Car Tech: What do you think is the biggest threat to safe driving?
- 5/30/07 11:37 AM
Everyone's a bad driver
by hgiles - 5/31/07 4:59 PM In reply to: What do you think is the biggest threat to safe driving? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Bad driving includes not recognizing limits. Paying attention to anything other than road conditions is bad driving. Reading directions, eating, drinking and talking are all things that make people bad drivers.
My parents got around the cellphone debate by combining errands and putting a kid in the passenger seat with the cellphone, directions/map and anything else that could take their attention away from the road. They drove and we took calls, just like we would it they were doing anything else that would keep them from the phone. Now that it's come out that talking on a cellphone while driving is just as dangerous as driving drunk, I'm really thankful they did that.
Cell Phones, Cell Phones, Cell Phones
by fordag - 5/31/07 5:53 PM In reply to: What do you think is the biggest threat to safe driving? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
First off if you have a hands free kit great, you're doing your part. Be sure you use it. I'm not against cell phone use with a handsfree kit. Though obviously there are people who aren't able to handle even that level of distraction while driving. They are the same folks who shouldn't even be listening to the radio while driving.
I can think of several examples I've seen of near accidents where it was easy to see the other driver holding a cell phone to their ear and not paying any attention to where they were driving.
Of course there are also many examples of accidents where someone on thier cell phone wasn't paying any attention and hit someone.
http://safety.blr.com/display.cfm/id/96848
Of all gadgets only the cell phone is bad.
by jazzy5 - 5/31/07 6:27 PM In reply to: What do you think is the biggest threat to safe driving? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Car Stereo in mostly one way to use. You select your station or CD and forget about it. You just listen to the music or talk show. Navigation system, you input your destination and let it guide you. But cell phone requires more of you. Not only you need to hold the phone but you are trying to maintain a conversation with someone that does not know what are you doing but distracting you. Your eyes might be looking out thru the windshield but your mind is some place else. That is when you are not aware of what is going around you. Your mind goes into a temporally day dream and you are all over the road, slowing down for not apparent reason or worst causing an accident.
Impatient Drivers
by 2dogday - 5/31/07 7:31 PM In reply to: What do you think is the biggest threat to safe driving? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Impatient drivers take foolish chances. It's worse during rush hour. I've seen drivers cut in front of other cars with only inches to spare. If the other cars happened to speed up only slightly, there would have been a high injury accident. Why dothey risk their lives to save no more than a minute or two? Most times they reach a stop light either at the same time or even later than I do, and I'm driving at the speed limit and taking my time. I do say a prayer for their safety though and also for the drivers whom they so recklessly cut off. 
It's D.U.I.
by Lawrence Goldschlager,M.D - 5/31/07 9:21 PM In reply to: What do you think is the biggest threat to safe driving? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
MADD has got it down. As the E.R.Medical Director of a hospital in the Florida Keys (No snow or icey roads;no mountain passes;no sharp curves) I can attest that driving under the influence of alcohol &/or other consciousness altering drugs is the biggest threat to safe driving, in my experience.
Accidents happen from bad reaction to unexpected events
by RHMlr - 5/31/07 9:31 PM In reply to: What do you think is the biggest threat to safe driving? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Anything that impedes a driver physically or mentally is a problem. It delays reaction or leads to wrong reaction; All the things mentioned are impedements: Smoking, kids, cell phone, looking at a map, etc. A hot ash falls into smokers lap at 60 mph; a child throws a toy at the driver; Driver drops the cell phone; All take away from the focus needed to control a car. What makes cell phone the worst is that driver is THINKING about what to say, not driving. NOt being prepared for unexpected. YOu can always tell a cell phone driver; the car is lagging in traffic, the driver mentally off in conversation. It should be illegal because the main difference is that it is preventable;
You left off the most obvious one
by nyabdns - 6/1/07 7:03 AM In reply to: What do you think is the biggest threat to safe driving? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Drunk driving. It kills far more people than the war in Iraq or 9/11. Instead of worrying about terrorists, we need to focus on the real threat to our lives. There are about 50,000 per year killed by drunk drivers, not to mention how many are injured and maimed for life, yet there is no hue and cry about that. If the idiots that are crying about the war would pull their heads out, they would realize that their sons and daughters are at more danger right here at home than they are over there. If you take the age group that is currently stationed in Iraq and look at the fatality statistics you will see that the biggest threat to their life is automobile accidents yet you don't see anyone picketing about that. Just goes to prove that people are not rational creatures with logic.
