Unaware Driver + Traffic + BlackBerry = Accident Waiting to Happen

[Paul Martin]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003463811_blackberry06m.html' target='_blank'>http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/ht...ckberry06m.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>"A Mercer Island man fiddling with his BlackBerry was cruising down Interstate 5's express lanes Tuesday morning in his minivan, oblivious that traffic ahead had come to a dead stop. What happened next "could have been horribly tragic," said Washington State Patrol spokesman Jeff Merrill. The 53-year-old man's minivan smashed into a car, setting off a chain reaction that included three other cars and a Community Transit bus, which was carrying 28 passengers. No one was seriously injured, but the accident near downtown Seattle underscores the dangers of driving while preoccupied with electronic gadgets, other passengers and even "driver grooming," according to a state study."</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/211225580_24c7d6c69c_m.jpg" /><br /><span><i>Picture from Flickr user <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/21797336@N00/">BenZ</a></i></span><br /><br />OK, true confessions time. How many have done something like this and just not caused an accident? I've been trying to use my audio player on my Pocket PC at times and drifted a little, enough to make me nervous. Of course, I feel free to glare at the other drivers yapping on their phones. :mrgreen:

[JRWilliams308]

Hi, my name is JRWilliams308, and I'm a pdaphone addict.

And I'm the guy that refuses to talk on my cell in the car without my bluetooth handsfree but now let an email come in... and I've gotta scratch that itch.

And I have a 14 character password with a case sensitive and numeric mix. Anyone who uses a Blackberry knows that's a two handed operation.

So where do I sign up for the meetings?

[Paul Martin]

So where do I sign up for the meetings?

A Pocket PC Usergroup? :lol:

[phut60]

Mr. Martin seems to think his readers admission of not concentrating is a big joke. A man is So. CA dropped his cell phone on the floor of his car, chose to reach for it while driving. On the side walk he hits three family members and a 5 year old boy is dead..... Driving with cell/pdaphones is a potentially deadly situation. Is it really worth a life?

[Paul Martin]

Mr. phut60,

You seemed to have missed the irony in my post, so let me be clear. We all SHOULD be careful when we drive, but many of us also do something else, from talking on the cell and fiddling with MP3 players to messing with the radio or even adjusting the rearview mirror. ANYTHING that takes your attention away from the road is a potential risk. So please be careful when you drive.

[Phronetix]

Mr. Martin seems to think his readers admission of not concentrating is a big joke. A man is So. CA dropped his cell phone on the floor of his car, chose to reach for it while driving. On the side walk he hits three family members and a 5 year old boy is dead..... Driving with cell/pdaphones is a potentially deadly situation. Is it really worth a life?

Of course it is not worth a life, but sometimes joking about it can result in awareness that it is not a rational thing to do. And there are situations where treating it this way does more to change behavior and therefore outcome than by legislation, or by wielding a sword of moral superiority.

Dennis

[egarayblas]

I must admit I was once like this too. But after watching Final Destination 2's "highway tragedy scene", whenever I use my PPC Phone while driving, I get visions of cars flying around hitting each other and lots of people getting hurt. Since then I don't use my phone anymore while driving. I just stop at a safe spot for a while and respond to urgent calls or messages if needed.

Drive safely everyone! :)

[Xianfox]

I know just how distracted I can get, especially while driving, so I have about a 5min ritual I go thru when I get in the car before I even put it in gear.

1. Start GPS
2. Connect iPod, start playlist
3. Plug PDA into power
4. Launch mapping software/set destination (if necessary)
5. Put on bluetooth headset.

Getting all this done before I start moving usually keeps my mind on the road. Of course I do have to plan a few extra moments into my schedule.

[TOCA]

Scramble---scramble---Now where is that halo, I know it's somewhere around here..... :devilboy:

Oh well back to topic: No, newer done anny thing like that, allways using HF for the phone, and stopping for conversation :roll:

OK lets get real, I'm a sinner, who have done all the above, eaven more than once, and lived to tell, not hurting annyone, exept my own pride, when realising that I was in the wrong lane, close to the edge, or eaven missing a highway exit :oops:

But I know that those things ara as dangerus as drunk driving, and I belive that the pennalties should mach that! I really do :!:

A few months ago, a friend of mine allmost lost his life, when he drove into a house, while fidling with the radio, doing 50mph+, could be worse though, he could have hit someone else 8O

Will it stop me from doing those stupid things? Don't think so, I'll still be to curius to not answering the phone, or read the messages :roll:

[Ed Hansberry]

I used to, but it just isn't worth it. I only answer the phone if I have my BT headset and only make calls if voice command can handle it. I don't sms or email unless at a full stop.

otherwise, if I cause an accident, best case scenario is my insurance rates go up. worst case I totally ruin some family.

no, it just isn't worth it.

