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Shut up, it's sports-related...

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MrHooch

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Feb 25, 2008
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For those of you interested in keeping up with the status of my mom (who is the owner of Boardtown Bikes, thus it's sports-related) you can go to http://getwelljan.blogspot.com/ and get the latest updates. Her husband (my step-dad) writes an update every day, and it's usually up on the blog site by noon or so.

I don't think it's in today's update because he JUST texted me, but she is being moved out of CCU (another name for ICU) today and into a 'step down room' so that is a huge step in the right direction. I know a lot of you were interested in getting updates on her so this is an easy way for you to check in whenever you like, and to get the whole story now that it's been just over a month since the accident. As I say every time I post about this, I know this isn't the Pond, and I am not the "prayer request" type anyway, so consider this a PSA about staying off your damn cell phones while driving...
 
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MrHooch

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at least on the state level to start, but yes I agree. Also my grandfather (her dad) from Texas told us yesterday the governor of Texas vetoed a bill that would've outlawed texting while driving.... 17ing stupid.
 
Center Z

Center Z

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Sep 4, 2006
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So at the very least, know that this has made a difference to at least one person in the world.

I was on a two lane arterial street (heavy traffic, 45 mph speed limit) with no curb and bar ditches on either side. It was the middle of the day, lunchtime I think, so there was a lot of **** going on (people entering/exiting out of businesses, subdivisions, etc.). A cyclist was pedaling along, approaching a hill. Cars were darting around her, coming very very close to clipping her. Keep in mind, with no curb, there was a significant drop-off from the edge of pavement to the bar ditch below, and as wide as the roadway is, it suddenly seemed very narrow with somebody riding a bike along the edge. There just wasn't enough room for everybody.

After all the cars in front of me went around her, I slowed down and let her pedal up the hill without passing her. People were going apeshit behind me, blowing their horns and flipping me off and ****. But I wasn't about to make that move. I'm a ****** driver to begin with so I wasn't going to take the chance. I thought about your post from a couple weeks ago and I knew I was making the right decision.

She made it to the top of the hill and pulled off into a parking lot. Then people started passing me really aggressively (flooring it unnecessarily just to get their engines to make a loud sound) and giving me the "+%!# you" look.

People are ********.
 
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MrHooch

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Center Z said:
So at the very least, know that this has made a difference to at least one person in the world.

I was on a two lane arterial street (heavy traffic, 45 mph speed limit) with no curb and bar ditches on either side. It was the middle of the day, lunchtime I think, so there was a lot of **** going on (people entering/exiting out of businesses, subdivisions, etc.). A cyclist was pedaling along, approaching a hill. Cars were darting around her, coming very very close to clipping her. Keep in mind, with no curb, there was a significant drop-off from the edge of pavement to the bar ditch below, and as wide as the roadway is, it suddenly seemed very narrow with somebody riding a bike along the edge. There just wasn't enough room for everybody.

<span style="font-weight: bold;">After all the cars in front of me went around her, I slowed down and let her pedal up the hill without passing her. People were going apeshit behind me, blowing their horns and flipping me off and ****. But I wasn't about to make that move. I'm a ****** driver to begin with so I wasn't going to take the chance. I thought about your post from a couple weeks ago and I knew I was making the right decision.</span>

She made it to the top of the hill and pulled off into a parking lot. Then people started passing me really aggressively (flooring it unnecessarily just to get their engines to make a loud sound) and giving me the "+%!# you" look.

People are ********.
Click to expand...
I guarantee you everyone of those folks going apeshit still got where they were going on time, or at the very least 1-2 minutes later. Nobody died as a result of them being forced to be courteous because of your consideration. You, sir, are a hero.
 
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MSUArrowCS

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Dec 19, 2006
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The biggest problem with cell phones while driving isn't having your hands free. Many people drive with only one hand on the wheel anyway. (Texting is another issue because it requires vision, but the point is the same.) The biggest problem is that your attention is divided between the conversation and the tasks involved in driving. It's the same as having someone constantly talking to you while driving, except that someone in the passenger's seat can see what's happening, and is a lot more likely to shut up if something happens that needs more of your attention (stopped traffic, someone cuts you off, a biker, etc.).

In fact, one counterargument to the hands-free law is that promoting the use of hands-free devices is still promoting dividing your attention. If you're still distracted, you're not doing anyone any favors, and some studies show you're as good as drunk. Even in many states with the law, it's a secondary offense that will only get you a ticket if you get caught doing something else (speeding, having an accident) first. So it doesn't even make much of a difference in the number of cell phones on the road as you're much less likely to get a cell phone ticket than you are a speeding ticket.

In case I haven't said it before, best wishes to your mom, hooch.
 
missouridawg

missouridawg

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Oct 6, 2009
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It's the attention deficit that's the problem... not solely the hands.

When you get in your car, put your cell phone on silent and put it in the console. Don't ever use it unless it's an emergency.</p>
 
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MrHooch

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Feb 25, 2008
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and a friend/interested party who works for some research center was part of a team that did a study and found exactly what you are saying... essentially hands-free does not ensure a higher level of awareness for what is going on around you. Our thought is that it's a step in the right direction, though.

Two things people need to remember:

1) Driving in this country is A PRIVILEGE, not a right. Too many people have an overdeveloped sense of entitlement regarding their "right" to the road and don't understand that pedestrians/cyclists/workers/police etc. can and will be on the road too.

2) That is not an obstacle in the road that is attempting to piss you off or slow you down, it is A PERSON. I've been stuck behind slow-*** tractors on the road before and I will freely admit that I have cussed them, but this situation has put a lot of things in perspective for me. The difference between the tractor and the cyclist is people get the badass mentality when their vehicle is bigger than the "obstacle." I can wait an extra minute or two to get where I'm going, it's not going to kill me, whereas the alternative just might kill me, or someone else.

Thanks ArrowCS
 
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drt7891

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Dec 6, 2010
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And you are absolutely correct. As a matter of fact, Mythbusters tested the theory that your driving is as impaired talking on the phone as it is while you are drunk, and the results were astonishing. The Mythbusters were asked a series of questions that required their attention to be diverted away from driving and thinking more on answering the question (to simulate an in depth conversation), and then tested them drunk, and the results were quite surprising in that the effects of a demanding conversation had along the same reaction time and driving impairments as driving drunk. It has unfortunately become part of our culture that it is socially acceptable to do something else while driving, and that is an accident waiting to happen. I hope this message gets to as many people as possible (although it has, but people don't pay attention to it until something like this happens) because it is certainly a growing problem... <div>
</div><div>*And apologies to Hooch for my post sounding a lot like his (I didn't read it before I started typing).</div>
 
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NashvilleBulldawg

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Nov 5, 2010
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but you never know exactly why Perry vetoed that bill. Let's just hope it was for a good reason. It drives me nuts when I personally see people with their phones to their heads and driving. I always use my speakerphone. The bill may have even eliminated that, so if that was the case, I agree with the veto. But, the main point with all of this is STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES. If it isn't a cellphone taking away the attention, it's the driver in the next lane, or the song on the radio, or the CD that needs to be put in the radio, etc, etc, etc. People just need to know their limits when it comes to doing more than one thing at a time while driving.<div>I hope your mom gets to full recovery.</div>
 
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