Yesterday there was a lot of news about the dangers of texting while driving. I know, you’re shocked. Amid all of the stories about how dangerous it is to ride a motorcycle you never read “Motorcyclist Crashes While Texting” or “Motorcyclist Rides into Crowd While on Cellphone.” You don’t see it because it doesn’t happen.
Why do drivers continue doing something so obviously hazardous? It’s because the hazard, is usually, to someone else, the pedestrian that gets hit or the motorcyclist the driver cuts off, they suffer while the driver is unscathed. The driver can feign sorrow while apologizing but he’s not hurt or dead.
Riders know, in most cases, doing something else while riding that monopolizes their concentration may cause their own injury or death. That huge difference makes riders much more attentive. You still hear about motorcyclists riding off into the woods but the rest of the headline often is “while rounding a curve at 130 mph” or “while intoxicated.” Drivers head off the road at normal speed while sober, but with thumbs busy on the phone or just talking.
Many are now calling for laws to forbid texting while driving though drivers may ignore them even if passed. Laws or not, it’s still up to you to keep yourself safe and out of the way of these misguided missles. I’m seeing a rising number of these clowns too busy with their phones to drive, so be careful on your bike, they really are out to get you.
Link: Detroit News
Ian says
I’m amazed there aren’t already laws. In the UK if you get spotted on your phone in the car it’s a fine and points on your license. If you’re in an accident and they suspect you were on the phone it’s straight to your service provider for phone records and chances are your insurer will be leaving you high and dry.
nortley says
I’m all for any legislation to keep fools off the road, but the trick is to put teeth in the law and then use them. A next phrase in many automotive tragedy articles is “with suspended/revoked drivers license”. Here we get into the ancient liberty-responsibility controversy, but I’d offer one technological approach. Require new vehicles to have a card reader which requires a swipe of the drivers license – and records it – before the rig will start. No license, no go. Use a borrowed licence? Cell for two. Yeh, it’s somewhere between 1984 and Brave New World, I’d hate it, but it might help. What I’d really like to see, though, is a way of educating deer to obey traffic laws.
Kevin says
texting while riding does happen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7amxE3RLAzQ
I don’t want it turn in to a cager vs rider comment, but it is almost impossible to text while riding. I have seen plenty of people doing stupid things while driving or riding.
mxs says
Watch for us up here in Ontario. Our law forbidding any hand held device to be used while driving/riding a vehicle goes into affect on Oct 26. May people say it won’t make a difference (because it’s enforceable and infractions are not linked to your driving record which determines your insurance rates (very high up here …) some hope it will at least partially.
I think it’s a good start, time will tell ….
mxs says
One more thing. Our police czar and his buddies lawmakers likes to keep telling our public that speed kills ….. while people who have an average size brain know that it’s rather reckless driving, distractions like using cellphones etc. what’s the real killer on the roads …
Norm May says
I never fail to be amazed at the outright stupidity of some riders. Cell phones, texting, and studied indifference to the pitfalls on the road by that select group of mouth breathers who ride feeds the media on a regular basis. But there is an old saying which I can’t ehlp thinking of when I see such antics. It simply says’ “I can’t fix stupid can I”.
No amount of legislation will ever cure the stupidity of cage or bike drivers unless enforced and cell phone laws only seem to get enforced after a mishap. Perhaps we, the driving/riding public should start to report these morons to the proper authorities. One report, a warning in the form of a letter. Two reports, a visit from the Police. Three reports, a visit to court. The only problem with this of course is that verification of abuse is next to impossible. Another thing that comes to mind is that the worst group of offenders that I have seen for talking on a cell while driving is the Police themselves………..
Nicolas says
” too busy with their phones to drive ” … every day on the commute, every single day …
In this country, if only we could just stop at the red light/stop sign and talk to these people without the risk of having a gun pulled at you or being called the cops on you, that would certainly help … I’m coming from Europe, where it happened that I “explained” my opinion to reckless drivers, I’m sure they got the message very loud and clear …
Jesse says
Maryland passed a law that as of today October 1st you can no longer send or write tex messages while driving. It’s considered a primary offense, meaning officers can pull you over if they suspect you are texting. The maximum fine is $500.
