Freakin cell phones, blackberries, GPSs, iPhones, etc.

[DaveD]

I've got nearly 30 years of riding daily in Boston traffic under my belt - I'm no wuss. Driving a Sherman tank in Boston is dangerous, let alone a motorcycle. But today I seriously thought for the first time, "These %&$#@*! cagers are going to kill me." Why now? Because of knuckleheads who can't be disconnected for a few minutes.

Every day, I see dozens of people yakking on cell phones. Every time I pull up behind someone at a red light, I can see them looking down and to the right - and not at the dashboard; they're scrolling through their emails on their Blackberry or iPhone. Every day I see some kid driving along and looking down at his/her crotch, neither hand on the steering wheel as far as I can see, I'm sure texting some ultra-critical message like "C U L8R" to some other clown-college dropout.

Today, some numbnutz in a gigantic Tahoe came within a foot of rear-ending me because he couldn't wait until he got to the red light and actually STOPPED before looking down and to his right.

Another mile down the road, a cute young lady in a little Mazda comes drifting into my lane, again, maybe within a foot of hitting me before I swerved. She was fiddling with her GPS up on the windshield instead of looking OUT the windshield.

Again - I see this kinda crap EVERY DAY.

They just passed a law in Massachusetts that kids under 18 can't use cell phones, and no one can text. But from my daily observations, nothing has changed. On top of that, the law says nothing about all the great distractions you get with an iPhone or an Android.

Cars and trucks should come with a jamming device that kicks in and cuts out everything except the radio as soon as they're put in gear and start rolling. I'm really sick of this sh!t, and if I get hurt, or even worse, if it makes me want to not ride anymore, I'm going to be seriously pissed off.

I'm going to send a letter to the AMA and tell them I want them to sic some of their lobbyists on this issue.

 

[FJRBluesman]

I hate laws that restrict me; however, one really doesn't need to take a call while driving. Stats also show it's dangerous, sooo.... They could totally outlaw talking on a cell while driving, and I wouldn't care.

 

[kolonial72]

Next farkle: front- and rear-mounted cel-seaking missiles.

 

[Patriot]

my riding is impacted negatively daily by phones up in the ear of cagers...I make no hesitation to flash brights or blow the stebel when there's any concern or doubt what a cager will do or if I don't know they realize they are near my space. :dribble:

Or I ride this more often:

 

[FJReady]

Dave,

I feel your pain. I have the same dialog with myself every day around here. The **** you see people doing while driving down 128 at 7 am is amazing. At least the clever ones are now texting while holding their phones at the 12 oclock position on the wheel so they can keep half an eye on the road. dicks. When I see that on my bike I give a wide berth. When I see that while driving my truck, I get in front of them if possible and put on the brakes.

I also have the speech ready for the cop who pulls me over for going 85 on rt 95.' I am getting away from the **** whose stroking his crackberry while straddling lanes back there. Why don't you stop that guy before he causes a pile-up?"

Thats why I ride in Maine and norther NH alot. just animals with unpredictable behavior. Fewer cell towers and their addicts.

 

[DarkSpirit]

+1 on the missiles. Also make the fines really hurt their wallet. So, maybe they would actually think about not using their iwhatever when driving.

 

[kpm]

Dave,

You are an ***** to ride in that traffic ! I did it myself for 10 yrs in Miami. I got run off the road once a year at least on purpose. The merge game is not fun. Hated the tinted windshields cars have in Miami. I know you are a hell of a rider with eyes in the back of your helmut. Stay safe and as you know always watch the driver in the car and not the car.

 

[DaveD]

I hate laws that restrict me...

I agree 100%. I'm anti-helmet laws and anti-seat belt laws, and for the legalization of all kinds of dangerous recreational drugs. People should be free to be stupid and hurt themselves, if that's what they want to do.

But they shouldn't be free to be stupid and hurt ME, or scratch my shiny FJR.

 

[Pepperell]

Has anyone ever been/seen/heard of/read about a ticket issued for texting/talking/gaming on a cell fone BEFORE an accident?

Me either. What a bunch of hooey. Pass a law that is unenforced/unenforceable.

 

[07fjrTom]

No question about it. We take our lives in our hands everytime we head to or from work on a bike. I commute in Phoenix every day, for almost 20 yrs now. I joke that I am too stupid to know any better when some one asks me why I put myself through it, but I am questioning my own judgement more each passing year. It seems not to be even an event anymore when someone cuts me off or I see a ******** driving with her knee while talking on the phone and eating a sandwich.

I love it when the gov passes a new condom "(takes away the enjoyment while giving a false sense of security)" law to stop bad behavior. It makes them feel better but does nothing. Not much we can do but gear up and keep your skills polished and hope for the best.

 

[wheatonFJR]

Things have changed in the last ten years. I don't commute on the FJR because of internet/cell connected drivers.

I want to live so I can ride roads I want to ride. Until people/enforcement/laws change...I'll keep my FJR parked during workdays.

I'm pissed about it that people are killing other people with no thought at all...

Until the culture changes...maybe with strong graphic PSAs...and other things to change the culture, I will keep the FJR parked...unless I have to use it to get to work.

