New GA law - hands free

Bumpyroad wrote:
when my phone is "on" in my car with the blue tooth or whatever magic that is involved, is there any way to determine if I am actually using the phone? If it is sent a text message or notification that an email has been received would that show that I was on the phone?
bumpy

Yes, the phone companies records can be subpoenaed and time stamps checked, so it's pretty easy to do. It would show that you received a text, and it probably could tell if you'd actually read the text, not sure about that part.

nickthehunter wrote:
So let me see if I got this right. Most people can hold a conversation with other passengers in the car while they're driving. But somehow if they are using a hands free phone they are now distracted and can't hold a conversation while driving anymore?

That's exactly right. Apparently it's visualizing the person on the other end that is so distracting, as opposed to having the person right there in the car with you.

nickthehunter wrote:
So let me see if I got this right. Most people can hold a conversation with other passengers in the car while they're driving. But somehow if they are using a hands free phone they are now distracted and can't hold a conversation while driving anymore?

Read the scientific research out there...

when my phone is "on" in my car with the blue tooth or whatever magic that is involved, is there any way to determine if I am actually using the phone? If it is sent a text message or notification that an email has been received would that show that I was on the phone?
bumpy

So let me see if I got this right. Most people can hold a conversation with other passengers in the car while they're driving. But somehow if they are using a hands free phone they are now distracted and can't hold a conversation while driving anymore?

rickeoni wrote:
The ass hat who was on the cell phone and KILLED my daughter, probably was texting (difficult to prove).

Very sorry for your loss.

Death by cellphone just does not need to happen. The regulators need to get their act together over distracted driving and do something serious about it. Every accident investigation should include a routine requirement to check phone records to see if a driver was using their phone. Even if there's no deaths or injuries, there's untold billions of dollars in vehicle damage that could be reduced significantly.

I nearly died in my accident because the moron was on his phone instead of watching the road plus he was doing about 50 mph in a 30 zone. And he had the b*lls to hand me his phone so I could call an ambulance! Luckily I "only" suffered injuries instead of dying. I still vividly remember looking in my rear view mirror in the fraction of a second before impact only to see the mirror being thrown into the back seat at high speed and car being shot forward. So he may have gotten a fine (unlikely), he may have gotten a few points on his record (unlikely) and his insur. premium probably went up for a few years. His phone use never came up from my lawyer's discussions with the other side. How is that fair and what incentive was their to change his driving behavior? Zip...

Little is done to prevent distracted driving and nothing is done to change driver behavior after an accident if it was a contributing factor. Everywhere I go, I see drivers with phone stuck in ear (or try to hide it from view). They know they can get away with it most of the time. As a victim, it causes me much anxiety to see how common it is on the roads. An accident happens in a fraction of a second and can happen anywhere, anytime when you least expect it and affect not only you but others sharing the road with you. No driver has the right to put other's safety at risk on the roads because of their own stupidity. Just put your dang phone in your pocket or purse while driving and leave it there. :M

In Canada, the maximum penalty for impaired driving causing death is life imprisonment. The maximum penalty for dangerous driving causing death is 14 years. Killing someone by distracted driving should be the same penalty as DUI IMO, especially when you hear all the talk these days how dangerous it is.

When you've been a victim or lost a loved one from distracted driving, it changes you forever. It really bothers me when people brush it off and say they can "multi-task" just fine. Sorry, but distracted driving hits a raw nerve. 'Nuf said.

RayJayco wrote:

rickeoni wrote:
Attempted car jacking? Seriously, can't you come up with a better excuse for using your cell phone while driving?

You have obviously never had people approach your vehicle with a gun, sticking it in your window or trying to open your door... And yes, attempted car jacking on 2 different occasions. Hopefully it never happens to you or your family.

To make it easier for you, here are just a couple of examples.
I have had to call 911 for various reasons throughout the years. Perhaps 6 months ago a person dressed in all black was standing on a curve, high in the middle of the junction at I275 and I4 about 5:00 in the morning... There is no easy way for a person to get there...

A fire up near our farm in a greatly wooded, rural area. Probably due to someone carelessly tossing out a cigarette.

I have witnessed many accidents and car fires throughout the years and called 911. Have you ever pulled people out of a church van that is on it side with fire starting to come out of the front fender wells? Do you need more examples or can you grasp the concept? Perhaps you have merely led a sheltered life.

fj12ryder wrote:
"I don't know how we survived without cellphones..."

