As if driving while using a cell-phone wasn't bad enough ...

[Darth Wong]

Apparently, some people think it's not distracting enough to drive while talking on a cell-phone, and they actually text while driving, looking down at the phone and ignoring the road. How common is this?

Police: Hit-And-Run Driver Was Texting

TAUNTON, Mass. -- A 33-year-old Stoughton man was arraigned Wednesday on charges he hit and left a Brockton man to die along the side of the road early Saturday morning.

Michael Faria, of Stoughton, was charged with motor vehicle homicide, leaving the scene of an accident after causing personal injury or death and negligent operation of a motor vehicle so as to endanger.

Prosecutor Jessica Lennon said Faria was text messaging on his cell phone when he struck John McCarthy. Faria told a friend he had been looking down at his phone, text messaging, when he thought he hit someone, according to Lennon.

McCarthy was hit head-on by a vehicle as he walked on Route 138 in Easton at about 5:30 a.m. Saturday. Officials said McCarthy laid injured on the side of the road for about 30 minutes before emergency responders learned of the incident and arrived at the scene. Although he was found alive, he later died at a hospital.

"When police arrived, the victim was still alive. It is quite possible that if this defendant had contacted 911 at the time of the motor vehicle crash, the victim would be alive today," Lennon said.

After the incident, Faria fled to Maine and fixed the broken windshield and bumper on his black Infiniti SUV, prosecutors said.

An anonymous caller told police that Faria was overheard at a party telling someone on his phone that he had hit and possibly killed a man. Faria surrendered to police Tuesday after an arrest warrant was issued.

"(He) agreed to a videotape interview. At the videotaped interview, he told the police he had been drinking and at that point he wished to end the interview and obtain counsel," Lennon said.

"He is sorry for what happened to that individual. He maintains his innocence, but bottom line is that this is a tragedy from whatever perspective," defense attorney John LaChance said.

Faria has a history of driving violations, the prosecution said.

"A three-page record which included speeding, surchargable events, motor vehicle accidents," Lennon said.

Neighbors said McCarthy wore a reflective vest every day during his eight- to nine-mile walks.

"Mr. McCarthy was a phenomenal person, family man, loving husband, caring father who just retired about 18 months ago," family attorney Thomas Minichiello said.

Faria was ordered held on $50,000 cash bail.

Link

[CaptainChewbacca]

Its common enouhg that California recently passed a law specifically outlawing cell-phone use without a hands-free, which includes texting.

[Metatwaddle]

Its common enouhg that California recently passed a law specifically outlawing cell-phone use without a hands-free, which includes texting.

New Jersey's cell phone/driving laws are the strongest in the country. It recently became a primary offense to talk and drive with a handheld phone, and last month they updated it to include texting. Delaware's laws are much more lenient, so I frequently find myself talking to RI on the road and hanging up when I get to the Delaware Memorial Bridge. There's a lot of popular support in Delaware (over 75% in my area) for a law like New Jersey's. I personally wouldn't mind that. Although I'm guilty of talking while driving, I know it's a habit that I need to break, and a law like that would be a big disincentive.

One thing I feel I need to point out, though: you don't actually need to look at the phone to text. You can do it just by the feel of the buttons, at least on my phone. The 5 button has little bumps on it, so you can feel your way to the other buttons from there.

[Zac Naloen]

They've decided to stick 10 year jail sentence as the punishment if you kill someone doing it here, so I guess it must be quite common in the UK as well.

[Alyrium Denryle]

Talking on the phone or texting while driving just seems to be such a stupid idea that people who do it should be put up for Darwin Awards if they die. The only problem is that they kill others...

[Dooey Jo]

How common is this?

I know several people that does it. I try to avoid being in the car when they drive, if possible.

[Erik von Nein]

I know a couple of people who do it, though one in particular is incredibly prone to doing it. Of course, this person regularly does 85 on the freeway. Then texts/calls people. I'm just glad California passed the ban.

[18-Till-I-Die]

Wow, serious?

Texting.

On the one hand, this is a horrible thing to happen, i mean someone is dead for no good reason. On the other hand, it's simply so absurd if i didnt know better i'd call bullshit and dismiss it as an Onion story.

Really i never even imagined someone texting while driving until now.

