Texting While Driving

[EPCOT84]

Let's put technology and time in perspective....

Each generation comes up with a new way to communicate. I don't think any of those born before the '80s ever thought we would be communicating on a computer with folks around the world, sharing thoughts on things Disney, but here we are.

We e-mail like crazy and some on their Blackberrys are addicted to it and have to check it every second. At work we email to the person in the next cube.

I'cot regulars like me check the boards so frequently and post almost as soon as a thought comes to mind.

So, for the kids grorwing up in the '00s, texting is the mode of choice. I find the examples mentioned above very disturbing but then the same things were said about emails and computers in general.

More and more instant gratification. More and more society needs instant responses. We are evoving into an on demand society.

When I watch TV shows of the '50's and '60's they seem so slow and calm compared to TV shows of today. I see that as one example of how we've speeded up in the last few decades.

I am sure years from now someone will laugh at boards like this and think "oh how old fashioned". We may laugh at it ourselves!

We are on the Carousel of Progress.

[pink]

Well said Epcot84!

[Jasper]

Let's put technology and time in perspective....

Each generation comes up with a new way to communicate. I don't think any of those born before the '80s ever thought we would be communicating on a computer with folks around the world, sharing thoughts on things Disney, but here we are.

We e-mail like crazy and some on their Blackberrys are addicted to it and have to check it every second. At work we email to the person in the next cube.

I'cot regulars like me check the boards so frequently and post almost as soon as a thought comes to mind.

So, for the kids grorwing up in the '00s, texting is the mode of choice. I find the examples mentioned above very disturbing but then the same things were said about emails and computers in general.

More and more instant gratification. More and more society needs instant responses. We are evoving into an on demand society.

When I watch TV shows of the '50's and '60's they seem so slow and calm compared to TV shows of today. I see that as one example of how we've speeded up in the last few decades.

I am sure years from now someone will laugh at boards like this and think "oh how old fashioned". We may laugh at it ourselves!

We are on the Carousel of Progress.

For people like me it's not the fact that there is new technology it is the way people are using it!

[Catwillow]

For people like me it's not the fact that there is new technology it is the way people are using it!

Well said Jasper!!

[EPCOT84]

For people like me it's not the fact that there is new technology it is the way people are using it!

Well said Jasper!!

I understand your points. Sorry to make it unclear but my response was to the posters right before me that were not talkng about the thread topic but only talking only about how they don't understand the fuss about texting. The examples cited (texting right next to each other) for example were disturbing to me but then again people email to people nearby too. I read an article somewhere that in Japan, people sitting next to each other on the train like to text on the subway so they can talk without being overheard. I guess that is better then being next to folks yakking on their cell.

Back to the OP, I should clarify, I agree that those texting while driving are totally irresponsible. The example of the person with cell on one hand, text on the other, driving with the elbow is just plain irresponsible and dangerous. That is why the roads are getting more dangerous by the day. Irresponsible use of technology.

[Marker]

It still surprises me, although it probably shouldn't, that so many people are "bothered by", "annoyed at", "disturbed by" people using text messages, or cell phones.

If someone doesn't want to use these technologies, or has no need or desire to, that's fine. But that shouldn't translate into no one should use it, or no one has a need. As long as it's being used responsibly (as in not while driving) then what's the difference to me whether someone else uses it or not. And I certainly wouldn't choose to judge whether or not they have a need or desire to use the technology. I don't know them, I don't know what needs they have or don't have. Their needs and desires are just as valid as mine might be, even if they are different.

I also wonder, if the people who are annoyed by someone texting, and consider it rude are the same people who don't like to use texting. If it's rude to answer a text, is it also rude to answer the phone, or answer the doorbell while you are talking to someone? To me, it's just different scenarios of the same situation. Actually, for me, I find someone answering a text much less invasive on a conversation than a phone call or door bell.

But then I'm a texter, and that's just my point of view. You know, I'll bet somewhere in the world, you can find someone who has never owned a car, and is perfectly happy with their horse.... but I'm pretty happy to have my car, and indoor plumbing, and forks, electric lights, heated water, microwave ovens, and TV..... but that's just me.

[pink]

I also wonder, if the people who are annoyed by someone texting, and consider it rude are the same people who don't like to use texting. If it's rude to answer a text, is it also rude to answer the phone, or answer the doorbell while you are talking to someone? To me, it's just different scenarios of the same situation. Actually, for me, I find someone answering a text much less invasive on a conversation than a phone call or door bell.

