Texting and GPS use

I won't be going to Cincinnati any time soon.

I can see it now - people stopping on highways so that they can input a changed address to their GPS's.

That ought to solve the problem real quick!

Fred

Will it apply to Police and Fire personnel entering data into their mobile data terminals while responding to emergency calls? Talk about "unintended consequences."

I believe I take my eyes off the road just as long, to change HVAC controls, Radio stations, volume, etc.
I see a majority of State, Local and County police cars with Panasonic Toughbook Laptops mounted on RAM Mounts and the officer inputting keystrokes while driving.

You said life was fair? You can always become a policeman.

cheers

In the past few months one of the TV stations here in Tucson did a piece on Police using their terminals while in motion. The TPD spokesman never realized how stupid he looked stating that it's different for them. They have gotten training so it is perfectly safe for them to be traveling at high speed, responding to calls, while looking down at their screens and inputting or retrieving information related to the call...

Of course the reporter never asked the obvious next question; "Looking down while driving is safe how?"

In reference to the thread. I use my 1490T for hands free operation of my phone. I still have to press the screen to answer the call. Is this prohibited by their new law too?

I can see it now. A new law that requires all vehicle operators to be in a sealed off compartment separate from the passengers. (S)he will have no access to any controls other than the accelerator, brake and steering wheel. Any attempt to talk on a cell phone or even communicate with the passengers will carry a mandatory death sentence. We do it for the CHILDREN.

Like the beer is now?

I'm in the minority here, but I'm not sure the rule is all that bad. If you need to look down and start typing in an address,etc. then you're not watching/concentrating on the road. I've seen people typing in numbers on their cell phone while driving, and they start swerving into the lane next to them. That's only 7-10 digits to type in. It could be quite a bit more to type in, not including switching screens/menus, when entering an address into a GPS unit.

Texting & talking on cell phones illegal in construction zones in Illinois. For the last several weeks, both of the state highways in Aledo are being repaved. I have not observed any police staked out anywhere.
I have noticed a lot of traffic being detoured past my house. Seems like one in three are talking on the phone and not slowing down for the blind intersection. Scary.

I hope you are not in the minority here. It seems that a lot of people object when some perceived "right" is "taken away". I would submit that texting (or dialing a phone) was always a bad idea and contrary to safe driving and having your vehicle under control at all times. It was never a driving "right".

Legal/illegal..whatever...

I just cant get my head around the need to punch tiny lil keys while driving.

I admit..I did it once...ONCE.
Anybody who claims they can do it and not be HEAVILY 'distracted'...is..well...lying.

I'm in NY and this is a "hands free" state. Yet I have to dodge the usual moron reading a newspaper while driving, or taking care of the children in the back of the vehicle, or talking on the phone or texting... you get the idea... these laws are nothing without constant enforcement, not just when the elections are coming up. From what you say, it looks like just another check box item for someone's political career as they aren't even enforcing it now.
If you really want to be safe, pull over. If in the highway, get out of it, park and change the address. I can't see how people need to change an address while driving. If that is a necessity, then get one of the voice command capable units. That's what voice recognition is good for.
I live in an area near the border with CT. There is a main road that takes all the people from CT that go to work in NY and back home. No alternates available, unless you want to add 1/2 hour to your commute. CT allows talking on the phone while driving. You'd think NY police would have many traps along the way. Not the case...

Very sensible. Thanks for the comments.

The intentions will be noble, the need obvious, after all it's for your own safety.

Then it becomes a revenue generator, a money maker, if was to go away, they would have to raise our taxes to make up for the lost revenue. They would have to fire teachers, stop free lunches for the children.

Well you get the drift.

The laws against texting or talking on a cell phone while driving aren't the problem. My problem with these type of laws is that you can't legislate away stupid. I have seen people reading paperback books while driving down the interstate at 70 MPH...STUPID. But the more laws they pass, the more laws they have on the books and courts can "interpret" laws in just about any way they want to. I wouldn't be surprised to see that these laws are interpreted to mean that you can't talk on a cell phone while in sight of a car.

These laws aren't needed. It is already against the law in most states to drive while impaired. Splitting your attention between a cell phone and driving is impaired driving.

Nope, they are exempt....