They did not say it’s illegal to receive a text message as I’m assuming that just because you’ve received it doesn’t mean you were reading it.
scritch says
Here in Washington State is has been unlawful to text or use a hand-held cell phone while driving for a bit more than a year. However, it’s a secondary offense; you cannot be pulled over for talking on your cell phone while driving. From my casual visual surveys of cell phone use by drivers over the last few years, the newish law has had almost no effect.
What we need is a primary offense law. When non-use of seat belts was a secondary offense here, seat belt use was not much over fifty percent. After the law was changed to a primary offense, seat belt use is now about 96%. The same logic should be applied to cell phone use. There are multiple studies now that show an equivalence in driving competence between cell phone use (hand-held or not) and being drunk. Not drinking, but drunk.
hoyt says
Scritch & Ian…both very valuable input. The offense and consequence need to be inline. Nothing changes behavior more than insurance points & higher costs.
Ever notice the big telecommunications & electronics companies are sponsoring ads during movies previews that instruct movie-goers to silence their cell phone? Check out:
http://ridethetorquecurve.blogspot.com/2009/09/deadly.html
It’s time these companies start with the same message while driving.
Paul says
I can’t wait until using a cell phone or a text device while driving is illegal everywhere and enforced with the same enthusiasm that the police enforce lucrative speeding tickets. Until that day, I like to use my horn – a lot. If I’m next to a brain dead cellphone talker in a cage and I don’t think they are paying attention, I just lean on the horn for 3 or 4 seconds. I know it’s considered rude but I consider being killed on the highway by someone who was too busy talking on the phone to pay attention even ruder.
I also can’t believe how many people will drive around parking lots while talking on the phone or texting. What kind of genius thinks that paying attention to a little screen is a good idea when you are piloting a 3500-lb. vehicle in a tight space filled with pedestrians? I don’t have time to wait for natural selection to eliminate these evolutionary dead ends – we need better, enforceable, laws about distracted driving.
John says
There are both sex’s doing it but I have personally seen a lot more women doing it than men and in my oppinion thier driving skills suck to begin with,add talking on the cell phone,looking up at the roof of the car while talking and the attitude that they are entitled to do as they please is dangerouse for those unlucky enough to be on the road with them.I have a stop sign one house down from me and 90% of the people going through without stopping are women.
Richard Gozinya says
Actually John, women are overall safer drivers than men, not by much, particularly as you go into more mature age groups, but it still manages to hold true across the board. The biggest difference is in rates of reckless driving, men are something like 3 times as likely to commit that one.
todd says
It is illegal in California to dial a phone, text a message or use a handset phone while driving. It is a primary infraction; you can get pulled over for doing it, just like seat belts. There have also been a number of cases where phone records are subpoenaed for use in court. I have seen a dramatic drop in the number of people using hand held phones in cars since this law has taken affect but you do still see cars wandering all over the road with a (most likely) teenager staring down into a phone, texting away. At least they are easier to spot.
-todd
morpheous says
This is exactly why I run flashing bicycle strobe lights front and rear while commuting during the week. You must do everything you can to get thier attn.
**A super idea would be to have an app. for your iphone that broadcasts “There is a motorcycle in your proximity!” (every 5 seconds) to any other comm device in the locale.
(would require GPS tech in the phones around you but that is more prevalent with each passing 6 month period) Surely that can be done with today’s technology? right?
taxman says
the worst part about cell phone related accidents is that many people don’t believe it would ever happen to them. THEY weren’t being careful enough. THEY weren’t paying enough attention. I am smarter than that and it won’t happen to ME. i actually got a call one time from a friend who was driving and calling me to tell me about a car accident they had just witnessed and the cause of the accident was the use of a cell phone.
GenWaylaid says
I fully support laws that ban driving while texting, talking on the phone, or even eating or being tired. Distracted / impaired driving is basically attempted vehicular manslaughter. Yet, I also have sympathy for many who ignore these laws. Why? In many places they’re just not practical to follow.
