rjosey8385

I'm a non-smoker, too (except for a rare cigar), but my husband smokes and I know when he lights up in my S2000, he comes closer to death than he'll ever know

lig

smoking in any of my cars?

Any guests who smoke @ my home are welcome to light up outside on the deck.

Your hubby is *cough* playing with fire when he lights up in the S

Elistan

Based on personal experience, not any rigorous study:

1) Driving while talking on a cell phone is no more distracting or dangerous than driving while talking to a passenger.

2) Dialing a cell phone while driving is very dangerous, simply because of the amount of time it requires with the eyes off the road. Operating an iPod while driving is even worse. Swapping out CDs is pretty bad too. Rooting around the glove box for something as well. Reading a book or a newspaper or directions.

3) Driving a manual transmission car with only one hand (the other being occupied with cell phone, lunch, girlfriend or whatever) is dangerous due to a lack of control over the vehicle - ie, "Look ma, no hands!"

Zippy

I agree but that is not the case. If you read my post, that is a true story. The driver of the SUV was charged with leaving the scene of the accident and nothing else, served no time and paid no fine.

NJ now has a cell phone law, though it has made no difference, I still see plenty of people (mainly teens, certainly not exclusively) talking and driving, but paying much more attention to the former than the latter

rjosey8385

It's negligent manslaughter and there should have been repercussions. For example, you're driving down the road and a child darts out in front of the car. You have little or no time to react and hit the child. That's involuntary and for that (provided you stop and render aid) you probably won't be fined or jailed. Now let's say you're driving down the street looking for a building on your left and there's a child just off the curb retrieving its ball from the side of the street. You're looking to the left for this building and the car veers to the right, hitting the child. That would be negligent (due to your inattentiveness) and you probably would be jailed, or at least fined and put on some kind of probation. So regardless of whether this woman was on her cell phone or just a huge dumbass, she should have been fined and/or jailed, and I'm sure state law provides for that.... somebody just let her off too easily.

Morris

josey, that was no lawyer joke, it's true. The guy was put to death at 12:01 this morning. That was his lawyers appeal basis.

ralper

That shouldn't surprise anyone. The way things are today people will try anything, anytime, anywhere in order to win. Today we value winning more than we value fair play.

The lawyer probably figured that he'd take a shot, someone might just listen.

Of course this is a topic for a different thread.

jmc1971

If that's the case, then, IMO, the solution may be to amend the existing law regarding reckless driving or unsafe driving or whatever the state statutes say. I will never favor a law aimed solely at cell phones--and I don't even use one while driving! The real problem is driver inattention and, regardless of the source of the distraction, that's what should be fined or punished.

One day last week I was sitting second in line at a red light behind an SUV. Off to my right I heard the blaring siren of an ambulance that was approaching. The ambulance was making it's way through the intersection when my light turned green. The SUV ahead of me took off when the light turned and crossed directly into the path of the ambulance---which had to slam on brakes. On down the road when I passed the SUV I looked over and, sure enough, the driver was on the phone. (And it was a man!) What an idiot. I think he should be charged with reckless driving or something along those lines. This time he was on the phone, next time he may be digging wax out of his ears or playing with his PDA.

Zippy

It does now, but did not then. I was considered an "accident".

Warren J. Dew

I don't think so. I've been behind drivers using cell phones on several occasions when they hung up. In every case, their lanekeeping improved greatly and they sped up to the speed of traffic. Cell phone users are negligent drivers only when they are holding a cell phone to their ear.

So when driving while using a cell phone becomes illegal in your state, you'll quit?