Along with seat belts for another.

most of the time it's looking up things not entering addresses. If done smartly then there is no problems. Like looking in a rear view mirror or looking for the edge of the road. Everything can distract you like the radio or cd. So go figure.

What would exempt them?

Full disclosure - I have fooled with my GPS while driving and almost always have felt that I was compromising the safety of myself and others.

Are we not too confident in our own abilities?

This point is harsh but more or less true. Worse than the "liars" are those that think they can dial, input etc. and not be distracted. They are deceiving themselves and putting all of us in danger.

Recently I successfully avoided hitting an adult bicyclist because I caught movement in my peripheral vision and slammed on the brakes and stopped 5-10 ft short of hitting her. The point of this story is that I was only able to avoid the bicyclist because I was doing one thing - driving. My attention was not diverted by a cell phone, a GPS, a radio or a passenger.

By the way the cyclist was crossing against a red light.

People will just gripe about it and will continue thie behavior until they get fined too many times or kill themselves and other too possibly from not paying attention.

Talking on a handheld cell phone has been illegal in Chicago for 5 years or so now. A hands free device must be used if the car is in motion. The law has made no difference in drivers behavior at all. I hardly ever see anyone using a handsfree device.

We have no texting here in MD but I believe you have to be doing something else illegal to be pulled over for it.

As others have said it only works if enforced. I still plenty of folks texting and talking on the phone seemingly oblivious to the outside world.

I will admit to looking up something on my GPS while in motion, but majority of the time I have a copilot that can do that for me.

I also live in NY (upstate). The hands free is a joke. I will be conservative and say that 50% of all drivers do not use hands free. You know they are talking on the phone when their head is on their shoulder, or hand is at their ear trying to conceal it. You know they are texting when you see them looking down alot. The drivers put the phone down when they see a police car. The only way they will get a ticket is if the police have just reason to stop them. Then the police can look at the phone and verify the last call or text with the time stamp.

If touchng the navigator is prohibited, then the answer to your question is 'yes'.

However you don;t need to touch your 1490 to answer the phone. All you have to do is press the answer key on your paired device.

I would not object if they banned all cell phone use except hands free. My wife asked a good question why cant they make the Nav system hands free.

Both can be very dangerous while driving. I will NEVER text and drive. Also, I use my GPS to get to places. I normally know where I want to go, so I put in the address or punch in the POI file I want to use before I start my drive. If along the way, I want to go somewhere else, I wait until I pull off, or go to a gas station to punch in the information or ask my wife (passenger) to add an additonal route. It is too dangerous to do this while driving. Just my take on things.

Texting while driving in Mass. was banned but not that you would see. Did see this young woman - stopped at a stoplight then out comes the phone to text and away it went when green. Smart Move.

In British Columbia, Canada.

Since January 2010, typing, texting or dialing a hand-held cellphone or any hand-held portable electronic device while driving is subject to a $167 fine and a penalty of three points.

Driving is complex and needs your full attention. These changes will help us all stay focused on driving and make B.C.'s roads safer for everyone.

The problem with these sort of laws is they attempt to legislate common sense. Some things are always too much distraction - texting is in that category for me (although I have sent email on my crackberry which is the same thing). Others may or may not be - talking on the phone is in this categry for me. I talk on the phone if it is something simple but if it gets complex and the traffic is heavy I pull over.

Changing the destination is a function of how much traffic there is and whether you are pulling up a pre-loaded POI or favorite or using a GPS POI or whether you are trying to enter an address. If the latter, it is like texting and you should pull over.

But when I am cruising for several hours on a wide open interstate, telling me to pull over to touch my screen a couple times to find a gas station is silly. But then Cinncinnati isn't going to generate a lot of opportunities for wide open crusing either.

Jim

It's illegal in California to drive while texting or talking on a cell phone without a hands-free device. It still happens all the time. There was a recent "crack down" on drivers using cell phones. The complaint from law enforcement was that they would see someone they believed to be violating the law but they were unable to get over to them through traffic or, by the time they got there, the person had seen them and stopped the behavior. They have to actually catch someone in the act.

My son is a CHP officer and is exempt from the law while working. He said that the officers are the biggest text-while-driving offenders he knows of. They do it back and forth with each other all the time.