Seriously? I haven't really figured out why we need them in the first place. Kind of handy, but definitely something I can easily live without.

Sorry, I was being facetious. I should have made that clearer. I really do not like talking on a phone anymore nor texting. Say what you need to say and hang up. I don't need to read a book, just make your point. (Just to clarify, this is what I tell others, not pertaining to you.)

Thanks for "making it easier for me" I have an industrial first aid ticket and have stopped at the side of the road to help people in an accident, asked a bystander to make the phone call while I attended to the injured. I have held a dying man in my arms, again did not need my cell phone. I do not live where people stick guns in my window and try to carjack me, if I did the gas pedal is much more effective than a cell phone. The ass hat who was on the cell phone and KILLED my daughter, probably was texting (difficult to prove). So no I have not led a sheltered life, sounds more like you need to make better decisions on where you live and drive.

RayJayco wrote:

rickeoni wrote:
Attempted car jacking? Seriously, can't you come up with a better excuse for using your cell phone while driving?

You have obviously never had people approach your vehicle with a gun, sticking it in your window or trying to open your door... And yes, attempted car jacking on 2 different occasions. Hopefully it never happens to you or your family.

To make it easier for you, here are just a couple of examples.
I have had to call 911 for various reasons throughout the years. Perhaps 6 months ago a person dressed in all black was standing on a curve, high in the middle of the junction at I275 and I4 about 5:00 in the morning... There is no easy way for a person to get there...

A fire up near our farm in a greatly wooded, rural area. Probably due to someone carelessly tossing out a cigarette.

I have witnessed many accidents and car fires throughout the years and called 911. Have you ever pulled people out of a church van that is on it side with fire starting to come out of the front fender wells? Do you need more examples or can you grasp the concept? Perhaps you have merely led a sheltered life.

fj12ryder wrote:
"I don't know how we survived without cellphones..."

Seriously? I haven't really figured out why we need them in the first place. Kind of handy, but definitely something I can easily live without.

Sorry, I was being facetious. I should have made that clearer. I really do not like talking on a phone anymore nor texting. Say what you need to say and hang up. I don't need to read a book, just make your point. (Just to clarify, this is what I tell others, not pertaining to you.)

I can grasp this concept. Attempted car jacking should be accompanied by rapidly driving away or pulling your gun. Calling 911 at that exact time will do you no good at all. Calling 911 while pulling people out of a van precludes driving at the same time by definition. Calling 911 to report a fire is easily accomplished by stopping on the side of the road.

You are going to be hard pressed to find any reasonable excuse that means you have to be on the phone while driving. Even if you did invent some excuse, that is not the intent of the law to make sure people don't use their phone in true emergencies. The law is designed to prevent idiots from driving down the road talking and texting about what bar they are going to drink in tonight or some other equally mundane conversation!

Walaby wrote:
That feature on iPhones can be turned off.

Mike

Yep. So when your a passenger you can still use it.
And he has the self control and no need to use it while driving!

rickeoni wrote:
Attempted car jacking? Seriously, can't you come up with a better excuse for using your cell phone while driving?

You have obviously never had people approach your vehicle with a gun, sticking it in your window or trying to open your door... And yes, attempted car jacking on 2 different occasions. Hopefully it never happens to you or your family.

To make it easier for you, here are just a couple of examples.
I have had to call 911 for various reasons throughout the years. Perhaps 6 months ago a person dressed in all black was standing on a curve, high in the middle of the junction at I275 and I4 about 5:00 in the morning... There is no easy way for a person to get there...

A fire up near our farm in a greatly wooded, rural area. Probably due to someone carelessly tossing out a cigarette.

I have witnessed many accidents and car fires throughout the years and called 911. Have you ever pulled people out of a church van that is on it side with fire starting to come out of the front fender wells? Do you need more examples or can you grasp the concept? Perhaps you have merely led a sheltered life.

fj12ryder wrote:
"I don't know how we survived without cellphones..."

Seriously? I haven't really figured out why we need them in the first place. Kind of handy, but definitely something I can easily live without.

Sorry, I was being facetious. I should have made that clearer. I really do not like talking on a phone anymore nor texting. Say what you need to say and hang up. I don't need to read a book, just make your point. (Just to clarify, this is what I tell others, not pertaining to you.)