Think twice before using your phone while driving

[Jusselin]

Can you spot the motorcycle in this picture?



How about now?







The Honda rider was traveling at approximately 85 mph. The VW driver was talking on a cell phone when she pulled out from a side street, apparently not seeing the motorcycle. The riders reaction time was not sufficient enough to avoid this accident. The car had two passengers and the bike rider was found INSIDE the car with them. The Volkswagen actually flipped over from the force of impact and landed 20 feet from where the collision took place.

All three involved (two in the car and the bike rider) were
killed instantly. This graphic demonstration was placed at
the Motorcycle Fair by the Police and Road Safety Department.

Think twice about using your cell while driving.

[photonewb]

there's a nice loooooooooooong on youtube making it's way around the net right now that was put out by the UK gov't about texting while driving.

I like the new signs on the freeway that are saying something about making your car a phone free zone.

[DSL_PWR]

Originally Posted by photonewb

there's a nice loooooooooooong on youtube making it's way around the net right now that was put out by the UK gov't about texting while driving.

I like the new signs on the freeway that are saying something about making your car a phone free zone.

Ya but you have to take your eyes off the road to read the sign. Irony huh....

[Cajungaltx]

I am SO trying NOT to use my phone when I drive...

With a 13 year old watching... I know it's gonna be a 'battle' if I don't get it in hand "NOW!"... I have one very solid - no breaking it rule - I'm not going to hold HER to a standard that I don't hold myself to. Some folks might not agree... but I think that by using that method.....I have a much better kid... (sometimes... sometimes I want to snatch her bald headed... but that's okay too... ;-)

That you tube video somone mentioned was pretty rough too.... here it is:

[rab3rd]

A motorcycle moving at 85 mph is very hard to see and if you do see it, its hard to judge the speed due to its lack of mass. Side street says to me that the motorcycle was likely WAY over the speed limit. I am not saying that the driver of the car doesnt share some fault here, but not all of it.

So think twice about riding your motorcycle at high speeds on public roads too...

[AllenAyres]

... and 85MPH had nothing to do with the accident on a street with side-streets :/ - in other words, he was doing 85mph through an intersection - it's likely her not being on a cell phone would have made much difference - he bears as much responsiblity as anyone pulling out in front of him.

[janikphoto]

Originally Posted by rab3rd

A motorcycle moving at 85 mph is very hard to see and if you do see it, its hard to judge the speed due to its lack of mass. Side street says to me that the motorcycle was likely WAY over the speed limit. I am not saying that the driver of the car doesnt share some fault here, but not all of it.

So think twice about riding your motorcycle at high speeds on public roads too...

This is EXACTLY what I was thinking!!! Though there are roads and side streets like this in some country/rural areas, where the speed limit is as much as 75mph and side streets must enter with caution, my guess is the motorcycle was speeding. Texting or not, cellphone or not, listening to the radio or checking your GPS... even a fully alert driver would have a hard time spotting a speeding motorcycle.

[movingex]

Originally Posted by Cajungaltx

I am SO trying NOT to use my phone when I drive...

With a 13 year old watching... I know it's gonna be a 'battle' if I don't get it in hand "NOW!"... I have one very solid - no breaking it rule - I'm not going to hold HER to a standard that I don't hold myself to. Some folks might not agree... but I think that by using that method.....I have a much better kid... (sometimes... sometimes I want to snatch her bald headed... but that's okay too... ;-)

That you tube video somone mentioned was pretty rough too.... here it is:

Yikes.

[jtriron]

Originally Posted by movingex

Yikes.

Wrong side of the road, sorry had to but tragic anyway ya cut it
I NEVER text while driving and try not to even do the phone thing

[S-Man]

I see nothing in the OP.

[J Eddington]

Originally Posted by Cajungaltx

I am SO trying NOT to use my phone when I drive...

With a 13 year old watching... I know it's gonna be a 'battle' if I don't get it in hand "NOW!"... I have one very solid - no breaking it rule - I'm not going to hold HER to a standard that I don't hold myself to. Some folks might not agree... but I think that by using that method.....I have a much better kid... (sometimes... sometimes I want to snatch her bald headed... but that's okay too... ;-)

I agree with you. I started even younger. I would even talk about why I was doing what I was doing. Once they understood the "road rules" we would discuss what other drivers were doing wrong and ways to react to them if we needed. I think it made big difference when they started driving. I will never forget the call when her car was totaled. "Mom, I am OK. I didn't do anything wrong, and they crashed my car. They didn't use good driving skills!" She was parked in an end parking spot while she dropped her prom dress off for cleaning and a "Big" delivery truck backed into it while parked in a legal parking space.

