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Friday Dilemma: what to do about texting drivers?

Anthony Sharwood

by Anthony Sharwood

20 Apr 12:45pm

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Filed under: Friday Dilemma, Mobile Phones, Society, Texting

90 comments

No doubt you’ve heard the rather disturbing news overnight that a Jetstar pilot was texting midflight, which resulted in an aborted landing when he forgot to deploy the landing gear.

Our token attempt to prove this story is not ageist

It’s pretty funny, only it’s not too, for a whole bunch of super obvious reasons.

Just recently, I was in the hands on a young driver who was navigating with the use of their phone as we drove around the suburbs. They had eyes more for their small electronic device than the road. I didn’t say anything, but I should have.

It’s one thing to have some sort of GPS navigatory device on the dashboard. But holding a smartphone in your hand, whether you’re using it to text or navigate or gaze at hot bods on some love site, is plain dangerous.

People under 35 can’t go the toilet these days without their phone. In the elevators in our building, everyone is too busy playing with their phones to make awkward small talk. That’s actually a blessing, but there are other moments in life that demand full concentration.

Like when you’re driving.

I spent Easter in and around Canberra. They have these signs there, which are kind of embarrassing in the way police initiatives always are when they try to be cool. They read: Drive n text, UB next.

The signs make a fair point. But they clearly don’t get through to Gen Y, who probably thing that “UB next” means they get a new iPad before anyone else.

If all this sounds unbearably crusty, I recognise that people have always thought themselves unbreakable when they are young. I also acknowledge that older people sometimes text and drive too.

But it’s predominantly the young, and I’m struggling to know what to do about them. I don’t think the cops have a clue either. Maybe we need a rule which says the driver’s phone must be switched off if they are 25 or younger.

I don’t know, maybe some people think their smartphone is the remote control which steers the car.

Whatever the case, it was quite the eye-opener recently to be with a young driver who thought nothing of staring at their phone constantly while driving. They didn’t apologise, or stop, because they clearly didn’t recognise the behaviour as inappropriate. That last point is the scariest of the lot.

What to do about this? Say something in those moments? Make tougher laws? Give up and let social Darwinism wreak its ugly mayhem? You tell me.

Most commented

90 comments

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    • stevem says:

      12:53pm | 20/04/12

      How different is driving with a map on the ‘phone to trying to juggle paper street directory really? 20 years ago navigating meant driving with a street directory on your lap, tucked in front of the steering wheel, occasionally losing your place or struggling to find a new page. At least the ‘phone keeps you current position in the centre and highlights the path to take!

      Reply

    • KH says:

      01:11pm | 20/04/12

      Seriously, who drives with a street directory in their lap?  I have never once seen that, and I am over 40 thus have spent most of my driving life without phones.  I also have a melways in my car.  Texting while driving is simply idiotic.  The kind of thing utter and complete morons do.  I say take away their license for a year, or two.  They can text all they want on the bus.

    • Troy Flynn says:

      01:43pm | 20/04/12

      I might only have been driving for 7 years now, but even at age 42 I have NEVER looked at the street directory WITHOUT pulling over. NEVER. I ignore my phone the second I get into the car. If it rings while I’m driving, I’ll either pull over if it’s safe to do so, or simply ignore it till I get home. Usually the latter. I won’t eat food while driving, but I will drink from a bottle if it has a cap and only take a swig when stopped in traffic or at lights. I also know the layout of my cars interior and do not have to take my eyes of the road to skip to the next track or select random on the stereo.
      It really can’t be that hard to ignore your phone for 1/2 an hour or so can it?

    • undertow says:

      02:21pm | 20/04/12

      KH - I suspect the reason you have never seen anyone drive with a street directory in their lap is because the street directory is IN THEIR LAP!!!

      Of course, if you are a truckie that is able to look down into the laps of drivers below them, I take it all back and just have this advice… Take your eyes off their pants and put them back on the road!

    • JD says:

      03:05am | 21/04/12

      I’m going to admit it; when I had my old brick phone I would text while driving. But then I could co-ordinate what I wrote through the numbers and their corresponding range of letters. And I never did it while driving fast (most of the time while stuck in peak-hour traffic). I’m not proud, but I did it. Since my iPhone and the inability to sense via touch which button I’m pressing, I’ve never texted while driving.