Here in California in order to legally use a cell phone in your car you have to pull over. Pull over where? The most heavily traveled highways often have very thin or inadequate shoulders, and usually they’re for emergencies only. Heck, this state can’t even keep its highway rest stops open. People live a significant fraction of their lives in cars these days. It’s not reasonable to expect them to stop everything else for extended stretches of time. The state that’s enforcing laws against distracted driving must give us somewhere to go when we have to stop driving to take care of something else!
I see this as a return of the Good Roads movement. Ninety years ago the roads in America were adequate for horses but completely failed to meet the needs of bicyclists, motorcyclists, and automobiles. Today our roads are adequate for moving motorized traffic from one place to another but fail to meet the needs of–for lack of a better term–the “in car lifestyle,” everything else people do behind the wheel.
Either we reinterpret car travel as stretches of focused driving interspersed with breaks on the shoulder to take care of everything else, or we put up with excessive road casualties for the two or three decades it takes to develop cars that drive themselves.
el Barto says
I was watching a schmuck riding a Honda Ruckus, shirt-less, helmet-less, and apparently brain-less because he was texting while swerving all over the road at 35mph. just because there is two wheels under you doesn’t raise your intelligence, I am sad to say. But this is Idaho.
Masonv45 says
Norm May wrote “Another thing that comes to mind is that the worst group of offenders that I have seen for talking on a cell while driving is the Police themselves…”
I can’t deny that fact. But in their defense, they have had extensive driving training – much more than the usual brain dead cager. And the training includes multiple distractions – including listening to the radio while driving (which is the same function as listening to a cellphone). Also, they spend 8 hours a day in their car – much more time than the commuter – which gives them more experience behind the wheel.
As GenWaylaid said, “People live a significant fraction of their lives in cars these days”. How about spending 8 hrs a day behind the wheel, driving the same streets over and over again.
Officers do spend a lot of their time on the cellphone, but they are trained to do so.
FREEMAN says
I’m with Norm May. More legislation is not the answer. And I’ve seen many skull-cap riders riding while holding a cellphone to their head here is Washington. Everybody’s at fault. As far as cars go, the manufacturer could always line the riding compartment with a faraday cage to discourage the reception of outside signals. However, no legislation is going to correct the stupidity of the average driver/rider. Look at all the morons that get more than three dui’s and still have licenses.
j.davis says
I once was behind a cruiser bike rider who was going about 25 mph in a residential area while he was talking on his cell phone. When his baseball cap began to blow off his head, he instinctively reached for the cap–with his right hand. When he did that the bike veered to the right, went onto the driveway of a house, and fell over in the front yard. I wanted to intentionally run over his baseball cap, but figured he had already suffered enough.
Todd8080 says
The problem with cell phone drivers is that each one thinks they’re the rare exception whose brain can be two places at once. They know OTHER cell phone drivers are a menace, but not them.
An amazing number of people actually believe that cell phone driving is perfectly safe as long as it’s hands-free. Many states’ laws seem to support this belief.
In reality it has almost nothing at all to do with what your hands are doing; it’s what your brain is doing, or rather isn’t doing.
Imagine you’re at home watching a movie on TV when your phone rings. You’re really into the movie but it’s a good friend calling so you continue the conversation while watching the movie. At some point your friend says, “So what do you think?” and you realize you haven’t heard a word they’ve said.
The same thing works in reverse; if you’re paying attention to the call you’ll miss what’s going on in the movie.
So why aren’t you as distracted by having a conversation with the passenger sitting next to you? Because they’re in the here and now. Your brain acknowledges them as a familiar and integral part of your immediate environment, unlike a disembodied telephone voice that forces your brain to fill in missing pieces of information.
Kenny says
I’m still of the opinion that we shouldn’t only outlaw certain things stupid people do, why not just go the whole hog and keep stupid people from driving.
Introduce stricter criteria for the acquisition of a full driving licence maybe add in a couple of other tests.
