U.S. Gov Bans Truckers from Texting

carguy123 wrote:

Keith wrote: Colorado has banned texting while driving, the law came into effect on January 1st. The police say it's tough to enforce, as you can't tell on quick inspection if someone is texting vs talking - although you would think that perhaps the location of the phone might be a clue. I kinda like the way Quebec apparently does it - if you're holding a device that is capable of making phone calls, you're "on the phone" and you get ticketed.

So if I'm holding a book that means I'm reading it?

Why else would you be holding a book while driving? Although to be honest the Quebequois don't care unless your book can make phone calls.

I agree that talking on the phone can help on long trips. And Quebec doesn't mind you doing that. Just do it hands-free.

EastCoastMojo wrote: I am not for the seatbelt law for adults. If you want to fly out of the vehicle during rapid deceleration go right ahead. Maybe it will reduce some of the traffic congestion if we let these people weed themselves out of the gene pool. /flame on

I felt the same way. Until I realized that the same tard will become a burden on taxpayers once the insurance (if there is even any at all) runs out. Now we're paying for Johnny Tough-guy so he can drink through a straw. Same goes for helmet laws.

I don't think that insurance companies should be required to pay out in cases of negligence either. I know it doesn't mean diddly what I think should or should not be, but seems fair to me to have a clause that if you choose not to take the safety measures that are provided for you that the insurance company isn't going to pay you when it bites you in the tuckus.

I ride motorcycles (well, nowhere near as much as I did) and I wear a helmet. There are those who would allow ins co's to deny coverage to someone who is not wearing one, regardless of whether it contributed to the injury or not. I can just see the next step: motorcycles are inherently dangerous, thus the ins co's will no longer offer coverage for those who ride. After all, they beat the bottom line up pretty bad.

So let's take it a step further: eating bacon is supposed to lead to all kinds of health problems. So if someone has a health problem which can be linked to bacon, should we allow denial of coverage? Yes? We have just allowed the ins co to dictate our diet.

Denying insurance coverage due to certain behaviors is a very slippery slope that We The People do NOT want to step onto.

Keith mentioned hands free when talking on the phone and that brings up a sore spot to me - literally and figuratively.

When you wear glasses the hands free earpiece wants to take up the same real estate that your glasses do and after a few hours it can get very painful.

There used to be a model that attached to your glasses, but it's not available anymore and it was heavy besides so there were some issues with the glasses falling off or sitting lopsided as well as it made the nose piece dig into your skin for some people.

While a cord can be slightly annoying on a bumpy road I've found that the ear plugs that come with my iPhone do a very good job of cancelling outside noise when I'm riding with the top down, they pick up my voice very well and make it easier to hear the person calling me. Not a bad trade off, but I do tend to pull the plugs out of the ears between calls and since they don't really fit the shape of my ear very well it makes answering the phone a slow process.

I'm special and I haven't really found any of the ear plugs that fit in my ear very well.

All these people having problems driving while talking on the cell phones got me thinking - when CB radios got really popular back in the 70's/80s, did people have the same trouble driving while talking on the CBs?

[Bo Duke] Lost Sheep to Shepherd, Lost Sheep to Shep OMG we're going off the road and jumping over a barn, aaaaaahhhhhhh I mean yeeeeeehaaaaaaaw.

[Uncle Jesse] Gol-darnit Lost Sheep I told you to pull over to the side of the road before using the radio. Roscoe's going to give you a ticket for this and you're going to pay it!

Bob

DeadSkunk wrote: I caught a tongue lashing from a guy who changed lanes in his Expedition and just about ran over my Miata. Apparently it's my fault because my"car is too damned short to be on the road" and he didn't see it. I pointed out that he ought to look at that fancy right side mirror of his, the one with the turn signal (that never flashed !) and get the damned phone out of his ear. He never touched my car, but he chased me into the strip mall to give a piece of his mind.

Your account reminded me of this short story by Richard Foster. A Nice Morning Drive

Schmidlap wrote: All these people having problems driving while talking on the cell phones got me thinking - when CB radios got really popular back in the 70's/80s, did people have the same trouble driving while talking on the CBs? [Bo Duke] Lost Sheep to Shepherd, Lost Sheep to Shep OMG we're going off the road and jumping over a barn, aaaaaahhhhhhh I mean yeeeeeehaaaaaaaw. [Uncle Jesse] Gol-darnit Lost Sheep I told you to pull over to the side of the road before using the radio. Roscoe's going to give you a ticket for this and you're going to pay it! Bob

My handle was "Pootsy Bare". I would call out with a lisp "Hello out there it's Pootsy Bare and I'm on the air!" It kept us entertained for many a mile. Talk about making time fly! Man the truckers got riled up when I'd get on the air. It was FUN!

