teenage girls on cellphones and more!

[notacop]

ok i'm gonna abandon being superficially politically correct (there is no point), so flame away if you like. but first, i'll give you the play-by-play of the single most frightening moment of my life.

i was nearly involved in a very serious accident yesterday. it was a close call that never should have happened. for those of you who know phoenix, i was cruising down shea blvd eastbound in the right lane at the 45 mph speed limit, about to cross the intersection at 36th street (a residential streed w/25mph speed limit). i have the green light. so as i near this intersection at 45mph, i notice this p.o.s. toyota tercel is coming up fast on 36th street in the right-turn lane. i am now into the crosswalk of the intersection when i see this tercel-driving girl ON THE CELLPHONE look right at me in sheer terror as she decides to forget that, WHEN MAKING A RIGHT TURN ON RED, ONE MUST FIRST STOP AND MAKE SURE THERE IS NO ONCOMING TRAFFIC. so this girl is sitting (now stopped) directly in my lane. i swerve to the left (thank God there were no cars in the other lanes). the car understeers heavily and seems like it is plowing straight ahead. i miss the tercel by no more than a foot or two. i am now faced with the no-less-scary situation of being directly headed for oncoming traffic due to my evasive action. i steer the car back to the right, and this time experience mucho oversteer thanks to the sudden weight shift. all is well though now as the car strightens itself out. i throw on the brakes and begin a 15 mph cruise down the road so this girl can pass and so i can give her my thoughts. she wouldnt pass me for a while, then when she does, i look over and SHE'S STILL ON THE CELLPHONE. that was the breaking point for me. i lay on the horn and give a nice middle-finger salute as i make the turn onto the street my house is on.

i am now thinking to myself WTF WAS THIS GIRL THINKING? was it really the cellphone or was she just dumb? i know all about bad teenage drivers. my girlfriend just had her license revoked for four accidents and two speeding tickets for a grand total of five citations in about a year of driving (one accident wasn't her fault). but even she knows to STOP AT RED LIGHTS. this girl looked right at me as if she had the green light. my conclusion: the celllphone multiplied her dumbness by an infinite factor.

but please, before you pass this instance off as another story to affirm teenage-driver stereotypes, please realize there are, yes, there ARE good teenage drivers. as a graduate from bob bondurant's intro to racing course, i like to believe i am one. i'm 17 by the way. i think the problem of bad driving is much deeper than age alone. it's all the other stuff people THINK they can do in a car other than driving.

So, to all you people who can't drive well anyway, TURN OFF YOUR CELLPHONES, PUT AWAY THE MAKE-UP, STOP LOOKING AT YOUR LCD-SCREENS, AND DRIVE.

sorry if i offended anyone here. sorry for the long rant. and if you have opinon on the subject, please post, i'd love to hear it.

[Dr Caleb]

Originally posted by notacop
WHEN MAKING A RIGHT TURN ON RED, ONE MUST FIRST STOP AND MAKE SURE THERE IS NO ONCOMING TRAFFIC.

TURN OFF YOUR CELLPHONES, PUT AWAY THE MAKE-UP, STOP LOOKING AT YOUR LCD-SCREENS, AND DRIVE.

sorry if i offended anyone here.

The first is obvious. The second, more people should take to heart. The third, don't be sorry.

I was taken out in a cross walk a few years ago by a guy in a truck who wasn't paying attention to what he was doing. I didn't know I was hurt for three days, when I woke up. I didn't remeber being in an accident for nearly a year, and I still don't recall all of the accident.

If people payed more attention to what they were doing, there would be less needless incidents like yours and mine.

I'd say your post about sums it up. Nothing like that "post - near miss adrenalin low" is there?
:shake:

[cyclone03]

Nice job staying alive!

Bad drivers are all ways bad drivers.
It's not the phone.
It's not the big gulp.
It's not the make up.
People who can't drive are allways the problem.

Now you have an unfair advantage.
I also took Bondurants course about 10 years ago.Do i road race? No.
What did I learn at a RACE school?
EVERY DRIVER THAT CARES ABOUT THEIR DAILY PERFORMANCE BEHIND THE WHEEL SHOULD TAKE A HIGH PERFORMANCE DRIVING COURSE!!!
Learn how to AVOID trouble when it is coming at you at 50mph!!!!