      That being said, I’ve never had a street directory on my lap! Always on the passenger seat, checked at stop signs and red lights and temporarily memorising the next street I needed to take.

      Lay off the phones while driving kids - nowadays they need more attention than ever and that attention should be spent on the road.

    • nos235 says:

      12:53pm | 22/04/12

      stevem is just an apologist trying to justify his criminal activity

    • Anna says:

      05:12pm | 22/04/12

      Yep, I’ve had the street directory in my lap, propped up against the steering wheel. And it was only 10 years ago too.

    • Don't phone a friend says:

      12:57pm | 20/04/12

      People caught txting or fiddling with their phones whilst driving should be forced to fit phone jamming software to their ignition at their expense.
      This would prevent anyone in the car from getting service on their phone until the ignition was switched off.
      Gradually over time, the problem would get diminish.

      Reply

    • Tony of Poorakistan says:

      04:13pm | 20/04/12

      Not a bad idea. 
       
      I cannot understand why anyone would text when it is easier to actually ring. I have a voice activated phone kit in my car, but even without that, most late model phones will pair with a blutooth headset and will support voice activated dialling.

    • Tim says:

      01:04pm | 20/04/12

      Pfft Texting? Rookies.

      I drive with me knees whilst chowing down a Big Mac and coke and talking to my mates in the back seat and havin a durrie.
      Totally safe as Bro, haven’t crashed yet.

      Reply

    • Deets says:

      01:41pm | 20/04/12

      Maaaayte! Try crackin’ Bulli pass knee drivin’ the entire descent. It’s heckers cool.

    • Paul says:

      01:13pm | 20/04/12

      Saying something may get your head kicked in Anthony or worse.

      That said, last weekend three, young blokes broke down out the front of my house. I was gardening in the front yard when they popped the utes bonnet which was followed by the pungent odour of leaking LPG. They were standing there looking at the engine bay wondering what to do when I couldn’t help but say, ‘Fellas, you may want to put the ciggies out before the HZ lands on the moon and you blow us up.’

      ‘Thanks man!’ was the reply. Sometimes the young need a little guidance. Doing so with a sense of humour works a treat.

      Reply

    • Shocked says:

      03:00pm | 20/04/12

      Very true. LOL

    • Anubis says:

      01:20pm | 20/04/12

      The social darwanism option sounds right…except…they would more than likely take out numerous non young/drve&text; people in the process of removing themselves from the gene pool

      Reply

    • Admiral Ackbar says:

      01:22pm | 20/04/12

      Driving a vehicle is incredibly easy, and as Jeremy Clarkson showed, one can even sow on a button while racing at top speed around a race track without incident. Unfortunately, most people simply suck at driving, which is peculiar considering my first point that driving is incredibly easy. I for one enjoy driving and so the only thing I do while driving is drive (woah). But the thing I’ve personally witnessed is obviously terrible drivers (mums in 4wd’s is an example) who have absolutely no respect for the vehicle they’re driving, trying to perform other tasks in addition to the one that they are really really bad at. I don’t understand this at all, and perhaps has more to do with peoples over inflated sense of entitlement, such as believeing it is a right to be able to drive a car.

      It is a privelage, and I believe that more rigorous testing and more extensive training prior to getting ones license is warranted. Driving is easy for those who have hand eye coordination beyond that of an infant monkey, have spatial awareness, and are generally competant. As such, texting while driving wouldn’t be a problem if licenses were only given to those who could actually drive properly. We all know however, that driving laws are aimed at the lowest common denominator - those who are terrible at driving but have a license regardless, for reasons I’ll never understand, while those of us who are good at driving could quite easily maintain high speeds safely while performing other tasks such as texting Mon Mothma the attack plans for the surprise assault on the second Deathstar.

      Ackbar out.

      Reply

    • Wayne Kerr says:

      01:35pm | 20/04/12

      2 things

      1. Jeremy Clarkson is an idiot
      2.It’s not the sucking at driving that is the problem. The problem is that moment where you’re not watching the road and an obstacle gets in your way and bang you’ve crashed and/or killed someone. 9 times out of 10 you’ll be fine but at times things pop out unexpectedky when you’re driving and if you’re not concentrating on the road, you’re screwed.

