Apparently emergency sirens aren't loud enough

[jeepman3071]

Driving to work this morning there is a car in front of me, and an SUV behind me. I noticed in the rear view mirror that the driver of the SUV was wandering back and forth, and sure enough they were texting. I tried to keep an eye on them for this very reason since I didn't feel like getting rear-ended. About 10 minutes later I hear sirens, and look in the mirror to see flashing lights behind the SUV.

The car in front of me (now a little ways ahead) pulls over, cars in the on coming lane pull over, and I put my blinker on and pull over. As I pull over, the person in the SUV drives around me, causing the ambulance to slam on its brakes and beep the horn. The person just keeps driving in front of the ambulance until they pass all the cars that are pulled over and then the ambulance finally drives around the SUV.

Some people shouldn't be allowed to drive. This wasn't a teen driver either, it was someone in their late 30s or early 40s. Maybe it is time to invest in a dash cam like all the Russians.

 

[Bebop367]

It way to easy to get a drivers license!

 

[Kuato]

I wish I had room to vent about all the texty drivrrs.....some sort of reporting program should be started, they are one of the worst road dangers.

 

[Stelth]

Dash cam seems like a good idea. In the mid-to-late '70's, I rode on the back step of fire trucks a number of times, and even without cell phones, drivers did a lot of stupid things. Not defending texting and driving, or course, or other types of distracted driving, just saying that bad drivers are bad drivers regardless of generation.

 

[IndyIan]

Distracted driving kills more people that drunks here, but the fines are now $300-1000 and 3 demerit points. Why cops don't just set up some decent telephoto cameras and take 100 pictures an hour is a mystery to me.

 

[dparm]

It's 99% an enforcement problem. There are rarely consequences, and when there are, it's some [censored] fine that people will just pay and learn nothing from.

But yes, Indylan is correct: distracted driving is the root of most problems on public roads. Every state has distracted driving laws, and even creates laws that basically double the illegality of things (like a no cell phone law). Again, it's just not enforced.

I suggest you guys visit the National Motorists Association website below if you want to learn more:

http://www.motorists.org

 

[eljefino]

What really grinds my gears is the opposite "problem": People pulling over when the ambulance is a mile away. I do it if they do it: it's exceptionally rule to jump place in traffic, but sometimes the ambulance just has its lights on and is going 5-10 over the limit for something not overly dramatic.

People also stop completely on wide roads with no oncoming traffic for oncoming emergency vehicles. I prefer dipping two wheels into the paved shoulder and keeping it at about half the speed limit.

I suspect these same people let everybody go at 4-way stops because they think being nice beats being predictable.

 

[simple_gifts]

David Bouchier, a writer living and driving on Long Island, suggested this morning in his radio commentary that drivers, not vehicles, should be the target of recalls.

 

[SatinSilver]

Numbnut.

 

[jeepman3071]

Originally Posted By: dparm
It's 99% an enforcement problem. There are rarely consequences, and when there are, it's some [censored] fine that people will just pay and learn nothing from.

But yes, Indylan is correct: distracted driving is the root of most problems on public roads. Every state has distracted driving laws, and even creates laws that basically double the illegality of things (like a no cell phone law). Again, it's just not enforced.

I suggest you guys visit the National Motorists Association website below if you want to learn more:

http://www.motorists.org


I agree it is an enforcement problem. I may be wrong, but I think cops resort to enforcing speed limits because it is easy to prove. A radar gun records the person's speed and that is what is documented on the ticket. It is hard to argue against equipment that has recorded you doing something. With a distracted driving case, unless the person causes an accident or is caught on dash cam, it is hard to prove they did it. I'm not sure how the whole system works as far as what happens when someone gets a ticket for distracted driving, but I'm sure if the fines are large enough people will try to fight them.

 

[AlaskaMike]

In a case like this you need to call the police and let them know:

1. Vehicle plate number
2. Vehicle description including number and description of occupants if possible
3. Location and direction of travel
4. Specifically what the vehicle is doing (weaving within the lane; weaved into oncoming traffic multiple times, etc)

You do have the non-emergency number for local law enforcement already in your cell phone speed dial, right? Same for State and county wouldn't be a bad idea too. When you're in the middle of traffic and need to report someone who's driving with his head submerged up his backside, the last thing you need is to try to type in the number and potentially become a problem yourself.

Also, there is no reporting program necessary here--just call in and report them yourself!