[CRUZTAKER]

Funny....same thing last month to me. I chased her down into a supermarket parking lot. She had the balls to yell at me for 'scaring her' by following her into the lot. Still on the phone while yelling at me.....I yanked the phone out of her hand, turns out it was her father on the other end. I told him he's lucky I didn't plow into her drivers door maiming her for life, and HE'S lucky I don't know him, 'cause he deserves an ass kicking for not only buying this 17 year old girl a celllphone, talking to her while she's driving, but not teaching her how to flippen drive correctly in the first place.
I so much wanted to toss her phone across the parking lot.....

[notacop]

Originally posted by cyclone03

I also took Bondurants course about 10 years ago.Do i road race? No.
What did I learn at a RACE school?
EVERY DRIVER THAT CARES ABOUT THEIR DAILY PERFORMANCE BEHIND THE WHEEL SHOULD TAKE A HIGH PERFORMANCE DRIVING COURSE!!!
Learn how to AVOID trouble when it is coming at you at 50mph!!!!

well said. yeah his course was awesome, both fun and informative. can't ask for anything more that that. though it was an intro to racing course, it included a little on accident avoidance, and really advocated looking for alternatives to slamming on the brakes in these kinds of situations. i was glad i didn't panic and jam on the brakes. even with ABS, i think the reduced traction left for turning, and the fact that the car understeered with no braking, might have had me pointed directly for the tercel had i gotten on the brakes hard.

but cyclone, can't a cellphone make a bad driver even worse? worse enough to roll through a red light? i think so.

[RF Overlord]

Here was a PRIME, TEXTBOOK example of the American public's belief that driving is a God-given RIGHT, not the wonderful PRIVILEGE that it is... :shake:

[notacop]

Originally posted by CRUZTAKER
I chased her down into a supermarket parking lot. She had the balls to yell at me for 'scaring her' by following her into the lot. Still on the phone while yelling at me.....I yanked the phone out of her hand, turns out it was her father on the other end.
I so much wanted to toss her phone across the parking lot.....

that's funny stuff, man. i wish i had the balls to do something like that. it's what this girl deserved. looking back on it, i wished i had followed her, for nothing more than finding out wtf she was thinking when a blacked out 2 ton brick was about to t-bone her. tell you what, next time this happens, i'll get the plate # and give you a call. :D

[Marauderman]

Great stuff- At first I though you must be an older person from reading your post on this ..and was amazed when you said 17...wow--that tells me alot about the right side of the younger crowd..that can have fun yet still be safety conscious while driving..you sound like a very adult 17....and from your driving ability..one who listen carefully from your elders on how to handle these situations vs drifiting off on other matters as was your opponent...they're out there every day--we all have to watch out for them as described by those above already...good going and keep it up...

[01 Interceptor]

Glad to hear that you as well as your car is alright.

[cyclone03]

Originally posted by notacop
[but cyclone, can't a cellphone make a bad driver even worse? worse enough to roll through a red light? i think so. [/B]

Bad is bad.
but it's not the phones fault.
Bad drivers make bad choices,talking on the phone is a bad choice.

So yea the phone don't help.

[LincMercLover]

That's why my cell has speaker phone mode! :D

But honestly though, you did good man! If someone happens to call me on the cell, like I said, I put it on speaker no matter who's in the car, and make the chat as short as possible. There's already enoph distractions around you, especially when the GF's in the passenger seat! :lol:

[RCSignals]

It isn't just teenage girls with cellphones. Just about anyone who has to hold a cell phone.
I like it when they get in the left lanes on the highway and slow down by 10mph under the speedlimit while they talk.
People are slaves to a ringing phone. You don't always have to answer it right away, if it isn't safe to do so!

[cyclone03]

Originally posted by RCSignals

.
People are slaves to a ringing phone. You don't always have to answer it right away, if it isn't safe to do so! [/B]

Boy aint that the truth.
He's not driving but a guy at work CAN NOT be in the same room with a phone ringing without answering it,and honestly it p's me off.After picking up the phone it's then HIS job to make sure whoevere the phone is for is retrieved then gets to the phone.
This sometimes takes up to 10 minutes.:mad2
You have to understand I work on an Air Force base and all this happens during flight ops,when we're busy as heck.

On the other hand I very rarely answer the phone at work,the boss and co-workers ask why I don't answer the phone.I tell them "It's not for me" .:cool:

[jgc61sr2002]

In New York it is a violation to use hand held cell phones while driving. Probably the same in many other states.

