurred on public roads in the United States from 1999 to 2008.

Wilson's team found that drunk drivers are less inhibited about using cell phones as they drive. And there were also increased crashes into light poles, trees and other objects, with men involved in growing numbers.

"All this is consistent with people not paying attention while they are driving," Wilson said.

Solving the problem is complex, Wilson noted. He has no ready answers, but he suggested that "we need technologies that inhibit cell phone use while driving" and that more effective law enforcement of cell phone bans would also help.

Frank Drews, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Utah, said that "this is a timely study that adds another piece to the literature on driver distraction."

Drews added: "With work like this, it will be a little bit harder to deny that cell phone use while driving has a significant negative impact on public safety. I think at this point, once again, the question comes to mind, how much more scientific evidence will politicians need to put laws in place that protect the public from the dangers associated with cell phone use while driving?"

Jennifer Smith, a board member of FocusDriven, which advocates against cell phone use while driving, put it more bluntly.

The more than 5,000 traffic deaths each year from cell phone use is "equivalent to a major airliner going down every week in this country," she said. "If that was happening, they would ground all flights until they figured out what the problem was and they solved it. But because everyone likes their cell phones, we have to debate this."

Smith noted that all cell phone use when driving -- including hands-free cell phone use -- is dangerous. "All we need to be doing in our cars is driving. No phone call is that important that you can't wait until you stop," she said.

[OnTheWarpath15]

I was stuck behind a tractor trailer on 70 yesterday driving to KC. Dude was all over the place, and doing about 65 in the fast lane.

Finally got around him, and sure as shit, he's texting.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by L.A.Chieffan

They passed the California law that you cant talk on your cell while driving. That shit is a joke, I see cops still on their phones all the time

They passed that law and I still see everyone talking on their cell phones. That law did jack shit.

[Pants]

Originally Posted by Slayer

You gripe about how horrible I am for saying the smartest can get out of the way in time, yet post in the same thread that even you managed to dodge the exact situation I was talking about?

FAIL.

Yes, because obviously the situation will ALWAYS present itself in a way where escape is possible. If there were cars in front of me and behind me, I'm either in the ditch and paying for the damages myself or I get rear ended because I slam my breaks to avoid the dumbshit merging into me or I let the Murano hit me.

It doesn't matter how smart or skilled Slayer is (which is not much, obviously) he won't always have the chance to escape the shitty driving of a person not paying attention.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

Ought to be serious license revocation penalties for texting while driving. It's tempting to treat it like DUI for chrissakes. It's dangerous as hell.

How are you going to prove someone is texting? You see a cop start to follow you? Delete it.

If he says I'm texting when driving I'd ask him how he knows, and indicate I was using my GPS on my phone. There is really nothing I can think of to curb texting.

[Slayer Diablo]

Originally Posted by Brock

If you're sitting at a poker table and can't figure out who the dumbshit is....

Bah! I resent every one of those wild allegations! I'm 22, I'm not wise, I've seen more of the world than most, and I've done things that...oh, not falling into that trap. Let's just say you wouldn't even think of doing those things for a Klondike Bar.

Now, maybe I am a little optimistic for the average person's ability to get away from a dumbass on a cell phone...after all, there are hundreds of thousands of people who have been unable to get away from drunk drivers in time. Still, it's already unnatural enough for people to be in 2-ton machines, cruising at 45-90 mph...so we have to accept the additional risk.

[ClevelandBronco]

I'm posting this thank-you reply from the scene of the accident that I just caused.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by BWillie007

How are you going to prove someone is texting? You see a cop start to follow you? Delete it.

If he says I'm texting when driving I'd ask him how he knows, and indicate I was using my GPS on my phone. There is really nothing I can think of to curb texting.

Except the bloody fiery deaths of your victims...

[Slayer Diablo]

Originally Posted by Metrolike

Yes, because obviously the situation will ALWAYS present itself in a way where escape is possible. If there were cars in front of me and behind me, I'm either in the ditch and paying for the damages myself or I get rear ended because I slam my breaks to avoid the dumbshit merging into me or I let the Murano hit me.

.

Granted there are those situations you can't escape from, but as I was just telling Brock in the previous post, there is an additional risk that comes with the setting. That's why they tell everyone about it in schools, on the driver's test, etc. You're supposed to watch out for your own ass because you cannot trust anyone else on the road...not that they can see you, not that they give a damn about you.

