easy wrote:Texting is just the symptom we dont treat driving as the dangerous act it is. My guess is the most dangerous thing 85% people do daily. Those drivers would be reading, makeup on and on. 20 yrs driving a trk I have seen it all well till the next mile at least.
I think there are a lot of reasons for this and one, unfortunately, is how safe, smooth and quiet cars are these days. The sense of isolation from the environment is greater than in previous decades.The psychological effect is that driving is a solitary experience, not something done in coordination with everyone else on the roads. I think this also contributes to the attitudes people have about their "right" to use public roads versus the rights of others, overall impatience, and that sense that all other vehicles are an inconvenience.
Many new features such as collision sensors and proximity alerts exacerbate this. They're making driving into a much more passive activity, putting more of the act of paying attention on the car.
The problem is, almost all of these features are good for drivers and car companies. Cars should be quieter, safer, have airbags and any other features to help reduce crashes and fatalities. Overall, many of these things benefit most of us, even if their unintended side effects are potentially dangerous.
In particular, pairing driving with using a phone or other handheld device. And I'll admit it—I get distracted by my iPod when driving, and will glance at it to skip songs. At one point, my (wise) wife told me I should drive like I want everyone to when I'm riding a scooter. Now I leave it alone or use a feature that lets me swipe the screen without looking at it. As I recently learned, the average text takes about 4.7 seconds. At 55mph, that's about 100 yards traveled. Drivers are not watching the road and glancing at their devices. They're watching their devices and glancing at the road.
What's worse is the integration of Facebook and various digital services in cars. Even when operated by voice, there's a display and a distraction. As with hands-free sets, research shows it's not the object that's distracting, it's the call and conversation. With texting it's the object. With these integrated systems, likely both. I'm sure auto companies will market these features as being safer than texting or using your phone. Bah.
I freakin' love my technology. I'm attached to it and pretty much using some network device every waking hour that I'm not on a scooter. But I'm really damn tired of dodging cars every day.
</rant>