    • wooster says:

      02:11pm | 20/04/12

      You do realise don’t you, there are some, who drive automobiles as a crew, pilot and navigator, mostly on a long distance mission. Bertie, a navigator I served with, is excellent on a dead reckoning plot, vectoring in my relaying to him throttle and mixture settings, hence ETA and point of no return where fuel stops aren’t mapped;  land speed, headwind, tailwind or crosswind, barometric data and BOM cyclone alert warnings, so that the target for tonight can be completed. Radio silence therefore is observed. One cannot be disoriented by spurious wireless messages.

    • Skull says:

      02:32pm | 20/04/12

      That’s right Wooster, trying to get anywhere with the incessant bleeping of the wireless is dashed tricky. Factor into that a spot of archy here and there and a Hun night-fighter and things can turn into an unmitigated disaster. It’s jolly good to have someone there to wind down the landing gear when your hydraulics go to pot too.

    • Fiona says:

      09:53am | 21/04/12

      Actually an occupational therapist told me that driving is one of the most complex daily tasks we do. We totally underestimate the fact that it requires hand eye co ordination (we also have to judge where our car is in relation to other cars etc), long and short range vision, medical fitness to drive and concentration due to constantly changing conditions.
      There are people that can function in all other areas of their lives, but are not fit to drive. I’ve had to be assessed twice for my fitness to drive and it’s quite involved.
      The occupational therapist I’m talking of assesses others for their fitness to drive, so she’s not just talking out of her arse.

    • Aitch B says:

      01:24pm | 20/04/12

      Meh.

      I have no problem texting them while they’re driving. If they are stupid enough to read and/or respond that’s not my problem! smile

      Reply

    • Steve says:

      01:28pm | 20/04/12

      How about a change to the Australian road regulations that
      1) following an accident, mobiles will be examined to find out if they were being operated at or near the time of the accident, and
      2) on routine traffic stops a mobile in the car’s interior with a single occupant will be defined as being in use. 

      So a lot of phones will be hidden once the flashing lights appear, but plenty of people will forget.  Hopefully the insurance companies will deny payment.   

      Mobiles are as bad as drink driving.  Let’s treat it the same way.

      Reply

    • iancunnning@ tpg.com.au says:

      03:54pm | 20/04/12

      Yes Steve; I have a pen and paper in my car and of course i’m writing my memoirs rather than driving with due care and attention. Steves’s law stinks and thankfully our law makers recognise this.

    • Alicia says:

      05:04pm | 20/04/12

      You’re an idiot.

      I sometimes drive to the shops with my wallet and my phone, both of which either sit in the cup holder or on the seat next to me.

      Doesn’t mean that I use them while driving.

    • seniorcynic says:

      05:53am | 21/04/12

      It is more comfortable to take the mobile out of my pocket when driving so I put it between the front seats and only answer it when it is safe to pull over and stop. I have never seen anyone text and drive - I couldn’t physically do it even if I wanted too. Of course I have seen many talking on their mobile while driving.

    • adam says:

      01:39pm | 20/04/12

      Let’s just round up anyone younger than, say, 25 years old once every month and beat the soles of their feet with rubber hoses.

      That should fix the problems with the world!

      stupid kids, what with their vitality and youth and wierd haircuts and clothes, and I don’t understand their music and…..... GET OFF MY LAWN!

      Reply

    • Tony of Poorakistan says:

      04:10pm | 20/04/12

      Nothing wrong with a bit of bastinado - I know a lot of girls who quite like it wink

    • JJJ says:

      09:04pm | 20/04/12

      Comment of the day.

      Of course, in my day you had to walk 10 miles with onion in your pocket (as was the tradition at the time) to send a comment like that using pigeons.

    • fairsfair says:

      01:46pm | 20/04/12

      I think we just need to come to terms with the fact that fining people and imposing laws has a minimal effect on statistics. People (particularly young people) have issues in accepting the fact that the risk is there “it will never happen to me/what are the odds of getting caught” etc. For that reason you have people that usually don’t touch their phone while driving make a split second to do so and with the alignment of fate - bang, they are in an accident. If we were fully aware of the dangers and the risks we simply would never touch a phone while in the car (might I add that if we were fully aware we wouldn’t change a CD, turn up the volume, scratch our leg or even get out of bed in the morning). 

