Distracted Drivers?!

Heather - posted on 10/06/2010

Sherri-that really doesn't say much about the intelligence of NH. I find it funny that you make your kids be quiet, but have no problem talking on the phone, eating or doing everything else distracting. Do children have to wear seat belts there?

Jodi - posted on 10/05/2010

You seriously have no seat belt laws Sherri? That's ridiculous. We've had seat belt laws for over 30 years - what sort of backward place doesn't impose regulations on seat belts? That's just crazy because it is an issue of safety!

Tah - posted on 10/05/2010

@Candi....i live in va also so i feel your pain, lol...when there is an accident there is always about 6 cars in the side of the road everyone on their cells calling the cops and insurance agency and then the other side going 2mph so they can watch...i am debating riding my bike from now on...

Jenny - posted on 10/05/2010

I do Sherri, unless I'm changing gears. When I'm driving, I'm focused on the road as close to 100% of the time as I can get. It takes a split second for a tragedy to occur. I've had many close calls from jackasses swerving into the side of my truck and it would have been bad if I was not a defensive driver. My kids know better than to fool around while I'm driving. Driving is a privilage, keep your eyes and ears on the road please ladies.

Sherri - posted on 10/05/2010

I want to know how in heck is it any less distracting talking on the phone with blue tooth then it is holding it to your ear?? Nobody I know drives with two hands on the wheel EVER!! So how is that better??

Honestly I have 3 kids car time is quiet time. My kids know no horsing around. We very rarely talk out loud etc.

However, I do eat in the car. I do talk on the phone, I do change the radio....How do you make a law about changing the radio station or eating in the car. That is plain ludicrous!!

Thank heavens I live in NH where we have no seat belt law, no helmet law, no texting law, no cell phone law. I love NH!!

Beck - posted on 10/05/2010

I think that like a lot of other laws it will be very hard to police it and having the law may deter some from doing stupoid things but really it's just like cell phones, if they want to do it without worrying about the consequences they will and no law is going to change that, other than reducing it slightly

Candi - posted on 10/05/2010

I stated before that my kids know to "zip it" in the car. They can get loud and it is distracting. I am very involved in my kids' conversations. Thats what we gather around the dinner table for every night. Having 3 kids in the car all trying to talk at the same time and talking over each other is too much for me. I love having quiet time in the car

Rosie - posted on 10/05/2010

i think it would be hard, if not impossible to enforce. cell phones are easily seen. there was a recent study where i live about this whole cellphone-texting thing, and if banning it is really effective. turns out since they made it illegal to text while driving there has been more accidents invovling drivers distracted by their phones. why? because they are trying harder to hide the phone, making it harder to text. i think there needs to be better education on what happens while driving and texting.

other stuff is someone impossible to cut out of your everyday driving experience. anybody who has kids is going to be distracted, should kids not be allowed to be in the car either? i say take care of the things that can be easily ticketed-makeup applying, texting etc, and the other stuff we just need more education on.

Joy - posted on 10/05/2010

I think TALKING on a cell phone (hands free) is no more distracting than singing to the radio, talking to a passenger or, like Jodi A. said, having kids in the car. I think a lot of states have banned texting and driving. I recently moved from Florida and it wasn't long ago they made it illegal to text and drive, or to talk on the phone and drive unless you are hands free. I know in NY, where I live now, it's the same way.



Edited to add: Correction: In Florida, it's actually been the law for awhile but not long ago (within the last year or so?) they made it a primary offense. As in, before it was a primary offense, a cop couldn't pull you over for it. Now they can.

Mylene - posted on 10/05/2010

I had one lady almost run me over while I was pregnant because she wanted to turn right on the red and was talking on her phone while doing so...

I also had one lady come out of a back alley while checking her freaking make-up. She almost ran my step-sons over. She should have been fined. We were lucky my step-sons had seen her coming because I would not have been responsible for my actions if she had hurt any of them.

I find it so sad that the distracted driver laws are not enforced more because I think it would save a lot of lives.

Alison - posted on 10/05/2010

I think a distracted driver law is ridiculous and impossible to apply. If a distracted driver causes an accident, they should be held responsible. A campaign to prevent distracted driving could prove very beneficial.

Telling the kids to zip it in the car? Not gonna do that. Car-time is a time for all of us to catch up, chat, sing together.

Cell-phone ban? Absolutely for it. There is no need to use the cell-phone in the car. People need to learn the definition of urgency.

