The Fuzzy World 3um

Im glad Wisconsin finally put this law into effect. just wish it could have been sooner.

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Life's a dance You learn as You go, sometimes You lead, sometimes you follow

We didn't need a new law against this, we already had one against distracted driving. Police just needed to enforce that law but for whatever reason chose not to. Honestly I don't think this new law is going to change many people's habits.

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Tim
KC9FSH
Visit my gallery at http://www.flickr.com/photos/kc9fsh/

Sadly, it'll take a lot more people dying to change people's behavior.

It's scary out there now; and it isn't improving.

Maybe the law will help some; probably won't. People are dumb.

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-Isaac

I/O Photography

I'm gonna go against the statements and say that its unfair to target/enforce JUST texters. Just saying in general..... Not denying that its a major problem. There are far more distractions that go on while driving than just the obvious one mentioned here. Let the list begin.

I agree with Steve and Isaac...there's many, many things out there that folks do that are just as distracting or more when driving. Does each and every single thing out there need its own law?

Don't do it. That's my opinion on texting while driving.

Even talking on the phone is dumb, but I admit I do it once in awhile (Especially when Kreklow calls me while I'm on my way to a railfanning spot ). I usually swerve toward the center line a little bit when I'm reaching down to fish the phone out of its pouch on my belt. Even more fun is when I'm in traffic or at a light/making a turn and I have to hold the phone to my ear with my shoulder, steer with one hand, and shift my manual transmission with the other.

So if talking on the phone causes that much trouble, I can't see how texting is even possible, let alone safe.

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Badgerland Rail Videos: http://www.youtube.com/user/HighIronofWisconsin
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If Im driving and my phone rings, I don't answer. i usually pull over and see who it was. BTW I remember Mythbusters doing a skit, they were trying to prove if talking on a phone while driving was more dangerous then drunk driving. I think they were both the same.


and like the old sayin goes " Shut UP and Drive"

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Life's a dance You learn as You go, sometimes You lead, sometimes you follow

You asked for it.......

Things I have heard of or seen people doing while driving: Playing a guitar, shaving, putting on makeup, breast feeding, having sex, working on a computer, watching a movie/TV show/porno, eating cereal with milk, changing clothes......

Now, as a truck driver, I don't answer the phone while driving, I have too much other crap to worry about. BUT, I will use a hands-free setup to call someone while driving. It has actually been proven that late at night, talking to someone on a hands-free phone makes a person more alert.

Funny thing is, the fine for four-wheelers texting while driving amounts to nothing. The fine for doing it in a commercial vehicle is 2,750 dollars, that is what the federal law says.......

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"May the Lord take a liking to you and blow you up, real good" - SCTV

the problem is that the law is not enforced. i have yet to hear of a friend getting pulled over for texting.

How popular are CB radios with OTR truck drivers these days? On a few overnight interstate highway roadtrips that I took a few years back, they really did make the drive go faster and with far less boredom.

This reminds me of something a few years ago on a nice warm day, I was heading westward on Northland Ave at US 41 here in Appleton and some guy in a flashy white new soove with the passenger window open turns left onto NB US 41 from EB Northland Ave (WI 15) right in front of me, such that I nearly had to hit my brakes in order to avoid hitting him. Yep, he was on the phone. I laid on the horn as loudly and for as long as I could, not so that he could hear it, but so that whoever he was yakking to (a client, his boss, etc) could hear it.



Mike

I think the days of the CB radio are slowly going away.

There are still enough people using them at night and when atmospheric conditions allow skip.

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Tim
KC9FSH
Visit my gallery at http://www.flickr.com/photos/kc9fsh/

From what I heard on the news about a week ago, the NTSB wants to ban cell phone usage nation-wide in any vehicle, hands-free or not. For the record, I wasn't exactly what you would call "awake" at that current time...so your mileage may vary on this one folks

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-12-13/us/us_ntsb-cell-phone-ban_1_smart-phones-texting-pickup-truck-driver?_s=PM:US

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Dan K.
WX9EMS
WQOC936

After Monday and Tuesday even the Calendar says W T F.

Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/d_kundert/

WBAY news out of Green Bay, WI did a piece on this a while back. They interviewed several LEOs from different departments on the subject. The hard part of enforcing the ban is that dialing a phone to talk looks like texting and vice versa. One officer said (loosely quoting here):
"Since dial 'n drive isn't illegal (yet) unless a person causes an accident where specific seconds come into play it's too hard to enforce or prove."

Bonus points - a LEO in Winnebago County rear ended a motorist because they were entering data from another crash into their onboard laptop. Where's the law against that?

This is where it would be nice to have a nationwide ban on cell phone use. It doesn't matter if it was dialing or texting or anything. If there was a cell phone in hand, it'd be illegal. Yes, it would be a pain. Still, I think it's much better than the safety concerns of where we're at right now.

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Chris
Denver, CO

"May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, leading to the most spectacular view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds." ~Edward Abbey