Is there a way of measuring attention span?
John says
I’m with Kenny,there’s just too many idiots on the road and it’s because governments want the income,the testing should be very strict.
nortley says
Kenny, that’s been a bug up my .. for years. Here in Oregon, motorcycle endorsements are graduated, under/over 500cc. Yet there is one single car driver’s license which is equally valid for a Citroen 2CV, a Ferrari, or a max size motor home. Also, it allows towing a trailer up to the vehicle’s capacity on that license. It is way past time to have a graduated driver’s license in several steps based on power and size, with further endorsement needed to pull a trailer. If the person takes the test in dry weather, require a further test after the snow falls. It is just too crowded out there on the road to license laxly, and as was repeatedly pounded into us in driver’s ed (1965 version) driving is a privelege, not a right.
Don says
@Todd8080 you nailed it. Multitasking is a myth. Our brains just don’t work that way.
John says
nortley, I never thought about it like that but your right,our system says if you can drive a Honda Civic you can drive a truck pulling a trailer or a 600 HP Viper.I don’t know how different thier system is but I was on Vancouver Island,Canada couple months ago on a rented Harley and the drivers there were noticably better than Americans.All were very polite and cautious and nobody blocked the left lane.They would pass slower traffic then quickly move to the right lane.As soon as we were back in the U.S. it was “Oh yea, same old idiots”.
Jurl Mackenzie says
there are already laws for negligent and dangerous driving if you cause an accident you could be charged. Why take away more freedoms. I talk on the phone when driving for work all the time and have not killed anyone (by accident). Im surprised to hear motorcycle riders supporting this, maybe its just the tone of the above article influencing the comments. Save the cheap analysis of how your brain interprets sound and abstract conversations and arguments about engine size and graduated licenses, maybe take personal responsibility for your driving habits/ability. This is just another excuse for police to pull you over violate your privacy and make some money for the district.
Hey maybe we should have seatbelts on motorcycles and fine people who dont wear goggles and leather and are not wearing boots and fine people who pick their nose while driving. Maybe people who make comments on the internet are soft, maybe they dont ride motorcycles because they are typing and sitting not riding. Driving in a lot of places is a necessity in north america, Tons of people need to stay in touch with work at all times. This is just the hot topic of the week.
Earl Mackenzie says
if you want to buy a fast motorcycle, know how to ride it. If you cant, it should be on you!
Todd8080 says
Jurl Mackenzie:
“I talk on the phone when driving for work all the time and have not killed anyone (by accident).”
I repeat: The problem with cell phone drivers is that each one thinks they’re the rare exception whose brain can be two places at once. They know OTHER cell phone drivers are a menace, but not them.
If you talk on the phone while driving, you ARE the guy in the left lane who slows for no reason, who changes lanes unexpectedly with no signal and who doesn’t see my motorcycle.
And just like you, the vast majority of bad drivers haven’t killed anyone yet. Does that somehow make them good drivers?
Jurl Mackenzie says
No, i made no comment about my driving ability. no i am not that guy, i am a realist, are you that guy? if so i dont care, thats fine. Life will sort you out. If someone slows down for no reason i will brake for a reason, then pass them on my bike.
thanks for commenting.
note i said “have not killed anyone (by accident)”
Don says
Where I live in the Philippines most bike are 125cc scooters with automatic clutch, This country runs on text messages, everyday i see guys sending txt messages while riding, They also wont wear decent helmets , Today while I was riding my 125cc DOHC Sachs Madass in the city another rider crashed with another vehicle right in front of me, he was killed instantly, I believe had he been wearing a decent helmet he would still be alive. Laws are a joke in this country.