      Personally, the idea of getting fined is not something that deters me from speeding. The idea of dying in a crash does not deter me from speeding either - it is just that the notion of driving at certain speeds is so ingrained into me it is an automatic thing that I don’t even think of. I generally don’t even look at my speedo to determine speed. You know from the sound of the engine and the gear you are in generally what speed you are doing and when you glance down you simply confirm what you already knew. We need to find away to make all of the processes of driving to be like this.

      We need to make the “leave your phone alone while driving” thing second nature through practice and positive reinforcement. I don’t mean rewarding people for good behaviour in a literal sense, but during the process of learning to drive (which I think needs a massive overhaul) we need to make this happen. Bombarding people with advertising materal and threats of being fined simply does not work. People do not even subconsciously take it on board because the “it will never happen to me/what are the odds of getting caught” impulse completely takes over.

      Reply

    • Josh says:

      01:51pm | 20/04/12

      Is texting and driving as bad as:
      eating/drinking anything;
      listening too/singing along too/changing radio stations/turning up the volume/inserting a CD;
      children;
      driving west at sunset, or
      looking at the speedo (which is what according to the law drivers must be doing)
      while driving?

      Reply

    • RyaN says:

      03:24pm | 20/04/12

      Nope, FAR WORSE!

    • Geras says:

      06:30pm | 20/04/12

      One night in 1964 I took my father’s FJ while he was at work, and wound it up to 100 mph on a major suburban road.  I’m wondering if it is as bad as that.

    • Anna C says:

      01:52pm | 20/04/12

      “What to do about texting drivers?”

      I think we should do a Saudi Arabia and cut their fingers off. That’ll teach ‘em. It’s hard to text without fingers.

      Reply

    • Troy Flynn says:

      02:21pm | 20/04/12

      Problem is we have voice recognition software available, oh hang on, wait a minute….......maybe that’s the solution.

    • Martin says:

      01:56pm | 20/04/12

      Pass a law that states anybody caught manipulating a cell phone whilst operating a vehicle can have said device jammed up their clacker by the constabulary. Followed by the Bluetooth device wedged into their lughole.

      Reply

    • bennie says:

      03:19pm | 20/04/12

      haha.. clacker… there’s a word you don’t hear often enough these days…

    • Davo says:

      02:14pm | 20/04/12

      Anthony - would you get into a car with a driver you knew was drunk? The minute the driver in any car I’m in pulls out a phone I just ask for them to pull over and let me out - they usually get the message.

      Reply

    • Inky says:

      02:14pm | 20/04/12

      “But they clearly don’t get through to Gen Y, who probably thing that “UB next” means they get a new iPad before anyone else.”

      You don’t know me, or how I thing.

      Frankly, what I thing about the signs is that they’re stupid and condescending. But then, so are most things that makes broad generalisations about my age group.

      Reply

    • RJB says:

      02:24pm | 20/04/12

      Is that what you really thing?

    • Troy Flynn says:

      02:28pm | 20/04/12

      Then I won’t generalise about you Inky, but please, proof read your posts before you hit send. Spell check will not pick up grammar errors. So no, I don’t know what you “thing” but I do know you can’t seem to be bothered to check that your post actually makes sense.

    • Inky says:

      03:23pm | 20/04/12

      Hey Troy, care to re-read the original article again, particularly the sentence I quoted, before you go off at me for not proofreading? My use of thing instead of think was quite delibrate.

      You know, on the subject of making sure things make sense before posting and all. wink

    • The Battle Rages On says:

      05:34pm | 20/04/12

      @Troy Flynn

      Haha fail dude!

    • Troy Flynn says:

      06:18pm | 20/04/12

      Fair enough Inky I stand corrected.
      Anthony did YOU proof read your article or did you also intentionally use “thing” too?

    • Tanya says:

      02:15pm | 20/04/12

      My family lost a beautiful, young relative because of another driver using a mobile and that is what it took to stop me occasionally thinking it was ok to answer mine in transit. That driver is in jail and was on suicide watch for a while after he went in. I believe drivers like him should be encouraged to participate in publicity campaigns about the legacy it leaves and about damage that can be done in a split second. Those are the people who know better than anybody exactly how it can happen.