Wanda - posted on 10/05/2010

I'm in Ontario and cell phone use and texting while driving are illegal here too but that doesn't stop most people from doing it. While I agree slowing down would help, turning off the electronic gadgets would be a bigger help. I walk a lot of the places I need to go and I have a 2 yr old in tow (sometimes he's walking, sometimes in the stroller ,depending on how far we are going). I've had some near misses and not because of speeders but because some dumb f**k is trying to text while making a left hand turn and I'm in the middle of the intersection. I've screamed some not very nice things at a lot of idiots.

Distraction is a subjective term but I don't see why people need to be texting and making phone calls while driving. If it's that important, pull over and take the call.

Mylene - posted on 10/05/2010

I think the speeding is also an issue but I can't help but think that someone who is going above the speed limit but paying attention is less dangerous than someone who follows the limit but texts while driving, eat, applies make-up... I am not saying that speeding is right at all but IMO, it is the lesser of the two evils.

Heather - posted on 10/05/2010

I think people speeding is a bigger problem than being distracted. Distraction is a subjective thing, but speeding is speeding. Those signs that say 65mph on the side of the road don't mean that's the minimum speed. I don't know about Canada, but the average speed on our roads is 10mph faster than what the limit is. I think if everybody slowed down there would be a huge reduction in the number of accidents. BTW, cell phone use and texting are illegal while driving in California...doesn't make a difference bc it's not enforced.

Candi - posted on 10/05/2010

yes kids can be a distraction. As soon as my kids could talk, we had a rule. "IF THE CAR IS RUNNING, YOUR MOUTH IS NOT!" we still follow that rule and they are 11, 10, and 5. It works for the most part. Of course it worked better when they were younger. If my 2 older ones want to talk (which is rare), they will get in the 3rd row (we have a van) and they talk quietly. They all have a DS and they all like to read, so we mke sure they have something to keep them busy no matter if we are going on a long trip or just 1/2 mile to the grocery store

Mylene - posted on 10/05/2010

I think the law should be a distracted driver law instead of only banning cell-phones. A lot of accidents are preventable and are caused by drivers who are not paying attention to their driving. We have to keep in mind that cars, trucks and any motor vehicles can become weapons and cause severe injuries or worse death. i think that some drivers are getting too casual and forget that even though we use the car everyday, it is no less of a danger.

I can't wait for Alberta to pass the distracted driver law.

@Shannon, they might never know, you might never tell them but that happens in any cases. the law would allow police officers to pull you over and give you a ticket if they notice that you are minding something else than your driving. It doesn't only apply to when you get accidents. In fact, it is more aimed at preventing than punishing.

Jodi - posted on 10/05/2010

If there were laws against ANY distraction, then we wouldn't be allowed to drive with kids in the car....... Personally I think kids can be the biggest distraction of the lot sometimes.

Having said that, I do think there are some things that should be outlawed. Where I live it is against the law to use a phone in the car unless you have it hands free. Applying make up? Get your arse out of bed 2 minutes earlier and do it before you leave.....or arrive 2 minutes early and touch up then. It isn't rocket science. In my 41 years, I have never tried to apply makeup while driving. If you really need to do it before you arrive somewhere, pull over for a minute. If it is THAT important, you could find the time.

Candi - posted on 10/05/2010

When I am driving, I am just driving. There are too many other distracted drivers out there and I don't need to add to it. If my phone rings, I will get one of my kids to answer it and if they are not with me, I will pull into a parking lot to answer it. Whoever is trying to call me can wait a few minutes. I don't need to multitask while doing something that can kill other people or myself. Driving is serious business, don't be stupid when you're behind the wheel. Luckily I have never had an accident, so whatever I am doing seems to be working for me. I know so many ppl who text while driving! How?! or better yet, WHY!?!? is it really THAT important?? All it takes is a second to have an accident. Yesterday actually we were driving down the street and the car in front of me slammed on the brakes! If I hadn't been watching, I would have rear-ended him! No I don't tail gate, but he slammed on brakes going down a very busy highway for apparently no reason, then another cr about ran 2 cars off the road in front of me. (I live in VA, so tht explains bad drivers. lol) You have to watch out for other drivers as well as yourself

Shannon - posted on 10/05/2010

Hmmmmm. I think it would be really hard to determine what the distraction actually was. I play with the radio, I look at the map, I look in my purse for a tissue, I put on chap stick...All while driving. How are the authorities going to know that I was reaching for the diaper bag to get a pacifier for my crying baby & not just hit a patch of ice???

Tah - posted on 10/05/2010

i was thinking the same thing when oprah began the signing the contract on cell phones. I said eating while driving, changing radio stations, and other things can cause you to be distracted as well.