Jurl Mackenzie says
there are millions of people in the Philippines, thats one person. that was his decision to text. “FREEDOM” ENJOY THE RESPONISBILITY!-CHE CUERVO
Tyler says
Yet there are so many options for installing phone headsets into my helmet. I don’t disagree that riding/driving while trying to maintain a phone or text conversation is stupid, I don’t think the gov’t should take away our right to be stupid. HOWEVER people keep mentioning Canada and Europe and how this is not a problem, and frankly therein lies the answer. They have incredibly difficult licensing procedures, and stiff penalties for screwing up. Personally if a person accumulates enough tickets, say three in a ten year span regardless of retaking defensive driving (what a joke btw) their license is permanently revoked, no SR-22, no hardship license, get a bus pass. Seriously, the gov’t, if they want to fix this problem, need to make the penalties something that people fear enough to change their behavior. Also to Mason’s point, continued mandatory training should be implemented.
FREEMAN says
“Why do drivers continue doing something so obviously hazardous? It’s because the hazard, is usually, to someone else, the pedestrian that gets hit or the motorcyclist the driver cuts off, they suffer while the driver is unscathed. The driver can feign sorrow while apologizing but he’s not hurt or dead.”
Motorcyclists and pedestrians aren’t the only victims. According to this, there are more driver fatalities than any other. More so than pedestrians and motorcyclists fatalities combined. Even car passengers have had more fatalities than a motorcyclist or a pedestrian.
From the report you linked, “Kristin Backstrom, senior manager at the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, said ‘shame on us’ if the summit focuses solely on cell phone and texting, noting there are lots of other distractions that lead to serious crashes. She noted that some teens have said that driving distracts them from other activities.
The relatives of several victims of distracted driving crashes are taking part in the summit. One offered a painful story of the death of a relative because a driver was putting on makeup and not paying attention.”
And what’s this crap? “Bills in Congress would withhold 25 percent of highway funding to states that won’t agree to ban hand-held texting behind the wheel.”
“We cannot rely on legal action alone, because in reality, you can’t legislate behavior…“
Luke says
Maybe it’s not just the cell phones in cars. Has anyone else noticed that people are in general becoming dumber and more self-centered? I live in Oregon and I remember that until just a couple of years ago people were more friendly you could say hello to anyone and chances were that they would give a friendly hello back. This doesn’t seem to be true anymore. Maybe if we brought back civics classes to schools and taught the kids that it’s wrong to think only of ones self things would get a little better. More friendly and polite. Maybe this would leech onto the road and improve driving conditions for everyone. Also what is everyone’s big hurry where are you commuting to that 5 mins. is going to make that big a difference? Slow down, leave earlier, keep your head up, and realize that the things under the helmets and behind the wheels are people just like you. A little politeness goes a long way. Just my two cents.
Phoenix827 says
I sometimes wonder if we have too many safety laws and are breeding idiots back into the population because they are not killing themselves off.Everyone has valid points. There is no perfect answer. We definitely need to give stiffer penalties as well as educate the public more. Too many good people die die because of idiots who should have gotten themselves a Darwin award for removing themselves from the gene pool.
Morpheous says
“there are already laws for negligent and dangerous driving if you cause an accident you could be charged.”
Thats great, but being able to place blame on someone AFTER YOU ARE DEAD is valuless to me. We all know how ineffective law is at truly deterring any real actions of people.
kneeslider says
Obviously lots of opinions here, but I want to repeat something I wrote in the article, “Laws or not, it’s still up to you to keep yourself safe.” There are so many laws already, covering almost everything, it’s hard to believe another one will help.
Some of you have witnessed riders texting on their bikes, I have not seen that, but it’s pretty hard to do it with gloves so they’re increasing their risk of a crash while wearing no hand protection, do you really think any law would change their behavior?
There are certainly other behaviors by drivers and riders that reflect very poor judgment and skills but texting has become epidemic. I can’t wait to see what tech trend comes next.
Chris says
I see this all too much, and it’s scary to watch vehicles weaving in and out of their lanes as if they were completely polluted (intoxicated). If you’re in an accident (no matter how small) while talking, or even worse texting on your phone, the gov’t should put in a frequency device that disables your seat belt and airbags of your car, and in place of airbag deployment, have the vehicle incinerate from the inside out.