      Reply

    • SM says:

      03:18pm | 20/04/12

      Your suggestion makes a lot of sense Tanya

    • dancan says:

      02:16pm | 20/04/12

      How about you just stay in the nursing home Ant, then you don’t have to worry about those nasty young people

      Reply

    • Martin says:

      02:45pm | 20/04/12

      @dancan

      Ant acknowledged older people use mobile phones whilst driving as well. Age is irrelevant to the (unlawful) act of using a mobile phone while operating a vehicle. Personally, I don’t give two hoots if you want to kill yourself over a stupid text. Unfortunately your stupidity could also kill me (See: Tanya’s post above yours) and that is unacceptable at any age.

    • dancan says:

      03:24pm | 20/04/12

      Oh please Martin the entire article was just a whinge at young people text-ting, I could write a similarly long piece on the number of tradies I see driving one handed while talking on the phone, or people who run red lights or accelerate up to and through orange lights, or turn without indicating, or speed through pedestrian crossings.  The list of stupid things people do while driving is huge and not bound by race, age or sex.  Saying something like “I’m not picking on gen Y, but…” is just a cop out for an old man whinge.

      And FYI i’m not gen Y and I don’t own a car, so I guess you lucked out there.

    • Martin says:

      04:10pm | 20/04/12

      @dancan

      Depends. Do you fit the aforementioned stupidity criteria ?

    • Yawnnn says:

      08:57am | 21/04/12

      @dancan, you appear to fit the stupidity mould.  Young people are involved in more road deaths than any other, why?  They imagine they are the best drivers.  In fact their driving is automatic according to them this is why they are great(dead) multiskillers. 

      Driving - texting(using mobile)  - hopping into coffins!

      ...and that’s OK if you want to join them, just don’t take any one else with you/

    • Anna C says:

      02:43pm | 20/04/12

      From my experience most people don’t seem to be able to walk and text at the same time without bumping into people and poles so what makes them think they can text and drive safely????  Also what’s so important that it can’t wait til later? Most people I know text utter rubbish to one another and none of it is urgent. It just proves that people are morons.

      Reply

    • Anna C says:

      02:47pm | 20/04/12

      I almost got run over recently by a cyclist who was riding hands free and texting while speeding down York Street Sydney.  I assume the anti-texting and driving laws also apply to cyclists.

      Reply

    • Donny says:

      03:29pm | 20/04/12

      @ I assume the anti-texting and driving laws also apply to cyclists.

      Hopefully so Anna, but I have never heard of anybody getting fined for it.
      I ride a bike most days to work and see a lot of people texting/talking on their phones while riding.  The amount of near misses makes me cringe at times.

    • Zeta says:

      02:50pm | 20/04/12

      ...isn’t this why Rick Santorum invented Siri?

      Reply

    • RyaN says:

      03:15pm | 20/04/12

      Easy solution, sue Apple for damages.

      I mean cigarette companies have to pay for the damages their products do right? Why should it be any different for companies that make these phones.

      Reply

    • TheOzTrucker says:

      03:27pm | 20/04/12

      There is no point me even commenting on this. As a professional driver I never see any bad behaviour or stupidity on our nations roads.

      Damnit!! My nose is growing!

      Reply

    • Al says:

      03:28pm | 20/04/12

      There is an easy solution.
      Have the cops actualy enforce the laws and increase the fines that apply to such practice (as they are putting people lives at risk and not just their own).

      Reply

    • Tator says:

      09:03pm | 20/04/12

      And when we do enforce these laws, we are accused of revenue raising, even when the offence is an absolute offence ie no excuse will ever get you acquitted.

    • Whiteman says:

      12:04am | 21/04/12

      I now live in Canada and just recently in our town they did a blitz on drivers using mobile phones.  A couple of cops stood at the traffic lights, in uniform, with a cardboard sign indicating fines for using a mobile while driving.  I guess a lot of people mistook them for bums because no matter how many fines they handed out there were still plenty of people using their phones.

    • Angry Fat Bitch says:

      12:19pm | 21/04/12

      Part of the problem is that generally people tend to behave themselves when the cops are around.

      Think about it - when you’re on the highway, and there’s a cop car nearby, does anyone speed? No - nor do they send a text. Because at that exact moment there’s a risk of a fine.

      It’s when the cops aren’t looking that people behave like idiots. So what we need is an increase in police presence, but also a change in the psyche of the average iSheep with a car.

    • Ken Oath says:

      03:48pm | 20/04/12

      The use of a mobile phone while driving should result in the loss of the driver’s licence as well as a fine, first offence or not.