I've almost been hit sooooooooooooooo many times by people who were yakking on the phone. I either use my bluetooth earpiece or pull off the road. I figure if other people doing it makes me so freaking mad at them I really shouldn't do it myself. I just don't find it safe considering how many times people have tried to merge right into me when I'm on their left and they have their left hand held up with a phone in it. They don't seem to even notice what's going on in the lane next to them.

I honk at people when I see there are eyes are not focused on the road. I have probably been responsible for at leat 6 heart attacks this week alone.

Reminds me of boot camp when that instructor would scream at us "eyes in the boat"....

If I see you coming down the street and your eyes are focused towards your lap I will lay a big one on you. It is heart warming to me to let them know that yes I know what they are doing, and yes it is wrong.

Plus I had a 17 year old kid knock out a mail box and the passenger side mirror in my car a few years ago while texting and driving. He was super lucky that was all that happened after he dropped his date off for the evening and was headed home.

I just studied the 2010 Illinois Rules of the Road. Here is an excerpt.

I've been meaning to get a set of Fiamm airhorns for the truck...

Never fear our government officials will always find a way to help us be better people, after all that's why we pay taxes to support their lifestyles.

Thanks Spokey Bob, that;s a relief, I always play with the GPS when I drive.

Law enforcement are usually exempt from those laws if they are doing things necessary for their job.

Funny you mention that. Cops here do not have any special privileges with regard to this. That includes computer input in the cars. Radio calls are the only thing exempt!

The exemptions written into texting laws are usually very specific such as ones exempting input into navigation devices and not 'blanket' exemptins for certain classes of people. LE is not exempt, but the law is rarely enforced on their activities as the same people charged with enforcing the law are the ones violating the same law.

Our city has a hands-free law for cell phones. I've seen an officer stop a driver for talking on a handheld phone and then observed that officer blithely driving down the road talking on theirs - holding it in their hand.

That's the 'Do as I say, not as I do' defense. Cops need to obey their own laws. This is why respect for the 'upper echelon' is at nil.

I've always believed in "Lead by example".

The Albuquerque city ordinance was written to include texting or cell phone use while stopped at a traffic light or stop sign. If you're in the driver's seat, you'd better not be using a cell phone in any manner while on the road. NOT, mind you, that the majority of Albuquerque drivers bother to obey the ordinance; it's in the books, nonetheless.

I have to agree. I have to be honest;
In the past when I have tried to enter info into the gps, I found my vehicle wandering into the next lane, and a few times just missing a light pole, and I consider myself a good driver, and have voice on my nuvi 885t.
Now I wait or pull into a safe area before attempting to enter anything.

That's why people have lost respect for them. I haven't seen the exact same thing as you, but I have seen cops drive around with phones in their hands and some of them were state troopers. NY is a "hands free" state. The law prohibits the use of a cell phone while driving without a hands free device. No wonder a lot of people ignore the law.

I've been operating my GPS since 2004 without an incident. The trick isn't to stare at it continuously. Hit one button/key and back to the road, rear view mirrors, road, then another single entry stroke. Of course it would be silly, dumb and dangerous to do that in a city or heavy traffic. But on the open interstate with no significant traffic closeby, why not?

This is copy & paste from the bill.

In Ontario and a number of Canadian provinces, Distracted Driver Laws are now in place. Using a hand held cell phone, texting, accessing entertainment devices, such as IPODs and GPS is banned.

Excemptions are in place for police etc. and for 911 calls.

I now have my wife make changes to Via points on the Garmin, while we are moving, instead of doing it myself. She's technology challenged, but I know the procedure well enough that I can talk her through the steps.

Personally, I am totally in favour of the ban. I drive a shuttle and spend a lot of time on the road. You can always tell the person that's texting. The head drops often to look at what their texting, instead of looking at the road, their speed fluctuates and they wander in and out of their lane.

I'm sorry, but it is darned dangerous.

The person texting

I have seen police driving and using cellphones. I have also seen police in police cars switch lanes without signalling.
Don't they have to follow the same rules as the common people.

They are supposed to. But do you want to chastise one of them for doing what they'd ticket you for? After all, they have guns and stuff.