I still take a CB on trips and it really helps with traffic alerts and Pooooleese in Virginia, land of the oppressed (they don't allow radar detectors).

I know a guy who almost died while texting. He was camping when he was attacked by a bear!

not true--it was a joke

carguy123 wrote: Now they need to follow up and ban texting while operating any vehicle while it's on the road.

Seriously, I am more afraid of sorority girl in daddy's 'merican 150000 lbs SUV running my arse over because she was too damn busy texting her top friends about that kick a$$ party. There are days I wonder what the colors of the traffic light mean, I see people drive through all three with one hand pecking away at the phone and the other holding a Starbucks beverage.

TJ wrote: My problem really though is that the Federal government implemented the ban. Not sure where that power is granted to them in the Constitution. Apparently Ray Lahood thinks he has that power. When does the Secretary of Transporation make the laws?

The feds make a lot of laws that pertain to truckers, pretty much any agency can do it, Dot, EPA, FTA. They all have something in the name of public safety

But really, what's more important? Your safety or your right to get pummeled by an 80,000 lb rig?

Wally wrote:

TJ wrote: My problem really though is that the Federal government implemented the ban. Not sure where that power is granted to them in the Constitution. Apparently Ray Lahood thinks he has that power. When does the Secretary of Transporation make the laws?

The feds make a lot of laws that pertain to truckers, pretty much any agency can do it, Dot, EPA, FTA. They all have something in the name of public safety

It comes into the interstate commerce clause-thingy.

The sad part is that people don't seem to be capable of responsible conduct.

As far as the Qualcomm (keyboard to communicate with dispatch) goes, at the company I drive for, is the truck is in motion it is disabled. If a message comes in, you have to stop to read/respond to it.

mtn wrote:

Wally wrote:

TJ wrote: My problem really though is that the Federal government implemented the ban. Not sure where that power is granted to them in the Constitution. Apparently Ray Lahood thinks he has that power. When does the Secretary of Transporation make the laws?

The feds make a lot of laws that pertain to truckers, pretty much any agency can do it, Dot, EPA, FTA. They all have something in the name of public safety

It comes into the interstate commerce clause-thingy.

The Sec. of Transporation doesn't make laws. The legislature passes bills and then the President signs them into laws. I don't see where a cabinet member, much less anyone in the Executive branch has this type of authority at all. I think we have become a nation of sheep for letting our government get to where it is today.

Like I said, I don't want drivers texting or even talking while driving, I am not against that. I am against the unchecked growth of government and the flat out ignoring of the Constitution which they are supposed to be serving and protecting.

So...the natural progression in technology that I see here is that the makers of the phones will have applications for voice texting. Like the phone takes dictation and sends your message for you.

That's a really funny way to go about communicating, but I'm sure theyr'e already working on it (as more and more states ban texting and or hands-not-free talking on the phone).

Clem

Too bad they can't ban stupid.

Personal freedom MUST be accompanied by personal responsibility.

DeadSkunk wrote: Michigan is in the process of enacting the same sort of thing for all drivers. If it were me , I'd ban cell phone use for drivers. I caught a tongue lashing from a guy who changed lanes in his Expedition and just about ran over my Miata. Apparently it's my fault because my"car is too damned short to be on the road" and he didn't see it. I pointed out that he ought to look at that fancy right side mirror of his, the one with the turn signal (that never flashed !) and get the damned phone out of his ear. He never touched my car, but he chased me into the strip mall to give a piece of his mind. There ought to be a device that disables cell phones when the vehicle is in "Drive". Just leave 911 functioning.

You should have told the guy that you had no problem seeing him, but he had a problem seeing you, thus, the visibility out of his car is inferior to yours, therefore, his car is too big to be on the road, unless he wishes to apply for a CDL. You might get lucky and make his head explode, thus solving your problem without the murder charge.

ClemSparks wrote: So...the natural progression in technology that I see here is that the makers of the phones will have applications for voice texting. Like the phone takes dictation and sends your message for you. That's a really funny way to go about communicating, but I'm sure theyr'e already working on it (as more and more states ban texting and or hands-not-free talking on the phone). Clem

I heard they're working on the tech you mentioned and also that it will read incoming texts to you.

Here's a link to one such example.