      Reply

    • Nathan Explosion says:

      03:55pm | 20/04/12

      I tried using Siri to send a text to say I would be late to a meeting (traffic, arrghhh).

      She wouldn’t let me because I was driving the car.

      Reply

    • Simon says:

      04:12pm | 20/04/12

      I used to use my phone while driving. And then my girlfriend told me about the car accident she was in nine years ago where the driver (not her) was texting, resulting in two deaths. I no longer do it.

      Two solutions
      1) Do nothing. Evolution will take care of a few, and soon enough personal impact will make a difference on everyone.
      2) Make the fine $10,000. If people want to gamble that they won’t get caught, let’s up the stakes.

      Reply

    • MarkF says:

      11:26pm | 20/04/12

      A couple of years ago one of the truck driver delivering cattle to work told me a young girl had slammed into the back of his trailer and died.  After it was investigated it was found that she had just sent a text to her oldies saying she would be home in 15 minutes.  That was a very sad waste of a young life.

      Solution number one I can’t agree with because they are not the only ones affected.  Solution number two I agree with whole heartedly.

      My eldest daughter has her L’s and I’ve told her repeatedly that if she touches her phone I’ll kick her arse up to her shoulders (the damn thing seems to be grafted to her hand).  All you can do is hope.

    • Kika says:

      04:29pm | 20/04/12

      Aren’t they know saying that eating and driving is just as dangerous as texting? How many of you perfect people out there do that? What about women who paint their nails? Or talk to people?

      Reply

    • MarkF says:

      11:34pm | 20/04/12

      Doubt it…when you eat your looking ahead at the road while you stuff your gob…only little kids need to study their food to find their mouth…with a mobile your taking your eyes of the road to look at the screen…you figure it out.

    • ZSRenn says:

      04:55pm | 20/04/12

      In China it is law that you must have a mobile phone in your hand, child in your lap and dark cloth on your windows to keep the sun out before you turn the key.

      Reply

    • LJ Dots says:

      07:29pm | 20/04/12

      It’s the embarrassment factor for me.

      I don’t know if the police check the mobile phone log for drivers involved in fatalities, but it could be an effective billboard exercise in showcasing the last thoughts of texting drivers. Who would want to shuffle off with these gems as their last reminder?

      “1 ltr milk, fuk skinny sht”
      “yeh, no, noway, hot!”
      “B thr 10, PIZZA!”
      “TA, speddos, bg ears, hahah”
      “got kids home soon lv”

      Reply

    • azzure says:

      11:04pm | 20/04/12

      You cannot, I need to emphasis “cannot” change behavior through further regulation. IT DOES NOT WORK!!

      I am curious though to know via independent analysis of the actual effects of using a phone whilst driving, one thing that you will notice is that these “studies” all have an outcome before they even begin to collect data. biased would be an understatement and anyone can stack the statistics to favor a particular outcome.

      My money is on the phone having little effect on the driver, its the lack of skill which that driver possesses which leads to the incident and we can repeat this through speeding, and other “dangerous” activities. The reality is that some drivers are more than capable of texting, calling, speeding, in a safe manner but its easier to just regulate everything which we do.

      Reply

    • TracyH says:

      07:22am | 21/04/12

      Ironically, people text so they don’t get caught with a phone to thier ear (according to young people I’ve asked). It’s time all passengers realize thier lives are worth more than the drivers’ egos and demand safe driving. If I’m a passenger I say ” I was in a bad smash when I was younger so I’m a nervous passenger; you’re a great driver but could you humour me and slow right down?”. Of course, I’d rather say ” listen you f**^ng wanker you are a useless driver and have no right to risk my life”, but the first approach works better_ damn human egos!!