Jim says
Paul, don’t be so naive there are numerous companies out their making systems intended from motorcycles that integrate your voice activated cell phone into your helmet speakers/microphone along with all the other electronic hooha. And motorcyclist are buying this junk and using it. While the media, blogs included review and tout the use, but seldom discuss the risk of inattention. I’ll confess to having added a GPS, but even using that makes me nervous
kneeslider says
Jim, voice activated cellphones and intercoms are numerous, I was specifically referring to texting, though GPS units are being made glove friendly, too, but we’re just splitting hairs here, whether on a bike or in a car, texting is one activity that hogs brain resources best used on the primary task at hand.
Nicolas says
” you can’t legislate behavior ” … of course you can, that’s basically the purpose of the law, building a set of rules and their related enforcement procedures that will protect the people against others and against themselves at some point. I don’t say all laws/rules are good, or valid, or applicable, or applied, but there are here for a reason, let’s don’t forget that.
Now, question : why do we have to spend our time on the phone ? I’m not that old (35), but I’m still from a generation that grew up and started their professional life without cell phones, and I wasn’t less happy, or less healthy, or less performant in my job … It’s starts to be a problem when you have to answer a call, or feel that you have to answer, instead of letting it go to the voicemail. I understand and agree that cellphone is usefull for your safety, and practical too, it should not be banned or jammed in cars. I also understand that there are folks who may use their phone more than others in their job as they are on the road, but these folks should specifically be model drivers if they spend that much time on the roads, they should be models of safe driving and lead by example, because they have statistically more opportunities to cause accidents than others who spend just a few minutes a day on the road. Jurk, the question it’s not if you will hit somebody with your car, but when.
Add to this the poor driving education in place in this country, and the education in general where folks here are raised as “me first, the world has to adapt to me” instead of the more european education style where you’re taught to be part of the world and you have to adapt yourself to it, not the other way around, (that’s my own humble personal opinion, sorry if I go out of the subject), and you get unprepared and selfish drivers who are not aware of their responsibility and the potential of danger that they carry.
Gildas says
No text message is worth the life of another human.
When I drive alone, I put the phone in mute. I’ll pick my messages later, I don’t care if it’s the Pope on a conference call with Darth Vader and Valentino Rossi or my mum. When i’m with a friend, the passenger gets the secretary job.
Simple. And I get some time to be alone and think, at least my commute is good for that.
I scaling back on being connected, and more on being alive.
G
Simon says
I’m with Ian and think we could learn a lot from the way they handle this in the UK, but I also think that Luke makes a very valid and important point. It’s not just about cell phones and texting, it’s about the death of civil and ethical behavior in America. We have basically become a nation of selfish and self-centered individuals with little or no concern for the rights or feelings of others. “It’s all about me” seems to be the mantra for our time, and that’s not only sad, it’s dangerous for our society. One of the things that struck me when I traveled in Europe, for example, especially in England, was the dramatic difference in simple civility that I encountered. People were much more considerate and polite, In London, I did not see any litter, anywhere! It simple doesn’t seem to occur to people over there to dump their garbage wherever they please. But here, each day, have to go out and pick up the trash from the fast food joints that people simply toss out their windows onto my front lawn. They don’t think, they don’t care. “The Ugly American” is no longer the ugly American only in other countries, he is now the ugly American at home, as well. We do not teach ethics and civility and simple social courtesy in our schools anymore. Yesterday, I saw a young boy in his early teens riding his bicycle in a shopping mall parking lot while talking on his cell phone. He was weaving all over the lot, and he came within inches of swerving right into a car that was coming up behind him. He was totally oblivious. When the woman who was driving the car rolled down her window to warn him of his dangerous behavior, he flipped her off and cursed at her. I shudder to think of what he’s going to be like on the road when he’s old enough to drive.
Stan says
It’s illegal for Joe Sixpack to use a cell phone while driving in Fl, but the police are above the law. I have seen local county and even FHP tooling down the road on their cell phone or even in car computer. The law is for everyone or no one. Government must protect us. As Pogo said: We have met the enemy and it is us.
