texting & driving add. Tough to watch but a REALITY!

[calv]

wonder why it's banned? EVERYONE, especially teens need to see this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMYKXSPgaIw

please post it on FB, email to friends and family.

[WatchingThemGrow]

wow. really, really tough to watch. thank you for sharing.

I live in a college town, and EVERYwhere, I see people texting at stoplights. I'm sure they're reading them while driving. I've been thinking about making a sign to stick in the window when I see them doing it. anyone ever tried that?

[vonfirmath]

Is it really banned?
the last time I saw a "banned" ad -- it turned out it was not really banned. Someone just claimed such to try and drive traffic to the video.

[andbabymakes3]

Originally Posted by vonfirmath

Is it really banned?
the last time I saw a "banned" ad -- it turned out it was not really banned. Someone just claimed such to try and drive traffic to the video.

Banned (as in, against the law, you will get a ticket) in California for sure and varies by state.

[Fairy]

That's made the rounds previously, and I really don't think this is banned. It's a PSA.

[Melaine]

Originally Posted by andbabymakes3

Banned (as in, against the law, you will get a ticket) in California for sure and varies by state.

They are talking about the ad being banned, not texting while driving.

[andbabymakes3]

Originally Posted by Melaine

They are talking about the ad being banned, not texting while driving.

Ah, I get it. Yes, it is a Public Service Announcement made for schools in Britian. I doubt the U.S. has gone to any effort to ban it, although it's unlikely you'd get to see that on U.S. TV, which actually really irritates me, since we feel free to show plenty of pointless violence on TV shows and in movies to kids under 17. God forbid the violence has a good message.

There is a clip on YouTube that was a news bit in which they interviewed the Director/Creator of the video and his position was that if you are old enough to drive/take the risk you should be well aware of the real consequences. He also points out that the video, while graphic, doesn't begin to compare to the reality, which is much worse.

[GonnaBeNana]

My daughter just did a paper on this very thing for senior comp. class. While I completely agree that texting and driving is very dangerous, I disagree with laws that make it a crime to do so. Here's why: MANY, MANY things people do while driving are dangerous; talking, tuning the radio, changing a CD, eating, drinking, smoking, reading, applying makup, shaving, writing, etc. I've witnessed them all many times. I've seen people getting dressed while driving! Where does legislature draw the line? ALL of the above things have caused accidents and fatalities. It is IMPOSSIBLE to enforce these laws as a primary stop reason. That means, pulling someone over for seeing them engaging in this behavior. I think a better means is to make the punishment and/or fines MUCH stiffer for those who cause an accident while doing the above. It all falls into the broad category of distracted driving and it's impossible to eliminate all of the distractions while driving. Talking to another individual in a car with you is just as distracting as talking to them on a hands free device with a phone. It's impossible to ban or control.

For example: run a red light and hit a car=$$ fine and so many points, etc. Do the same because you were texting, or whatever and the fine/points, etc. triple at a minimum.

I'm sure to be flamed for my opinion, but that's OK. We lived in the UK for 8 years. They banned all use of cellular phones in vehicles without a handsfree device. The sales of the devices soared because the fine was L1000! That was about $1800 in '04 when we left. It didn't stop people from doing it. It just made them drop their phone if they got near a policeman.

Beth

[MomToOne]

Because it's not about our hands being free it's about how distracted we get while conversing with another person on the phone, either talking or texting.

Can't find the $.02 smily but that's mine

[Fairy]

Originally Posted by MomToOne

Because it's not about our hands being free it's about how distracted we get while conversing with another person on the phone, either talking or texting.

Can't find the $.02 smily but that's mine

Right. I do lots of things in the car while driving, including my makeup. But I'm looking out the frakkin' window. Even changing the radio station you can do by feel pretty quickly. But you can't text by feel, especially on a touch screen. You have to look at the keys. It's been a serious struggle, but I do not text while my car is moving. I will still do it when it's stopped, but now that I think about it, it's been a while since I did even that. The fact is that studies have shown that texting while driving is the same effect on the vehicle as driving drunk. No, I don't have the study handy, I'm not that guy. But they're there. It should be against the law, and I support it.