[dma1965]

We use a corporate business intelligence system which allows our regional managers to receive and send messages from and to our retail locations. It is the primary communication method our business uses. The regional managers used to use RIM pagers for this. When the Siemens SX66 came out, we developed a web-based system which uses PIE as the interface. It is quite slick !

The number one complaint I got from both the regional managers and the VP of operations was that it was now too difficult to message while driving. I explained that what they were asking me to facilitate was illegal, but they still whine about it.

[Janak Parekh]

I used to, but it just isn't worth it. I only answer the phone if I have my BT headset and only make calls if voice command can handle it. I don't sms or email unless at a full stop.
I won't SMS or email unless the car is pulled over, period. Safest bet. The most I'll do is to glance at my device at a red light, but I don't really like doing that. The drivers and pedestrians here are aggressive and unpredictable at best, and it's tough enough for me to navigate NYC with my full attention.

What happened to the old days without mobile devices? You know, where you'd call/email/whatever at your destination? Have we reached the point we can no longer do that? If so, I guess I'm glad that 99% of the time I can use mass transit during weekdays instead of driving.

--janak

[Ed Hansberry]

The drivers and pedestrians here are aggressive and unpredictable at best, and it's tough enough for me to navigate NYC with my full attention.
Driving in NY is insane. Sometimes the best you can do is point your car in the direction you want to go, gun it and pray for the best.

[Mark Kenepp]

Driving in NY is insane. Sometimes the best you can do is point your car in the direction you want to go, gun it and pray for the best.

Janak, I recommend that you ask Ed to let you know when he is in New York and stay off the streets :lol:

Janak does make sense though with his comment. Putting your attention on some non-driving task while behind the wheel puts the onus on others to make any necessary evasive actions. While I believe that everyone should practice “defensive” driving, by definition, defensive driving means that you don’t expect others to be defensive.

[Janak Parekh]

Driving in NY is insane.
Pretty much, yeah, and let's not forget traffic. I basically avoid driving in NYC except on Sundays, and only in limited circumstances (e.g., when I have to bring stuff home that I can't take with me onto the train). Long Island/NJ are a bit better, although they can get crowded, too.

--janak

[Janak Parekh]

Driving in NY is insane. Sometimes the best you can do is point your car in the direction you want to go, gun it and pray for the best.
Janak, I recommend that you ask Ed to let you know when he is in New York and stay off the streets :lol:
You laugh, but Ed's pretty much right on the money. Driving in NYC basically means quick reflexes and the commitment when you decide what you're going to do, i.e., changing lanes or merging into traffic. You just have to push your way through and hope that the other drivers will cooperate. Fortunately, if you know what you're doing and where you're going, they usually will. "Defensive driving" has to be applied really selectively here, otherwise you won't get very far. :?

Thank goodness for the subways. :) I drive perhaps 3-4 times a month, and only on the weekends at that, and the rare times I have to drive into the city I avoid the crazy intersections (Columbus Circle, Times Square, etc.).

--janak

[Paul Martin]

You just have to push your way through and hope that the other drivers will cooperate. ..."Defensive driving" has to be applied really selectively here, otherwise you won't get very far. :?

Sounds more like offensive driving to me. :) I'm fortunate in that I don't have a cell phone to distract my driving. I try to map the buttons for the audio player on my PPC. I've very rarely read an email while driving BUT I drive in light traffic with an off-rush hour schedule and it's only been once or twice.

[Janak Parekh]

Sounds more like offensive driving to me. :)
Pretty much, unfortunately. I was driving home on the Cross Bronx today. Anyone who knows NYC will understand that, basically, offensive driving's it for that road. :(

I'm fortunate in that I don't have a cell phone to distract my driving.
That's one solution. ;) The other is to train yourself to resist the pavlovian tendency to check your mobile device. Now, when my 700w buzzes in my pocket, I simply ignore it. It's a useful skill not only when driving, but in meetings and when talking to people -- I think it comes off as rude when someone is talking to you and you pull the device out of the pocket and check it.