[rurumon]

I live in a college town where the scariest thing isnt a herd of officers bearing down on you when you realize you have an open container, but the sorority girl talking on her cellular while driving her 2 ton SUV.

I feel your pain man, my daughter will have her car wired with some sort of scrambler so it does not operate in the vehicle.

[bchapman]

I've seen people reading books and magazines while driving!

[Ross]

Notacop, I'm thankful that you and your MM are both still with us. What I want to know is, if you are only 17 and have a MM, will your folks adopt me? :D

[RF Overlord]

Coincidentally, this was in this morning's Boston Globe:

Teen drivers may lose phones (http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/168/metro/Teen_drivers_may_lose_phones+. shtml)

When told that there was a bill proposed to prohibit cell phone use by drivers under 18, one girl interviewed for the article said, AND I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP:

''Like, it should be a suggestion that you shouldn't drive and talk at the same time,'' she said, ''but I don't think they should have . . . a law.''

Does anyone else see the problem here???!!!

:mad2:

[LincMercLover]

Like, fer sher!

[Long Live #3]

Originally posted by CRUZTAKER
I so much wanted to toss her phone across the parking lot.....

You should have. I know I would.

[jerrym3]

My town, Paramus, NJ, has on ordinance against talking on the phone while driving. Pretty stiff fine.

Other local municpalities are also considering a similar law.

It's about time. Driving takes a lot of concentration, especially here in the northeast (and anyplace else) where traffic is very heavy.

[RCSignals]

Originally posted by bchapman
I've seen people reading books and magazines while driving!

So have I. I saw a guy eating a bowl of cereal once. Someone shaving, a woman putting on make up with the rear view mirror pulled towards her, another curling her eyelashes, and not at a stop light either!

People do the strangest and dumbest things while behind the wheel

[notacop]

Originally posted by jgc61sr2002
In New York it is a violation to use hand held cell phones while driving. Probably the same in many other states.

nope, ny is the only place it is actually illegal, and paramus, evidently. other states and municipalities i know have looked into it, though. i have heard no mention of such a law in arizona, however.

[cyclone03]

Originally posted by rurumon
[I feel your pain man, my daughter will have her car wired with some sort of scrambler so it does not operate in the vehicle. [/B]

Hey that sounds like a great product!
I'll have a female driver in less than 2 years.:eek:

[UncleLar]

I get to see all the wackos,I drive a cement truck that loaded weighs in excess of 35 tons around downtown Chicago and vicinity 10 or more hours a day. It has carries a liquid load with the center of gravity around 9 feet above the ground,the only 2 things it will do fast is roll-over or kill someone. The past few years I've noticed more women under the age of 35 becoming very aggressive drivers,they'll cut you off and flip you off without a seconds hesitation,and more and more they can't seem to drive without their head stuck up their a_ _ and a cellphone stuck in their ear,yesterday one cut me off 3 times while on the phone AND checking her make-up. More mature women don't seem to suffer from this malady,but a high percentage of the younger ones do. If you're not on the phone trying to prevent a nuclear holocost or a giving emergency first aid instructions don't use the thing while you're driving,the next guy you cut off or pull out in front of may be me driving a loaded Mack and unable to stop in time!Sorry if I rant,I'll put my soapbox away now.

[cyclone03]

UncleLar,
the worst part is it will be your fault.
Under stand the above is from the perspective of the Dumb a** who thinks 35tons of liquid will stop as fast as a Subaru WRX with ABS.

Truth is if a wreck happens you'll end up sufering because of an others STUPIDITY! And thats a crime!!!

At work I get to tow about 6000lbs every once in a while and it amazes me how long it takes to stop.

[Dr Caleb]

Uncle Lar:

I used to drive a 400 ton ****y-powered mining truck for a while (off road). It could drive over a 1/2 ton and put it 6 inches into the ground, and from the cab you wouldn't even feel it.
NO ONE EVER cut me off. Take one of those to work one day.. :lol:

[Bigdogjim]

Well after 20+years in big tour bus I have seen a lot. People do all kinds of stupid stuff. They don't need a cell phone, but it sure does help.I am not ready to hang it up but, it ain't as fun driving as it use too be. Road rage? Hell people loaded for bear!
Dumb as it is I some days wish I had rockets mounted in the grill.