PaulN says
This is one reason I always adopt the ‘them vs. me’ attitude when riding. I assume that everyone on a vehicle that isn’t a motorcycle is simply trying to kill me. This hyper defensiveness means that I sometimes pull over or take a different route if I see that the seething idiot behind me isn’t paying attention, but I would rather be late than dead.
DonB says
Here you go. A graphic reminder of the hazards to others while not being attentive to driving. Result: 7-year old orphaned girl.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/Married_couple_on_bicycle_killed_in_collision.html
Texting is suspected, but no charges.
FREEMAN says
@ DonB: while that accident is tragic, in my opinion it is a prime example of why cyclists and motor vehicles should not share the roadway. By the way, where does it say in that article that it was cellphone related? They don’t even suspect alcohol was involved. All they say is the driver lost control after an over-correction. I’m sorry if I missed it but I don’t see it.
Slacker says
Man, you would NOT believe what I saw two days ago while riding home from work. A driver reading a book while she was driving. Not just at the stoplights, but WHILE she was driving. I know because I kept her well in front of me, and saw her turning pages while driving 35mph.
I hope that the punishments for texting while driving carry a mandatory license suspension. Fines aren’t enough.
Slacker says
@FREEMAN: I couldn’t agree less. If we start taking bicycles on the road just because they don’t travel in the same manner as cars, what’s to stop them from taking our rides? If cagers focused on the road, the cyclists wouldn’t even be an issue.
FREEMAN says
@ Slacker: Bicyclists on the road create more potential for accidents. They ride so slow and far enough in the lane that they force drivers/riders to pass them in oncoming traffic while cars and trucks pile up behind them. When they have their group rides, the more of the lane they take up. I could go on about it all day but this is far from the topic at hand. I do not believe the problem they create is related to motorcycles on the road. Just my opinion.
John says
mackenzie you don’t sound very smart.That statment”I haven’t killed anybody[by accident] yet.Is that a threat to anyone that calls your stupid bluff?What are you a internet badass?Then the Che Guevarra thing, your an idiot.
Joshua says
It is VERY illegal to drive and use a cell phone in Australia.
Heavy loss of licence points and expensive fines.
fraz1 says
I was a courier for 9 years & have seen all these things (texting,eating,etc.) trust me anything that occupies anyone’s attention while riding ,driving,walking is an accident waiting to happen. you really don’t want to see the result of an ipod wearing pedestrian stepping in front of a bus.
Slacker says
@FREEMAN that is your opinion and you’re entitled to it. I still don’t agree with it. Maybe it’s different because I’m from a very bicycle friendly town, but there’s no reason it can’t be like that everywhere. It’s hypocritical of us to ask the cagers to share the road with us yet want to restrict others from it at the same time. Just saying.
Howarde says
When I ride to work, I’m willingly paranoid to avoid being murdered by negligence, ignorance, or outright beligerent disobedience of common sense. I am responsible for my safety, not anyone else, and no legislation will make me any more or less safe.
Having friends who have been injured or killed by drivers who had been drinking or talking on the phone, I can say that most people do not fully understands the weight of such simple decisions as taking a cab or not answering the phone until a judge reads them a sentence of 15 years for manslaughter.
Jurl Mackenzie says
\I can say that most people do not fully understands the weight of such simple decisions as taking a cab or not answering the phone until a judge reads them a sentence of 15 years for manslaughter.\ Thats right most people will never need to understand this because 99.9999999ect percent of people will not have an accident whilst texting their loved one and sipping a steamy latte. So in closing, i agree with the majority of posters here that texting and driving is a legitimate activity.
PeteP says
Easy solution. Cell phone jammers are readily available, but illegal. Just mount one on your bike, and enjoy a cell phone-less bubble around you.
Nicolas says
Jurk, just a simple fact : you can’t have your eyes on the cellphone’s screen (or keyboard) and on the road at the same time. If you lose sight of the road, you’re dangerous, period. If you do it on purpose, you’re an idiot. What would your “loved one” think is you get run over by the 0.001% that’s texting his/her loved one ?