[The Yosemite Bear]

Its common enouhg that California recently passed a law specifically outlawing cell-phone use without a hands-free, which includes texting.

no it doesn't

CHP stated that the lack of a no texting clause rendered the law useless. Mind you I asked my insurance agendabout the purpose I bought the Cell phone for. Calling my insurance 800 number from the side of the road, taking pics with the camera phone, and using the onboard GPS to give my accident location to the tow truck. That is illegal under the current law, because too many yuppies were just popping the hood to have a business call.

[The Duchess of Zeon]

Wow, serious?

Texting.

On the one hand, this is a horrible thing to happen, i mean someone is dead for no good reason. On the other hand, it's simply so absurd if i didnt know better i'd call bullshit and dismiss it as an Onion story.

Really i never even imagined someone texting while driving until now.

A ban on using cellphones while driving in Washington State just went into effect, and on the day it did, a dumbass radio announcer on one of the daytime talk stations as I was flipping past it to find more classic rock reminded everyone it was now illegal to use your cellphone while driving, but added triumphantly, "don't worry, you can still text while driving!"

[Covenant]

I've used my cellphone on the freeway before to help confirm directions, especially after I get lost and I have no idea where the next exit is going to take me. The snarl of NW Chicago highway roads is such a mess that you have to be careful where you turn off or you're going to be stuck without a way to get off for an hour and a half.

Ideally I'd have a bluetooth or a wireless for this but I'm just too broke, and thankfully I've only had to use my phone-as-lifeline twice, and I do believe it's bad behavior. If I did it even occasionally, I'd get a headset.

[FSTargetDrone]

I have no problem with people using cell phones in a car. As long as they are pulled over and not actually driving.

Using a hands-free setup isn't exactly a safer alternative and it's old news:

Hands-Free Cell Phone Use Takes a Hit

Posted 6/9/05 10 a.m. CDT

A hands-free device doesn't make a cell phone any less distracting, according to a federal study.

WASHINGTON — Detailed new research shows that using a cell phone behind the wheel is a key cause of traffic accidents and that hand-free devices provide little safety benefit, federal officials told an international automotive safety gathering Wednesday.

In a closely watched real-world study published Wednesday, a team from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration watched 100 drivers for a year, concluding that the use of electronic devices such as cell phones precipitated many crashes and near-misses.

Other NHTSA researchers said devices like head sets or voice-activated dialing led to longer dialing times than for those using hand-held phones. The delays offset the potential benefit of keeping both hands on the wheel.

In a nation of cell phone users, hands-free devices have been touted as a potential solution to growing driver distraction issues. New York banned drivers from using hand-held phones in 2001. New Jersey and the District of Columbia passed similar laws last year.

But whether drivers use a hand-held device or not, "phone use degraded both driving performance and vehicle control," said NHTSA's Elizabeth Mazzae.

The NHTSA-Virginia Tech team used cameras and internal car sensors to track the activities inside a vehicle immediately before a dangerous event, including crashes, near-crashes and "incidents" that required an evasive maneuver to avoid a crash.

The 100-car study showed such events and accidents were often preceded by distraction, and the most frequent distraction was the use of a cell phone or other electronic device.

There were nearly 700 incidents involving wireless devices, the study found.

The next most-frequent source of distraction was a passenger, which preceded a problem situation nearly 400 times. Eating — another common distraction — led to risky behavior just over 100 times.

The agency's research program is intended to test the assumption that hands-free phones are safe, NHTSA researcher Mazzae said during the International Technical Conference on the Enhanced Safety of Vehicles in Washington.

NHTSA officials have expressed concern that hands-free devices can give drivers a false sense of security, when research has shown that it is the act of conversation that leads to distraction and inattentive driver behavior.

Auto companies have been conducting their own research to gauge how well hands-free devices help drivers stay focused.

Jeff Greenberg, director of Ford Motor Co.'s driving simulator, has conducted a number of studies trying to break down which parts of cell phone conversations impair drivers. The research is building, but it is too soon to know what to do, he said.

"The preponderance of evidence suggests that long conversations while driving impair your ability to react to events," Greenberg said. "But it would be difficult to make rules about conversations in vehicles."

The federal research presented Wednesday adds to a growing body of studies that suggest hands-free cell-phone systems will not deliver the safety benefits automakers and legislators hoped for.