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/hughes/19185/yap-hands-free-texting-for-everyone

Tech Article said: Texting and driving has lead to countless accidents around the world prompting laws that restrict cellphone use behind the wheel. Statistics show teenage drivers are the most dangerous since they're easily distracted, have higher crash rates than older drivers, and are usually involved in cellphone related accidents. All reasons why California passed a law that will fine teens under 18 for using cellphones, laptops or other electronic devices while driving. The law goes into effect next year, but I doubt it will completely deter texting and driving. On the bright side, an upcoming mobile application may help teens keep their eyes on the road while they yap on the phone. Yap will soon release a mobile application that turns voice into text, making it easier to text, IM, or blog without typing. The cellphone application also reads your text messages so you don't have to look down at the screen if you're driving, and turns your voice response into a text message. Those who need to query mobile web services like Google, Yahoo, Facebook, and YouTube can do so with their voice, instead of typing on those tiny keyboards. It seems the possibilities will be endless with this application. According to The Tech Chronicles, Yap plans to add contextual ads to generate revenue which means the service will be free to use. The text-to-speech beta service was unveiled today at Tech Crunch 40, and will soon be available to the public. I'll keep you posted.

So let's review.
Sending texts in the future: Talk into phone. Phone writes out message. It's probably a good idea to look at your phone and read the message or fiddle with the options to get it to play back to you just to make sure that you didn't just tell your wife that "I'll be there with a new whore", instead of "I'll be there within an hour". Select the phone number to send to if you haven't done so already, probably can be done with voice as well, and tell the phone to send. Recipient gets the message, and it is read allowed in selectable voice. T. Pain's if we're lucky. Either way, devoid of emotion required to detect tone of conversation.

Making phone calls in the past: Select #, dial, talk into phone. Recipient listens, talks when ready.

Let this sink in for a minute.

And thankfully the company from the above link will be inserting contextual ads so that I can use this "voice-text" service for free.

You remember those sitcoms where 2 of the main characters are pissed at each other and sitting at the dinner table?

A turns to C and requests they ask B to pass the salt. Now C asks B to pass the salt to A, then proceeds to try to sell bags of rock salt to A and B so they can melt the snow in their berkeleying drive ways. Yeah, it's kinda like this.

If this whole concept were a piece of exercise equipment, it would be the Treadmobile.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0gsaDxK884&feature=player_embedded

On a completely unrelated note, do any longtime forum members see the word "berkeley" in their daily life and pronounce it like the word it's filtering out? Same goes for "E36 M3" and whatnot. I literally pronounce these words like their counterparts from using this board for so long. It's no different than learning a new language.

captainzib wrote:

DeadSkunk wrote: Michigan is in the process of enacting the same sort of thing for all drivers. If it were me , I'd ban cell phone use for drivers. I caught a tongue lashing from a guy who changed lanes in his Expedition and just about ran over my Miata. Apparently it's my fault because my"car is too damned short to be on the road" and he didn't see it.

If anyone tries to use the "I didn't see you" excuse with me, I'm going to see them hit with a careless driving charge. As for the effects of texting and driving, anyone remember the Car and Driver article?

captainzib wrote: On a completely unrelated note, do any longtime forum members see the word "berkeley" in their daily life and pronounce it like the word it's filtering out?

I have a friend who lives on Berkeley Avenue. I always laugh to myself when I go to his house.

I was thinking about this whole cell phone thing this morning on the way to work. I remember when I was a kid, my dad couldn't stand to have the radio on in the car when he was driving as it was too distracting, but today I (and I would guess the majority of people) drive around with the radio on all the time with no issues - we're so used to having music playing in the background, we can tune it out and maintain concentration on the road.

I still don't think it's a good idea to use a phone or text while driving, but I wonder if eventually it will become such a natural thing for the majority of the people that it won't noticeably affect their driving.

was behind a guy a while back with one of those "hang up and drive" bumper stickers on his car, when i passed him, he had his phone stuck to his ear, chatting away with someone. i thought about letting him know what i thought about that, but then thought better of it, since i was already running a bit late to where i was headed.

I just had a lady try to merge into me while we were turning left in parallel turn lanes. She was looking at her blackberry. I was thinking, you just started turning 1.5 seconds ago, and you couldn't wait until you were all the way through the intersection before you had to look at the damn thing again? I am reasonably sure she knew how I felt about it by the time we made it through the intersection. Sheesh.

so im in my car right now and some moron just cut me off while he was talking on his phone i almost didnt notice him because i was here about to post something different on my way home on the boring highway commute but then i decided that this would be more relevant

Posted from my iPhone

PIT maneuvers solve those problems. Trust me, she'll never be able to describe the car or it's driver.