      Reply

    • Yawnnn says:

      08:35am | 21/04/12

      I had to get the help of my wife for this one, as I am not young and was driving at the time.
      At 1524hrs on Thursday 5th January I was travelling along the Old Windsor Road when I noticed the driver behind me at the lights furiously looking up and down, yep she had a mad panic attack and was desperate for texting!
      Obviously a matter of life and death (?)
      This occurred over a distance of about 3-4 kilometres, all the time managing to stay in her lane although the car was twoing and froing from the left line to the right white lines. Also, there was a distance of about a fifty metres between her and me, thank god, but to hell with the frustrated drivers behind and adjacent her.
      Texting finished, she pulled up next to me at the lights, pretty little blonde and obviously highly intelligent to be able to do so many things include having a CD hang out of her mouth at the time.
      I’m hoping someone out there loves this sweet young girl, perhaps her parents, grand parents or sibling and gives her a good understanding of what responsible driving and possibly keeping someone else’s family member alive is all about. The Hawkesbury sees enough of mayhem on the roads as it stands.
      If your loved one drives an old beige Ford Laser, U*C-706, and ironically displaying an “I Love Windsor” sticker at the rear, she’s your girl.

      Reply

    • yawnnn says:

      08:49am | 21/04/12

      Caught texting?  You should have your licsense removed for 12 months, with car locked up.  You are all potential killers.  Always know them, they’re the ones holding the traffic up wobling over the road.  Pull up next to them and get your passenger to video them.  There should be a web site dedicated to these nit wits.

      Reply

    • AAAdam says:

      09:38am | 21/04/12

      “You are all potential killers”

      Everyone and everything is a potential killer.

    • Yawnnn says:

      09:42am | 22/04/12

      @AAAdam does my bum look big in this Mr Literal?

    • Zdacey says:

      10:51am | 21/04/12

      I’ve started a one-woman campaign against drivers who use their phones while driving.

      The car horn is legally allowed to be used to indicate danger. I consider driving while talking or texting to be dangerous. So I lay my hand on my horn and let it blast, while glaring at the phone-using driver, until they take the hint and either get the hell away from my car or put the phone down and concentrate on the road.

      (Unfortunately I wasn’t brave enough to try it on the Mudgee policewoman holding her phone to her ear when she cut me off at a roundabout.)

      Reply

    • RyaN says:

      12:56pm | 23/04/12

      Zdacey: Apparently the police are allowed to use their phones, one rule for the peasants and another for the ruling class.

    • Angry Fat Bitch says:

      12:23pm | 21/04/12

      I wasn’t exactly blessed with an overabundance of intelligence…. but I honestly can’t fathom how anyone can be so stupid as to think texting while driving is anything other than dangerous.

      I mean if you answer a phone call you’re then driving with one hand. You can’t steer properly, you can’t change gears. It feels dangerous. But you still have your eyes on the road. If you’re sending a text that requires far more focus on your phone, so of course it’s not safe.

      We shouldn’t need ad campaigns and sad episodes of Packed To The Rafters and Dr Phil dedicating entire weeks to the cause just to tell people not to do this, it’s just simple common sense. Yet people still do it! It boggles my not-very-bright mind.

      Reply

    • Anjuli says:

      01:42pm | 21/04/12

      IF only some one would invent some thing which would make domestic mobile phones switch off as soon as the car engine is started.

      Reply

    • stephen says:

      08:57pm | 22/04/12

      I like someone to invent a driver’s brain that is started when the engine is.

    • Leo says:

      04:30pm | 21/04/12

      Seems there is a lot of hysteria about phone use. People stuff about with all kinds of legal gadgets in a car, such as ipods, tablets and so on, plus people eat, drink, do sightseeing and chat with other occupants. All of these things could be as much of a distraction as a phone.

      I would like to see some actual data on the number of crashes that are caused by mobile use. I suspect when compared with other causes such as alcohol, drugs, speed, inexperience, stupidity, weather and road conditions, phones will hardly rate a on the graph.

      Reply

    • Patrick Evans says:

      04:55pm | 21/04/12

      Research has shown that operating a mobile phone while driving is just as dangerous as driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.05 or greater. So therefore the answer to the question what to do is easy, make the repercussions of their actions the same.

      Reply

    • Utopia Boy says:

      05:00am | 22/04/12

      Clearly texting, just like any other distraction when driving is dangerous. When you answer the phone or text, your driving goes into “autopilot” mode.
      Most of the time that’s not a problem, but when you need to give driving your full attention to avoid a hazard because you were distracted, it becomes a major issue. Usually it will be too late to avoid having to break harshly, indicate with courteous timing or steer around an obstacle after checking mirrors etc. So you get into situations where a technical crash is avoided, but your normal safe driving behaviour is affected.

