Study finds texting while driving bans may increase accidents

jim1634 said on September 29, 2010 at 10:19 PM

Hmm, how did the study find out that texting was taking place at the time of the accident? If the insurance companies would find out if texting was going on at the time of the accident, they dont pay out to the offender. You dont get compensation for breaking a law. If common sense does not win out, hit the offenders in the pocket book. Food for thought, your dentist is working on you while texting or a doctor is stiching you up while texting. Just goes to show ya, one cant pass laws against supidity.

chowderchops said on September 29, 2010 at 8:07 AM

Haha, stupid liberal nanny laws fail again. When are you lousy liberals going to get it? the government cant solve every single problem and make everyone happy with Big Brother government. Some of us still value freedom and individuality. Enjoy your failure sheep.

javajoe said on September 29, 2010 at 6:06 AM

Another example of a typical liberal law that does nothing but add another layer of issues. It's the same problem we would face if we band sipping a cup of coffee and the list goes on............ Let's just face it liberals can't walk and chew gum at the same time and they think everyone else is just like them. Not so.

rigidprinciples said on September 28, 2010 at 11:55 PM

You really can't respect the folks enforcing traffic laws when they don't simply ticket bad drivers, and instead point radar guns at cars and goon the drivers to see if they are on a cell phone. All you really have to do is get a real job, and drive to and from it each day, and you can routinely spot the bad drivers. It has little to do with speeding, less to do with cell phone usage, and is mostly just bad driving as a result of a complacency to bad driving from ou traffic enforcement officers. It comes from the top down, and the predatory traffic laws seem to be easier to generate the much needed revenue.

w7rkd said on September 28, 2010 at 11:09 PM

Guilt = Crash!

slappywag said on September 28, 2010 at 10:37 PM

misterg you must not drive much. I see just as many people on the phone cutting off other people with the phone up to their ear (if not more) than before the law became a primary offense. I agree 100% with blankingout. It is indeed because people are trying to hide the fact that they are texting by putting the phone out of view, forcing them to take their eyes off the road. Things change in a hurry on the road. Blink and you could find yourself in an accident. Taking your eyes off the road for 3-4 seconds at a time is plain STUPIDITY.

dakotanative said on September 28, 2010 at 7:10 PM

Of course the numbers are going up. Instead of holding the phone up where you can see the road, people hold the phone on their lap and have to look away from the road. Then we add in the hands free devices that plug your ear, making it harder to hear what is going on around you. But, I think they forgot to figure in the stupid stuff that more and more people are starting to do. Stuff like the losers that put 22 inch rims on their rigs. More of those are showing up every day. Traction is almost non-existant and any little bump in the road can send you tracking into the ditch or the car next to you. Stopping distance increases significantly. Then imagine the difference in handling when you are supposed to have 6 inches of sidewall for cushioning the ride, but you change to a 35 series tire with a half inch sidewall. No give there. Finally add in that many of the wheels go on vehicles that are already top-heavy. Oh, and the rfap is so loud that they hear nothing around them.

blankingout said on September 28, 2010 at 6:58 PM

I told everyone! When people used to text, it would be at road height WITH THE ROAD IN VIEW. The ban started with those old T9 keypad phone that took attention by making sure you punched in the right character. Now the ban has people hiding their cell from view and looking AWAY from the road to text.

newlogin86 said on September 28, 2010 at 3:53 PM

I love those who think their body position and glancing downward does not CLEARLY give it away they are texting.

newlogin86 said on September 28, 2010 at 3:52 PM

I do not think that such data can be accurate. I just do not see how it would increase them.. let me guess the act of trying to hide it leads to more crashes? But really how can you compare "state to state"? Why did it NOT go up in the one state? That right there tells me the study is bunk.

cvn65 said on September 28, 2010 at 3:25 PM

Yes it would work if those idiots who choose to ignore the law would obey the law.

remainingreal said on September 28, 2010 at 2:14 PM

joe723 and omgrofl- I agree with both of you. This state has the most ridiculous drivers I've ever seen and the blatant disregard for others and the law is just pathetic.

jah20 said on September 28, 2010 at 1:55 PM

Foolishness! The study provides nothing to suggest that banning texting causes more crashes! It definitively shows that texting bans do nothing to curve the increase of drivers texting while driving. More texters = more crashes

omgrofl said on September 28, 2010 at 1:50 PM

This story is VERY misleading. They come out and say that NOT texting is causing more accidents and then in the next to the last paragraph say "... the increase might be the result of drivers trying to keep the phones out of view while texting." I believe this is ACTUALLY the reason why accidents have increased. I see it all the time. People are still thinking they're above the law and get sneaky about their texting (and calling). It takes time for bad habits to stop (if they ever will) so this study is premature in my opinion and should have never been printed. Stories like this just feed the controversial flame for opponents to the texting/driving ban. There is no way you can SAFELY text and drive at the same time.

karlv said on September 28, 2010 at 1:21 PM

Joes723: I agree with your comment about Washington drivers being some of the worst in the country, though I feel Oregon drivers are the worst overall.

misterg said on September 28, 2010 at 11:40 AM

More than likely the data acquired prior to the ban misrepresents what was really going on. Were traffic tickets listed as negligent driving detailed enough to show texting as the cause? I am suspect of the study. I have noticed a significant improvement in safety on the road since cell phoning was restricted.

awol50 said on September 28, 2010 at 11:36 AM

As I have always said, these laws are just pretexts to taxing driving thru traffic ticket revenue. Time to flush the toilet and remove the turds from olympia and get rid of these noxious laws such as seat belt laws for adults, red iight/speed cameras, etc. Let's cut the traffic fines for insignificant traffic violations down to $5. That will remove the incentive that the local and state governments have in writing traffic tickets and put these officers where they really should be.... investigating the serious personal and property crimes such as murder, assualt, armed robbery, property/auto theft, etc. Police departments are always complaining about being undermanned, but they can always find the manpower to sit on the side of the road pointing a radar gun or aimless driving around looking for hapless driver mistakes. The main motivation for traffic enforcement is raising revenue. Whenever you have government having a profit incentive in doing anything, corruption ensues.

brewster said on September 28, 2010 at 11:28 AM

Don't blame the law for the crashes, that is the stupidest thing I have read in a while. Blame the ones at fault, the texters!

joes723 said on September 28, 2010 at 11:17 AM

"The institute's spokesman, Russ Rader, says the increase might be the result of drivers trying to keep the phones out of view while texting." That's exactly why the statistics are going up! People are trying too hard to hide the fact that they are still texting while driving. Plus, what's worse, is that the ones doing it shouldn't even be driving to begin with! Drivers around the western Washington are among the worst I've seen around the US. So throw the cell phone in there, or hell even another person, and people are just not paying attention, period.

chevelle70ss said on September 28, 2010 at 10:53 AM

Well duhhhhhh, i constantly see people still doing it.