Lead follow or get the hell outa my way!

[troopcar]

A couple of months ago, while sitting at a red light, I happen to look left at the car next to me and I see the driver eating a big messy salad on one of those flimsy flat white paper plates (with a plastic fork). Now that's a two-hand operation. Can you say distraction? I'm thinking "what's she gonna steer with, her knee?" Soon as the light turned, I got the heck away from that car (safely). I personally don't like to eat and drive, too distracting. And, at the very least, I'm the one who would have to get the food stains out of my clothes (and the car seats)!

[MAD-3R]

Originally posted by Bigdogjim

Dumb as it is I some days wish I had rockets mounted in the grill.

Lead follow or get the hell outa my way!

You mean you don't?

[engine23ccvfd]

I know exactly how you truck drivers feel nothing like getting cut off in a 70,000LBS vehicle..... Drivers just dont understand what a steel re-enforced bumper two feet off the ground will do to their car, body, and kids.......I wish we could show the pictures of pretzel people at PR's.

[amedd50]

Here are a couple of websites some of you may find interesting. http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/ncsl/ http://www.angelfire.com/ia/maep/lightlaws.html http://www.afn.org/~afn09444/scanlaws/

[T-90K]

Originally posted by LincMercLover
That's why my cell has speaker phone mode! :D
Statistical research shows it's doesn't matter - will driver use speaker phone or not. He/she will lost attention anyway for the same amount.
And... chasing people is not good for chasers. Who knows - they can have gun on their laps and be too afraid to use it when person will approach to them. Not a good payment for useless lesson, I think.

[LincMercLover]

I was waiting to hear that remark... :rolleyes:

IMHO, it's no different than listening/singing to the radio.

[T-90K]

Originally posted by LincMercLover
I was waiting to hear that remark... :rolleyes:

IMHO, it's no different than listening/singing to the radio.
You're not right, it's a huge difference. That was prooved by research and if you will think about it little bit you will agreed. Speaker phone doesn't make any difference for safety just because your attention still grabbed out by _conversation_.

[jerrym3]

IMHO, not the same as listening/singing to radio.

Try typing on a keyboard (or even reading) with music in the background. That's easy to do.

Now try typing on the keyboard (or reading) while talking on a phone with a hands free speaker. Typing gets tough. Reading becomes a matter of just words rather than understanding the message.

Now lift the handset and try typing (or reading). Gets worse.

I do agree that driver's in deep conversations/arguments with other passengers can lose their driving concentration as quickly as those with cellphones, but at least they probably have two hands available for driving.

[T-90K]

Originally posted by jerrym3
IMHO, not the same as listening/singing to radio.

Try typing on a keyboard (or even reading) with music in the background. That's easy to do.

Now try typing on the keyboard (or reading) while talking on a phone with a hands free speaker. Typing gets tough. Reading becomes a matter of just words rather than understanding the message.

Now lift the handset and try typing (or reading). Gets worse.

I do agree that driver's in deep conversations/argumants with other passengers can lose their driving concentration as quickly as those with cellphones, but at least they probably have two hands available for driving.
Rrrrrrrrrrright!
At least if something start going wrong their talkative passengers just shut up (sometimes by instinct) and gave driver chance to concentrate.

[bchapman]

How about this moron?

Woman Faces Charges For Driving While Breastfeeding

http://www.msnbc.com/local/wdiv/a1663895.asp

[jgc61sr2002]

Originally posted by bchapman
How about this moron?

Woman Faces Charges For Driving While Breastfeeding

http://www.msnbc.com/local/wdiv/a1663895.asp Barbara - I concur. The child was the one in extreme danger not being secured a infant seat. Endangering the welfare of a child is a serious offense and she could lose custody of her child.

[Ken]

There was a 18 y.o. girl, just got killed in the last week in Wellington, OH. Her last words were "OH, NO..." as her cell phone went dead as she drove through an intersection into the path of an eighteen wheeler.

[tetsu]

I got rearended one time by some bimbo who was combing her f-ing hair in her rear view mirror in the g-d rain. I tried to get out of her path but I was stopped at a light with heavy traffic coming through the intersection. When the cop came she tried to lie and ended up with four or five tickets.

No offense to the fine driving women that are out there, but on average women seem to be alot worse drivers in my own personal experience. Add a cell phone to that and you have a recipe for disaster.

Johnny