Mobiles!
by LunaVixen - 6/1/07 7:54 AM In reply to: What do you think is the biggest threat to safe driving? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Definitely Mobile Phones/Cell Phones. We have had several campaigns on our main road as they have had so many accidents because drivers are on their phones!
There are many others but I would say that is the worst at the minute. But anything that takes the drivers attention off the road is a threat from gadgets to eating!
It doesn't matter at all...
by Kevinr2422 - 6/1/07 1:34 PM In reply to: What do you think is the biggest threat to safe driving? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
People are going to be distracted by anything that distracts them. Take my mom. She can't walk through a room without tripping over a chair or jamming her knee on a wall. She's backed over bikes, run into poles and parked cars. Put her in a car and give her a car stereo. Of course she's gonna be distracted. (However, she thinks she's a good driver and gets very offended if there is any insinuation that she's not.)
The bottom line is that people can be distracted by anything. Radio, kids, shaving, eating, cell phone, gps, etc...
Some people are better at not being distracted. Some people can get dressed in the car. Congratulations. They probably shouldn't but if they have to...well...be careful. Who's to say that the guy getting into his Halloween costume while driving is any worse off than the guy who just found out his wife is having an affair? We can all be distracted at times. Thus, it's important to always drive carefully.
Don't drive fast. Focus when your turning. Have an awareness of everything around you. Mom. Even though you think you do, you don't.
DUI
by santuccie - 6/1/07 4:56 PM In reply to: What do you think is the biggest threat to safe driving? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
The greatest threat on the road is a drunk driver. And I stress alcohol over other recreational drugs, not just because more people use it, but because it actually impairs your vision.
The driver is the one "in the driver's seat"!
by JmsEmBer - 6/1/07 6:44 PM In reply to: What do you think is the biggest threat to safe driving? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I am seeing "bad drivers" with increasing frequency. Licensing is intended as a screening process for obvious reasons. Suspending someone's privileges may appear to be a harsh result, but not when compared to the consequences of a serious accident. If each person would consider what they could do that would make a difference,they might be surprised at the possibilities. Letting friends and family members know that you care about their well-being should be positive reinforcement and encouragement for "doing the right thing".
If you are mature enough to be "in the driver's seat", you should recognize the responsibility that requires. Be aware of the consequences of being reckless, careless, or excessively agressive.
Absolutely!
by tornadochaser1026 - 7/12/07 9:30 AM In reply to: The driver is the one "in the driver's seat"! by JmsEmBerI totaly agree. I hope you see this as I am replying to your post nearly six weeks later. I am working OT, and do not have much time anymore! It could not have been put better!
Bad Drivers
by tornadochaser1026 - 6/2/07 6:46 AM In reply to: What do you think is the biggest threat to safe driving? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Take most of that whole list, and it constitutes a form of bad driver. Get road rage out of the way first. That is attempted murder, or outright murder should someone get killed. The prison sentences should be stiff! Forget second degree; when somone decides to go after someone else, their car becomes a weapon, and they made a decision to attack someone. The same goes for DUI. When you make a conscious decision to consume booze, or use drugs full well knowing you will need to drive afterwards, you have made a decision that puts others in harms way. You do not care obviously, and should be a guest of the penal system, likewise. Secure the kids, and crate the pets. Figure some way, as my folks did to entertain your kids so as not to distract the driver. As to my former (and occasionaly still) avocation of storm chasing, for the scenic driver, and for the tech gadgets-PULL OVER!!
Tailgating is the biggest threat
by greenico5 - 6/2/07 8:13 AM In reply to: What do you think is the biggest threat to safe driving? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Tailgating is the biggest threat. When your driving 3 feet from the back of a car at 70 MPH, even if you are paying attention, you have no way to avoid an accident if the other car suddenly slows, stops or makes a sudden correction. Volvo's new beeper alarm is a genius idea, though I would rather have a required feature that will not allow you to drive too close to a car in front, i.e. that automatically slows you.
It's the DRIVER'S Fault.
by DonnyRay - 6/2/07 9:21 AM In reply to: What do you think is the biggest threat to safe driving? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
If you're going to ban cell phones, then let's ban Smoking.
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