      Along with around 95% of driving errors, it comes down to attitude.
      Studies in Europe also show that the actual call content affects a driver’s mental state for up to twenty minutes after a call has ended. Imagine if you received bad news via text when driving? How is that going to affect the way you drive? And for how long? I recently had this discussion with a group of corporate types here in the middle east, and they kept asking me “What if it’s an emergency?” My answer was, as has been suggested above, if it is important, they will call back and you can pull over in a safe place and return the call. They were insistent with the line of questioning though - what if it was an emergency? I almost lost it but managed to bring them around by telling them that if you don’t answer or read the text, you won’t know it’s an emergency. Again, it’s attitude.
      That leads to the next issue - education. It’s a generational thing. How long did it take for the majority of Australians to habitually wear seat belts? Compulsory wearing of seat belts in Australia was introduced in the 1970’s and initially only for newer vehicles. After a while seat belts had to be retrofitted to older vehicles as well. And so it went until people of my generation (I’m now 40) will almost exclusively wear a seat belt when driving, and insist our passengers do as well. But that’s a 35 year journey!

      Mobile phones have only been accessible to the general public for about 15-17 years. The pace of technology has seen ever greater / easier ways for people to connect (hands free / bluetooth etc), so before our children can get used to one set of rules, the technology outpaces the laws. So how long before the new generation of young drivers come to realise it’s simply too dangerous to drive and voluntarily be distracted?

      Most would agree seat belts reduce the risk of serious injury in a crash. Mature persons would also see the dangers of using a mobile phone while driving. Repeated and ongoing studies also support this claim.

      The education though, should not come from the government, but parents by way of example and positive discussion. Children imitate their parents. They will use the mobile if you do. They will text their friends while their friends are driving if you text your partner to get milk on the way home.

      Reply

    • Anon says:

      11:43am | 22/04/12

      I vote we ban all children under the age of 13 from cars. The amount of times I’ve nearly been run off the road by women in huge SUVs turning around to syell at their naughty children is uncountable.

      Oh, and old people, who don’t look before merging. And people who travel under the speed limit in the right lane on the flippin’ Hume Highway. And all Learner drivers.

      Reply

    • P. Thornton says:

      01:17pm | 22/04/12

      I’ve made a living off the road both here and abroad driving delivery vans, articulated lorries and passenger carrying vehicles. Driving is a massive responsibility. Statistics show that most drivers presume they have above average skill behind the wheel. It’s rarely the case. Nor is illegal, irresponsible driving only performed by young or newly licensed road users. Which brings me to my second point: road users=anyone using the road; pedestrians, cyclists, car, truck and motor cycle users. I’ll keep it short. Impatience has already killed a few road users so far this weekend. Slow the f**k down!

      Reply

    • Chris says:

      06:32pm | 22/04/12

      Why not do what I will be doing. That is buy a camera to mount in the car or even one that you stick above your ear like the phone ear piece.
      I only wish I had one some months back when I watched the cop car drive past with the driver on his phone. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to turn and get his number plate since I was about to cross the road or the local cop shop would have been getting visit.
      It’s a joke when the people who enforce the law also break the law from speeding to drink driving. Yes cops do drink drive.

      I know I’m not a perfect driver and the last thing I want is the guilt of someone elses death or injury on my plate. Shouldn’t that be enough deterrent for people not to txt while driving. The problem as others have pointed out is people think they are way better then they are and/or don’t think about the consequences.

      Reply

    • Tator says:

      12:36am | 23/04/12

      Chris,
      Police have an exemption under the ARR that allows them to use a mobile phone in the execution of their duties.  The main reason for this is that in SA, all the GRN radios police use in the vehicles are all mobile phone capable and as thus, legally considered as a mobile phone.  On top of this, there are other occasions when it is operationally beneficial to be able to use mobile phones whilst driving.  But then again, a few abuse this exemption on a regular basis, personally, I have a bluetooth box in my police vehicle and use that to answer calls and texts wait until the next stop where I can safely read them.  But then again, I don’t live on my mobile like some people do.

    • M says:

      08:39am | 23/04/12

      Don’t do anything till they crash, then use the phone records to ascertain whether or not the phone was being used in the minutes leading up to the crash, and charge them with criminal negligence.

      Simple solution, no?

      Reply

    • Joanne Bennett says:

      07:51am | 24/04/12

      Put them in prison for attempted manslaughter as there is a very real possibility of killing someone.

      Reply
 
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