In 2003, for example, University of Utah professor David Strayer found cell-phone conversations can lead to a kind of "inattention blindness," as drivers fail to recognize objects or events in their field of view. Strayer found that drivers using hand-held and hands-free cell phones were equally impaired.

Drivers seem split on the issue. Some said their own experiences show that going hands-free can actually create additional problems for drivers.

"It's a distraction trying to keep the earpiece in your ear," said Benn Perry, 50, a Michigan resident who said he doesn't use the hands-free device his wife gave him.

Others aren't convinced of the dangers of cell phones.

Greg Rosinski is a Canton, Mich., resident who uses his cell's speaker phone function. He said studies about the dangers of cell phone use while driving tend to exaggerate.

"Having a baby or even another person in the car is just as distracting," said Rosinski, a former account representative for a cell phone company. "I don't buy any of this scare tactics stuff. Cell phones are no more a cause of accidents than someone applying mascara or eating in the car."

— Reported by Jeff Plungis, Detroit News

[The Duchess of Zeon]

So talking on the phone is seven times more risky than munching on a burger while driving? That's rather telling.

[Eris]

So talking on the phone is seven times more risky than munching on a burger while driving? That's rather telling.

But makes a great deal of sense. Conversing is an incredibly complex mental task, requiring sensory interpretation, integration, and motor signals from all over the brain. It's going to seriously damage your ability to focus on the road, itself a fairly complex task and environment. I recall some study that observed that driving while on the cell phone is about equivalent to driving while drunk. I can't remember how many drinks, but it was still pretty bad.

[Oni Koneko Damien]

So talking on the phone is seven times more risky than munching on a burger while driving? That's rather telling.

I look at it this way: I can play a game or watch a video and eat at the same time. I cannot do so and hold a conversation at the same time, on or off the phone. There's a lot more attention and concentration involved.

[Singular Intellect]

Makes me wonder...how dangerous is it then for drivers to have passengers they talk to and talking to them compared to phone usage?

(don't get me wrong, I don't condone driving with a phone whatsoever)

[Oni Koneko Damien]

Makes me wonder...how dangerous is it then for drivers to have passengers they talk to and talking to them compared to phone usage?

(don't get me wrong, I don't condone driving with a phone whatsoever)

I'd say no. A lot of conversation is non-verbal and subconscious reaction to signals given off by the other person. When they're right there next to you, your body is naturally taking in all the signals they're giving off and processing it with what they say without your conscious input, making it far easier to understand them without paying full attention to them (and remaining focused on the road).

With phones, you're missing all that non-verbal information, thus you have to dedicate a lot more focus to the words they're saying to understand them, hence the far greater distraction.

[Turin]

A lot of conversation is non-verbal and subconscious reaction to signals given off by the other person. When they're right there next to you, your body is naturally taking in all the signals they're giving off and processing it with what they say without your conscious input, making it far easier to understand them without paying full attention to them (and remaining focused on the road).

What's more, the other person can also perceive increase in traffic intensity because they're in the car with you, and shut the hell up when things get dicey.

I recently had the joy of riding with some asshole who remained glued to his Blackberry while driving -- or rather, while rapidly weaving in and out of traffic. I blew up at him once we were safe, needless to say, and I told my boss I'd never ride with this asshole again. He's lucky he didn't kill someone, and chances are he will some day.

[Kanastrous]

dumbass radio announcer on one of the daytime talk stations as I was flipping past it to find more classic rock reminded everyone it was now illegal to use your cellphone while driving, but added triumphantly, "don't worry, you can still text while driving!"

Pencil that one in, for an early visit from the Angel of Death...

[Akumz Razor]

I live in a Southern California college town and have the pleasure of sharing the road with text-messaging teenage girls who drive like intoxicated elderly asians (and whatever other bad driver stereotypes you can think of) on an almost daily basis.

Texting while driving is orders of magnitude more dangerous than simply talking on the phone, but it doesn't matter anyway because the local cops pretty much said they weren't going to enforce the cell phone ban because they have more important things to do.

Pencil that one in, for an early visit from the Angel of Death...

This angel of death?

[Kanastrous]

This angel of death?

Naw, that guy's a poser.

Something more like this:

[Akumz Razor]

I'm tempted to photoshop a picture of a cell phone into the grim reaper's hand...

[Kanastrous]

Sure.

He's not driving.

[Gaidin]

Sure.

He's not driving.

He's texting the people that are?

[Akumz Razor]