[Tom]

Originally Posted by AllenAyres

... and 85MPH had nothing to do with the accident on a street with side-streets :/ - in other words, he was doing 85mph through an intersection - it's likely her not being on a cell phone would have made much difference - he bears as much responsiblity as anyone pulling out in front of him.

Exactly my thought. You could have an entire crotch rocket task force and still not get all the idiots that do crazy stuff on those off the streets. They make all other motorcyclists look horrible.

[rab3rd]

I could not even imagine have a teen learning to drive. I see so many crazy things happen just on my 7 mile drive to work every morning. I saw a women the other day talking on her cell AND putting on makeup driving down hwy 6. Do they still offer defensive driving in highschool?

[Brains]

YOU are your child's best instructor, and starting as early as they'll pay attention makes a big difference in their ultimate road safety, courtesy, and insurance cost.

One absolutely monumentally huge problem with drivers in many parts of Texas, and I have to say Houston is BY FAR the worst of anywhere in the world I have driven, is how discourteous and thoughtless drivers are. Simple things.... like cutting someone off at the last moment to take your exit... waiting until the last possible moment to merge two lanes into one -- while pacing the car next to you to prevent them from merging... like driving whatever speed YOU want to drive, in the left lane, while the 5 cars behind you want to get on down the road... like driving right next to another car on a two lane road, effectively forming a roadblock and also putting you BOTH at a disadvantage should something require evasive action (a kid runs into the roadway, would you rather quickly slide over a lane or run over the child? Houstonians seem to prefer the latter). I could go ON and ON and ON about how utterly bad drivers in Houston are.

You can drive for 2 minutes and see someone do something stupid here. Most of the time it doesn't even take that long.

To get back to the point, the more you teach your kids about driving BEFORE they're behind the wheel, the better prepared they are for when things go wrong. Things WILL go wrong, but you can be ready for them. A VERY large percentage of accidents are avoidable, by compensating for the SINGLE reason they happen in the first place -- not paying attention. If every driver was paying attention 100% of the time they were behind the wheel, the accident count would drop to nearly zero. Teaching kids to keep their eyes, ears, and MIND on driving, you'll keep them alive, uninjured, and keep the car smash-free.

Teach your kids to anticipate. Make sure you teach them how to build a mental "map" of everything around them - where the road is going, how the lanes are changing, where their next turn/exit is, how fast and how long until they need to make the next course alteration, where every car around them is and what you think they might do next. Teach them how to handle the car when things go awry - I wish EVERY driver had some basic emergency driving instruction, to be honest. How to handle the car if/when you hydroplane in the rain. How to handle the car if/when you skid around a turn because you entered it too fast. How to handle the car if something fails - brakes, steering, you drive a Toyota and the throttle sticks All of these things are manageable, but there's no actual driver training in the US unless you seek it and pay for it yourself. Sign on the line, here's your license.

Lastly, teach your kids to be courteous! Traffic flows FASTER and smoother, when drivers work WITH each other. Think about trying to get out of a burning sports arena - you're trapped inside with the fire lapping at your heels, while the people who just stepped through the door are now standing around BLOCKING the door because "well I'm safe now, I'm good." Think about others on the road, and do unto others as you'd have them do unto you. You'll get where you're going faster, with less stress, and even better gas mileage.

[Jeff_Green]

What gets me is how people use the above photos and demonstrations to show the dangers of using your phone while driving when it does nothing to prove their accusation. As has already been mentioned, the motorcyclist was speeding and yet that is not even an issue, is it? They see that a phone was in use and automatically it is the phones fault. I'd like to know what the speed limit was where the accident occurred. That tells you whose fault it is.

I can be talking on my cell phone in deep conversation and STILL be more aware than a lot of drivers are who aren't on their cell phones. Why? Situational awareness.

The title of this thread needs to be "Think twice before speeding on a motorcycle".