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Texting While Driving Will Kill You

Original post made by Michael Austin, Pleasanton Meadows, on Mar 18, 2018

I drive on northern California freeways every morning, five days week. I encounter drivers of motor vehicles on the freeways that are texting while they are driving.

They are drifting into my lane of travel on the freeway in front of me while they are texting and driving.

On one recent occurrence of this type of activity, I honked my horn at the texting driver. She over corrected and drove into the lane of traffic on the right, miraculously escaped collision with vehicle in that lane she over corrected into, because the vehicle driver in that lane was alert and avoided the texting driver.

The texting driver in this incident was a young lady. As A result of this incident, I will never again honk my horn at a texting driver. I will simply give them all the roadway necessary, for them to kill themselves. Hopefully, they do not kill innocent people in the process.

Texting drivers are not limited to young ladies. I encounter older male drivers engaged in texting while driving. There is A lot of texting drivers on the freeways of every age, of every nationality, of all genders.

This violation of motor vehicle code is impossible to enforce. There is no resolution for this texting while driving demise.

However, most all motor vehicles manufactured today now have hands free technology for answering calls, with programmable voice commands, can make calls. However, there will remain the text nuts, no matter the sophistication of available technology to avoid texting while driving.

Comments (4)

Posted by A deadly practice
a resident of Livermore
on Mar 20, 2018 at 9:56 am

A deadly practice is a registered user.

I don't understand these people who text and drive. It especially enrages me when I see people doing it with children in their cars. When will people learn? Texting while driving kills people everyday in this country. It is illegal in many states, but I don't know if it is illegal in CA. I guess what will have to happen is like what happened when it became a law to wear your seat belt; officers need to watch for offenders, pull them over and ticket them for texting and driving, and if you cause an accident while you are texting, you get extra penalties and if you cause a death, you go to jail for a long, long time. It will be difficult, but I believe we can stop this practice.


Posted by no name chosen
a resident of Downtown
on Mar 20, 2018 at 3:07 pm

no name chosen is a registered user.

There is a relatively simple enforcement fix for this. In every accident, fender benders included, the police should be required to obtain records of cell phone use at that time. If the driver who caused it was using a cell phone the penalty automatically rises to a felony with a $5,000 fine added on and suspension of the license. Period. No exceptions.

I was rear ended in another state by a 16 year old girl who was texting. In that state the cops check it. I was able to obtain a large financial settlement, which her insurance company would not pay because she was texting. Stupid kid will suffer the consequences of her stupidity for many years to come. As well as Daddy who had to sell his house to pay the settlement. It's called personal responsibility.


Posted by Yesterday's Isabel Crash?
a resident of Ruby Hill
on Mar 20, 2018 at 8:59 pm

Yesterday's Isabel Crash? is a registered user.

Could distracted driving have been the cause of Friday's fatal accident on Isabel Ave?

Web Link


Posted by Grumpy
a resident of Vineyard Avenue
on Mar 21, 2018 at 10:01 am

Grumpy is a registered user.

Handheld texting and driving has been illegal in California for a long time now.

Collecting cell records in accidents won’t help because it is allowed to use Siri, etc, to read and write texts—and that doesn’t require any more distraction than talking to a passenger.

However, looking at the screen should be absolutely forbidden. It’s still allowed the same way as looking at navigation or radio systems is, and probably has to be until car makers and phone companies come up with a uniform system for putting the display close to the eyes of the driver. And given the animosity Google and Apple have, this won’t happen without government regulation or a strange and miraculous shift in the market. But we do need it.

Honking is a tough call! I think I’d want someone to honk so I, as a third driver, could know that some moron was holding their phone and everyone around me could slow down and be more aware. I’ve always wondered why horns don’t come in two types: a “tootle” to make everyone aware and a “siren” to shock people.


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