 

[Pop_Rivit]

We have a motoring public that, in general, isn't capable of doing something as simple as backing up without a camera or parallel parking without a vehicle that does it for them. I'm not surprised that some folks aren't attentive enough to know when an emergency vehicle is behind them or what to do when one is behind them.

The kicker is that, if asked, the driver of the SUV in your scenario would consider him/herself fully capable of texting while driving. The people that do that are so clueless that they don't know they are hazardous drivers, both to themselves and to others.

 

[Wheel]

It would be nice if Motor Vehicle departments and media would stress that an auto is a piece of heavy equipment and should be operated as such. It's not something that should be operated with such a casual manner. If you can kill someone with it, how about putting some attention into what you're doing with it ?

 

[DBMaster]

As with any other activity performed incorrectly by millions, nothing meaningful will EVER be done to improve the situation aside from the eventual pipe dream of totally automated roadways.

How can you cite everyone who drives rudely, dangerously, or inattentively when all "law enforcement" seems to do about it is give out revenue generating speeding citations.

I am not suggesting that individuals (including law enforcement) don't want safer roadways. There is just too much going on at any particular time to effectively enforce anything. Millions of speeding citations are given out annually. Does that stop people from speeding? Point made. I would much rather see tickets given out for failure to observe lane discipline, which I believe causes far more accidents than speeding. That would be cheaper and easier to do since it doesn't involve expensive detection equipment. Again, though, it would make virtually no difference other than keeping some municipality's taxes lower.

Driving is just something that has become more difficult and exhausting for those of us who actually care about rules that make sense.

 

[supton]

Originally Posted By: jeepman3071
Originally Posted By: dparm
It's 99% an enforcement problem. There are rarely consequences, and when there are, it's some [censored] fine that people will just pay and learn nothing from.

But yes, Indylan is correct: distracted driving is the root of most problems on public roads. Every state has distracted driving laws, and even creates laws that basically double the illegality of things (like a no cell phone law). Again, it's just not enforced.

I suggest you guys visit the National Motorists Association website below if you want to learn more:

http://www.motorists.org


I agree it is an enforcement problem. I may be wrong, but I think cops resort to enforcing speed limits because it is easy to prove. A radar gun records the person's speed and that is what is documented on the ticket. It is hard to argue against equipment that has recorded you doing something. With a distracted driving case, unless the person causes an accident or is caught on dash cam, it is hard to prove they did it. I'm not sure how the whole system works as far as what happens when someone gets a ticket for distracted driving, but I'm sure if the fines are large enough people will try to fight them.


It's easier to prove, but, if LE wasn't about revenue generation then this would be still be fixed. I don't know what the penalties are today, but I'm guessing the fine&insurance hike is enough to make one want to fight the ticket, right? How many times does one have to take a day off from work and stand in line at the court in order so as to have a ticket tossed before they decide to drive better? Police officer gets paid whether in the patrol car or waiting at court.

 

[IndyIan]

I often wonder if its possible to charge a person with a simple traffic offense yourself? Gathering the evidence texting and driving is easy enough. A video of you taking a photo of the car and driver while its in motion should cover everything beyond reasonable doubt.

 

[DBMaster]

^I have seen plenty of police cars I would like to pull over and ticket. Training and experience notwithstanding, cops aren't much better drivers than the rest of us. No disrespect is intended here. I am simply making the statement that stupidity is a shared trait and no one is immune.

 

[dishdude]

People do stupid things when they see emergency vehicles. I have seen people slam their brakes on and stop in the middle of the road blocking the emergency vehicle.

 

[JTK]

Presently there's just no way law enforcement can keep up monitoring for idiots talking/texting while driving. I see it so much now it's ridiculous.

My car has blueToof, and I don't even like yapping on that while under-way. My cell phone is a relic, just the way I like it.

 

[DBMaster]

Originally Posted By: JTK
Presently there's just no way law enforcement can keep up monitoring for idiots talking/texting while driving. I see it so much now it's ridiculous.


And, every time you take a breath some city/state is banning something. Trying to turn the police into the stupidity patrol will end in utter failure. It's almost like a separate entity would be needed to keep up with all the bans.

I don't know if this is a pertinent observation, but for a few years it seemed like I witnessed a rash of people texting in movie theaters. Over the past couple of years the theater chains have undertaken very aggressive campaigns against such inconsiderate behavior. It really seems to be working. I very rarely have issue with people texting, or talking for that matter, in movie theaters. I still enjoy the big screen experience and, for a while, it seemed like the utter idiocy of the general public was going to kill it for me.