I don't like using texting I just would rather call someone but I do use it every once and awhile. However, I still get annoyed by texting from time to time. Like when I hanging out with a friend a they constantly are texting back and forth with someone else and are more interested in there virtual conversation that our own. I feel like texting is an ongoing interuption in conversations and not just a quick call. To each there own.

[Minnie Imagineer]

I have an obsession with texting (I recently got the Voyager which is very easy to text with) and also, I recently got my driver's license! I would never text message anyone while i'm actaully moving! This happens all the time: i am in the car with one of my friends and i get a text, i just tell her to open it, read it, and text back what i tell her. My friends and I all have this system for when any of us are driving with each other.
*And if you get a text while your driving, it can't possibly be an emergency, if it were an emergency they would call you not text you!!

[LauraleeH]

The other day, a car swerved into my lane, almost hitting me. It was a teenaged girl texting

My advice for teens on here...don't drive with anyone that has these horrible habits!

I was recently driving with a friend to Starbucks and she was speeding so fast that she almost rear-ended my brother (Driving in front of us) going 40 mph because he had to stop!!

Then she swerved around him, almost hit at least 3 other cars, and then got her cell phone out to mess around with it. Then she started playing with her iPod, asking me which song I wanted while she named off all she could find.

I told her I didn't think we needed music, we just need to get to Starbucks alive. When we finally got there, my brother and my best friend Matt got out of their car and told me to never get in a car with her again. And I won't. When she asked me if she could drive me to go eat, I refused and I told her exactly why. She acted innocent like she had no idea she was putting everyone in danger, and then laughed it off saying she's only had one ticket from the 6 months she's had her license.

We encourage this behavior when we condone it or don't confront it. Don't be afraid to tell someone they need to get off of their phone and drive!

[Kairi_7378]

There are now laws in the state of NJ against people speaking on cell phones or text messaging while driving. I'm not sure how many accidents were caused by improper use of cell phones before these laws were put into place.

A cell phone is a great convenience. However, there are times like when I am driving that I care not to use it. I can feel the difference in my level of concentration on the road so I choose not to use the phone then. I can not begin to to count the number of irate phone messages that I have received from people who call and don't get me because I am driving. I was told at my last job that if I saw an office number that I was to pull into a breakdown lane and answer it. On the NJ Turnpike during rush hour? No way! It's annoying to me that people are so used to instant gratification that they expect YOU to be available to them all of the time. I'm sorry, but there are very few things in life that can not wait the 20 minutes that it takes for me to get off the road and safely parked

[pdrlkr]

I must be hopelessy archaic, because the whole texting thing just escapes me. With all due respect to texters out there, in my personal experience, I find it rude and impersonal. I've had people text while holding a face to face conversation, had grocery checkout girls stop in the middle of my check out to text. I have a co-worker who has actually stopped mid-procedure to text (I work in Radiology). Saddest of all, I can't count the number of times I've been in restaurants and seen families at the same table, with kids texting and moms and dads looking like the most forgotten folks on the planet. A rare chance for a family to be together and interact and all I see are thumbs flying and no conversation. When I was a kid, I couldn't bring anything to the table but my appetite and my mom wasn't even strict. But manners were very important to her and me and I really think there is a loss of ettiquette with texting. Of course, not everyone...I wouldn't generalize like that, but enough to make you wonder what the heck is going on!

I agree! Isn't texting a step backwards? Are we going to be using morse code next? Why not just talk???

[wonderalice23]

I can totally relate to this post - where I live someone was drunk and texting and ran into two people crossing the street. One passed away in the hospital. Totally tragic and preventable. I don't even use my phone at all while driving - I figure if I didn't need to when I got my license 10 yrs ago, I don't need it now. To inhibit myself from even trying, I put it in the glove compartment!

[Disneyexpert15]

It's just wrong to text while driving. If a teenager wants to text they shouldn't drive while texting.
On CNN, they say that in 2009 cars they are putting wireless internet in cars.

[Spartan_Jeff]

But then I'm a texter, and that's just my point of view. You know, I'll bet somewhere in the world, you can find someone who has never owned a car, and is perfectly happy with their horse.... but I'm pretty happy to have my car, and indoor plumbing, and forks, electric lights, heated water, microwave ovens, and TV..... but that's just me.

I am just wondering if it is okay to text while riding a horse?
Is text messaging or cell phones really to blame for accidents? As horrible as it is, fatal car accidents have been happening long before the widespread use of cell phones. Maybe, just Maybe it has more to do with people who cannot pay attention to the road around them. I believe our govermnment has much more important things to worry about than to what extent to regulate text messaging. I realize that I am in the minority here, but maybe we should just worry more about ourselves and not get so negative about technology.