...and when that happens, my fate will be in my skills of avoidance, and how good/bad the person next to me/behind me is driving while "connected" to some other universe.

 

[Intech]

Has anyone ever been/seen/heard of/read about a ticket issued for texting/talking/gaming on a cell fone BEFORE an accident?
Me either. What a bunch of hooey. Pass a law that is unenforced/unenforceable.

Actually, NY has had a law in effect for years prohibiting hand held phone use while driving. It was 2003-4 that a slaesman showed up and told me that he just got a ticket for $250 for using his cell while driving. He said he has a hands free device in his car, but was driving the wife's car that day.

I was just in Mass last weekend and i thought they passed a similar law? I know CT has one. I think the law needs to be on the books, so that it can be enforced. The problem I see around here is that most of the time I see LEOs they have a phone in their face too!

 

[Steel]

Has anyone ever been/seen/heard of/read about a ticket issued for texting/talking/gaming on a cell fone BEFORE an accident?
Me either. What a bunch of hooey. Pass a law that is unenforced/unenforceable.

Yup. Plano, TX. Citation was issued to a female friend of mine. She was texting and the infraction was listed as driver inattention. She beat it in court, but hats off to the LEO that wrote it.

Did she learn anything from it? Probably not.

 

[07FJRSD]

Even out in the middle of South Dakota this happens, really sad hard to put blame for sure but cell phone was involved

https://www.argusleader.com/article/2010072...WS/7220329/1001

 

[Checkswrecks]

Driving into DC on a daily basis, I totally agree. Go ahead and kill yourself, but I sure am tired of people drifting into my lane while on their cell. I'm usually not one for new laws, but what's being enacted is what we've had in DC & MD & hasn't worked.

I'm all for having the towers not communicate with phones moving faster than 10-15 mph. Of course, even bringing this up would be political suicide for anybody in an elected position.

 

[FiveG]

Here in Collect-A-Cut, we have the requisite anti-cellphone/anti-texting/anti-whatever laws. but no one pays attention to them (or their driving, for that matter). Problem is: legislatures are great at the latest "feel good" legislation, but just as you don't need a bunch of different types of law against violent crime (it don't matter to the dead victim if he's shot, stabbed, or bludgeoned), so we really don't need all these particular driving laws.

What we need are (i) people to remember that when they're behind the wheel (or handlebars) of a vehicle, driving is the Job One; and (ii) law enforcment to simply start to enforce violations of negligent or reckless driving. It doesn't matter if the cute young thing in the Mazda drifts over because she's texting, looking at the radio, staring at the construction worker, reading the paper, or suddenly swerving because she missed the turn, if she does it, and it's careless or reckless, and you get scrunched, it's the same thing. By the same token, if someone can safely operate his or her car while talking on a cellphone, let them do it; it's not the technology, it's the driver. (Unfortunately, as a society we love to blame things for bad events, rather than the actors who actually cause the harm.)

If I were thus asked to address this, my answer would be simple: scrap every one of these specific, oft-technophobic laws and regs, and use the funds freed up to (i) empower law enforcement to simply enforce the basic rules against negligent and reckless driving and (ii) advise the public that if are careless, they are going to wear handcuffs. (BTW, that goes for motorcyclists who decide that it's fun to double the speed limit while closely passing the family in the mini-van, or who think that red lights are optional, too. It also goes for pedestrians who blithely walk out into traffic, either pretending that vehicles don't exist, or playing the "power game" by slowing traffic down.)

 

[RavFJR]

...as I said in another post. I lost a co-worker in a cell phone-related accident months ago. A women was texting, blew through an intersection a 75 mph and t-boned my co-worker on his way to work - killing him instantly. BTW, she was not hurt due to the size of her vehicle (an SUV) - he was in a Honda Civic. There is NO place for cell phones while driving... It's not a right, but a privilege, and should be respected - to which it's not. The cell phone laws in Cali have done little to detour the use of these devices... I'm all for the freedoms provided by our country, but most folks today have little sense on how their actions affect others - until it's too late! This being said, sometime a more aggressive approach is needed to deal with the problem.

 

[LDRydr]

Has anyone ever been/seen/heard of/read about a ticket issued for texting/talking/gaming on a cell fone BEFORE an accident?

Yes, here in Washington. Hundreds of tickets were issued the first weekend the law went into effect on July 1. The previous law was a secondary offense, could only be written if you were stopped for something else (no seatbelt, speeding, etc.), but they changed it so they can stop you for talking/texting. State Patrol said since the other law had been in place for some time that folks should be aware of it, and therefore cut no slack with warnings.

Not to get political, but I don't like the law any more than a helmet law. We just don't need more laws as much as we need responsible drivers. And I'd rather have our officers out looking for other, more deadly things such as unsecured loads, bald-tires, red-light runners, improper lane-usage, failure to signal lane changes, etc.

 

[Slappy]

Eveyone knows there is a easy fix to all of this, at least where you as an individual is involved. Get one of these The Cell Phone Answer and put it on the bike. Just press a button and the problem is solved. At least around you. Screw civil rights, those have already been taken away by big brother. This is the solution.

They make them specifically for in car use Vehicle Blocker