Driving While Stupid: Text Messaging Teen Kills Cyclist
from the who-actually-thinks-that's-safe? dept
It's likely that we'll be hearing a lot more stories like this one over the next few years, but a teenager who was apparently text-messaging while driving stuck and killed a cyclist last week. This is likely to bring about calls for laws outlawing text messaging while driving, which is sort of missing the point. Doing anything that puts others in the road while driving is already illegal as reckless driving. Outlawing specific activities takes away from the idea that anyone sitting behind the wheel of a car should be responsible for keeping that car in control and safely where it should be. The fact that anyone would need a special law to know they shouldn't be text messaging while driving is a scary thought.Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
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so then?
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Re: so then?
I can see this being the "butt" of many lame jokes going around campus...
"Quick joey, Mr Rent-a-Cop is coming... he might put you in School-Jail for TXTing"
or
"Officer, I may have been speeding... but at least I wasn't text-messaging. I hear that is punishable by law now"
or
in USA, "I will sue 'company-name-here' if they ever text message me while I'm driving... they should know that's against the law, and I'm not about to get a ticket for such a sin as to break the said laws of this country" [read sarcasm]
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Re: so then?
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Re: so then?
I really get off on the "idiots" doing e-mails on their Blackberrys, while driving or sitting at an intersection, or women applying their make-up, while driving.
The same applies to cell phones. There are hands-free devices available, so they should be used.
There's a time and place for everything and driving a car while doing other things is not acceptable.
The kid who killed the cyclist should be punished to the fullest extent of the law.
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Re: so then?
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Re: so then?
Surely you mean "wreckfully"!
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Re: so then?
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Re: so then?
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Re: so then?
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How can you not be mad?
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Re: How can you not be mad?
And now she ggets a big fat insurance check
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Typo
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Too many crashes are treated as
A couple years ago in San Diego, a teenager, Stephen Smoot, fell asleep driving home from a party (in the morning), drifted across the road, struck and killed an assistant district attorney, who was jogging on the OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE ROAD. He got off with no jail time. It was an accident!
The laws are there, but the judges are not enforcing them. When you lose focus and cause harm, it's not an accident, it's your fault. Same is true when you lose control of your car because you were driving too fast, you didn't check the condition of your tires, etc. Jeez, people are stupid.
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Text Messaging while driving
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Re: Text Messaging while driving
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special laws are needed
Likewise a law to prevent text messaging, which no one can do safely while driving is a good idea.
Mike, just because you want to protect your habit of yacking on a cell phone while driving doesnt excuse this enormously irresponsible defense of text messaging while driving.
Think a little before you start your broken record.
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Re: special laws are needed
At what point did I say that I was DEFENDING texting while driving? I don't. In fact I call it stupid, because that's exactly what it is.
Also, I don't need to protect my "habit" of yacking while driving, because it's not a habit. I agree that it's dangerous.
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No Subject Given
...but if there was/is a law that prohibits receiving felatio whilst driving - would you stop some girl from puffing on your wood because it's "against the law"?
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STUPID
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OMG
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I text 'n drive
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Re: I text 'n drive
A red light is a different issue than taking your eyes off the road for any amount of time... even if you are driving straight you don't know what's going to cross your path
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Re: I text 'n drive,your not to smart,by a teen
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Re:
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The clue phone is not ringing in New Jersey
WHAT!!!! Why is this idiot not in jail already? Texting is even more distracting than talking on a cellphone, you twit! I sincerely hope you don't kill anybody while doing this!
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nice..
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