It also helps to differentiate calls and emails. If I get a long buzz, it translates to a call. Depending on where I am, if it's a phone call, I'll glance really quickly and make a decision. Email and SMS get ignored until I have afree moment.

--janak

[DaleReeck]

Driving in NY is insane. Sometimes the best you can do is point your car in the direction you want to go, gun it and pray for the best.

"No one ever drove in New York. There was too much traffic."

-- Fry from "Futurama"


It takes a second before you get it.

:D

[Janak Parekh]

It takes a second before you get it.
Great quote. :) BTW, the city is comparatively traffic-free today. Cars are out and about, but no traffic jams. But I'm back to my trains and subways tomorrow. ;)

--janak

[that_kid]

Ahh there's nothing like NY traffic....unless you count NJ traffic which is all the drivers who couldn't make it to NY because of the traffic :lol:. The good thing about NY is that you have the subways as an great alternative :wink:.

[TOCA]

Have anny of you NY people ever tryed a trip to Europe, and drove a car in anny major Italian city? :roll:

Or Paris and its suburbs 8O

In parts of India, people belive so much in "Karma" that they don't bother turning on the headlights at night, if you die or gets hurt, its due to karma, and nothing else, no car safety feature can change that 8O

[Janak Parekh]

Have anny of you NY people ever tryed a trip to Europe, and drove a car in anny major Italian city? :roll:
Relax. We're not saying NYC is the worst in the world, just near the worst amongst our personal experiences. I've certainly seen Indian "driving" firsthand; Taiwan is pretty infamous, too. When I travel, I don't even try to drive. ;) In any case, the points made remain relevant.

--janak

[Steven Cedrone]

Speaking of major cities and driving: This reminds me of the movie "European Vacation" When Chevy Chase can't get off of that circle in London! Hehehe! "Hey kids, there's the houses of parliament!", "Hey kids, theres the houses of parliament!", Hey kids there's the houses of parliament!"....

Anyway, back on topic - I admit that I do text behind the wheel but I stopped answering emails! :wink: I have gotten better and usually will either stop or wait until I can answer safely!

[TOCA]

Talking and driving is a hazard, but walking and writing/reading is to:

Headline on one of the major newspapers today in Denmark:"15 years old boy killed wile writing SMS and crossing a road" He didn't see the stop light, and walked out into the trafic :?

[kiwi]

and I bet most of you guys drive automatics?? Try drivnig a manual/std vechile and talk on a cell phone without hands free... very hard to do easily..

[Paul Martin]

and I bet most of you guys drive automatics?? Try drivnig a manual/std vechile and talk on a cell phone without hands free... very hard to do easily..

Standard here. :mrgreen: My cup holders don't fit much so occasionally, I find myself bracing the cup on my seat so it doesn't fall over and shifting while turning on a side road. Not fun.

[srayls]

all i can say is YES im one of the ones you see driving and texting but my three kids in the back seat are more of a distraction then the phone.

[Paul Martin]

all i can say is YES im one of the ones you see driving and texting but my three kids in the back seat are more of a distraction then the phone.

Are you texting your kids? :lol:

[Ed Hansberry]

all i can say is YES im one of the ones you see driving and texting but my three kids in the back seat are more of a distraction then the phone.
wow. those are a lot of lives at risk. :( I hope those texts are of lifesaving importance.

[k1darkknight]

Sounds more like offensive driving to me. Nah...just 'assertive' driving. :lol:

NJ traffic which is all the drivers who couldn't make it to NY because of the traffic :lol:. And here I thought NJ traffic was all the drivers NY wouldn't let in! :rotfl:

Anyway...I honestly don't usually have any reason to even turn on my PPC while I'm driving at all, and the EXTREMELY rare occasions when I do so, I make sure I'm at least at a stoplight. And I never use a cell phone while driving at all, as I'm probably one of only 4 or 5 PPCT users who have a Pocket PC, but no cell! :mrgreen: Ah well...just gotta get my credit fixed a bit better than it is now, and go from there...