**Adding: And yeah, the cold hard fact of life is that sometimes you have to decide between the temporary problem of paying for damages to your car, or the permanent problem of death. Sh*t happens. Deal with it and don't expect the rest of the country to idiot-proof everything. We have enough problems with trying to protect from "acts of god".

[007]

Originally Posted by Slayer

Bah! I resent every one of those wild allegations! I'm 22, I'm not wise, I've seen more of the world than most, and I've done things that...oh, not falling into that trap. Let's just say you wouldn't even think of doing those things for a Klondike Bar.

Now, maybe I am a little optimistic for the average person's ability to get away from a dumbass on a cell phone...after all, there are hundreds of thousands of people who have been unable to get away from drunk drivers in time. Still, it's already unnatural enough for people to be in 2-ton machines, cruising at 45-90 mph...so we have to accept the additional risk.

There are situations that are inescapable. I was in one. To say that most accidents are avoidable is just plain stupid.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by KC Fish

Except the bloody fiery deaths of your victims...

Hey, I agree something should be done about it but there isn't anything I can think of in this day and age to curb it.

[007]

Originally Posted by BWillie007

Hey, I agree something should be done about it but there isn't anything I can think of in this day and age to curb it.

I like the GPS idea myself. Granted it screws it up for passengers but I'm OK with it.

[BWillie]

Originally Posted by Guru

There are situations that are inescapable. I was in one. To say that most accidents are avoidable is just plain stupid.

They are. Unless it's a rear-end collision or someone who is right next to you merges into you most accidents can be avoided even if you weren't in the wrong. People are found 0% at fault all the time, and yes, they could have avoided it by the non-fault party.

Say you are going through a green light, just taking care of business looking ahead where you are going to go....a drunk driver runs a red light in a big intersection and sure he's going to be found 100% at fault. Truthfully though, if you were being careful, looking in all directions before you go through the intersection you could have probably avoided it and mitigated your damage. There are cases where theres nothing you can do in all instances, but I guarantee you there are many many more instances than most people think where you could have avoided an accident just be being more observant and aware of your surroundings. Nothing that would lead you to be found at fault in court, or anywhere else, but nonetheless would have helped you avoid an accident.

[Slayer Diablo]

Originally Posted by Guru

There are situations that are inescapable. I was in one. To say that most accidents are avoidable is just plain unproveable.

FYP.


Hundreds of thousands of people get into accidents per year...hell, it's probably in the millions. How many people *almost* get into accidents? Probably billions, but we don't know because we don't report things that didn't happen.

[007]

Originally Posted by BWillie007

They are. Unless it's a rear-end collision or someone who is right next to you merges into you most accidents can be avoided even if you weren't in the wrong. People are found 0% at fault all the time, and yes, they could have avoided it by the non-fault party.

Say you are going through a green light, just taking care of business looking ahead where you are going to go....a drunk driver runs a red light in a big intersection and sure he's going to be found 100% at fault. Truthfully though, if you were being careful, looking in all directions before you go through the intersection you could have probably avoided it and mitigated your damage. There are cases where theres nothing you can do in all instances, but I guarantee you there are many many more instances than most people think where you could have avoided an accident just be being more observant and aware of your surroundings. Nothing that would lead you to be found at fault in court, or anywhere else, but nonetheless would have helped you avoid an accident.

If I am in the middle of an intersection and somebody blasts me because they didn't see the stop sign I could have avoided it? I was in that exact sitation and it was UNAVOIDABLE. I tried to speed up as soon as I saw him out of the corner of my eye and it did me ZERO good.

Don't even try to convince me that I could have avoided that accident. you were not there.

[Slayer Diablo]

Originally Posted by Guru

If I am in the middle of an intersection and somebody blasts me because they didn't see the stop sign I could have avoided it? I was in that exact sitation and it was UNAVOIDABLE. I tried to speed up as soon as I saw him out of the corner of my eye and it did me ZERO good.

Don't even try to convince me that I could have avoided that accident. you were not there.

And suppose you didn't speed up, what would've happened? Damage to your spine, perhaps? Surely being hit still sucks big time, but you avoided a worse situation.

Also, as much as we would like to think what happens to us is common for everyone, that's pretty much a worst case scenario of accidents...probably not the majority of them.