DX-MAN

Nah, DC, no rangefinder -- just use 'Alpe D'Huez' windage and put one in their ear! (Followed by a dozen or so along the side of the car, in the windows, y'know... saturation fire. Often thought it'd be cool to have little fortune-cookie-type papers made up and put inside the paintballs at the factory, so when they splatter, the little paper sticks to the glass and says, "STUPID!")

genec

Heck I'd just like to actually have a paintball gun mounted to the handlebar...

Digital_Cowboy

They had them driving on a closed course. There was a simulated "taillight" mounted to the windshield that timed their reaction from the time it lit up to the time that they applied the brakes. They also had to drive through a salomon course and of course while they were driving and texting the cones went flying which surprised the drivers.

genec

Cool! I wonder if it made any impression on the hundreds of thousands of viewers.

Seems to me Mythbusters did the same thing a while back.

Digital_Cowboy

The really sad thing is that if we were to do something like that that we could end up being arrested for assault with a deadly weapon. :-(

Digital_Cowboy

They claim that it did, but unless we're actually in the car with them how can we really know?

I think that you're right about that. Part of drivers ed should be driving on a closed course while talking on a cell phone and while texting so that drivers can see just how it affects their driving. Last summer over in Tampa we had a gal who was skipping school with one or more friends and while she was driving she was of course texting and rear-ended a Tampa cop car. I think that she learned her lesson, the hard way.

spock

I am starting to believe that too. Never ever assume that laws are going to protect you at any given moment on the road. I just can't count how many times I swerved or stoped to avoid an accident due to drivers fault in just 2 years that I've been riding on the road. The moment you let your guard down is the moment you become the most vulnerable.

ItsJustMe

You know what people will take away from that? "Those people Oprah had on sure are not good at multitasking. I'm glad I am better than they are, so I can keep doing it."

genec

While I don't quite get to the "going to war" mood, I do have to fully agree with you. It is dangerous out there and any idiot that says otherwise is just not thinking on all cells. This is one reason I got an MTB bike last year and regularly champion for separate path networks.

On residential streets and streets with lower speed limits... you stand half a chance, but when the roads are mulilaned and fast... GFL!

Rice923

When i get on my bike, I assume everyone is out to kill me.


Including other cyclists.

rumrunn6

Hey Crash2Much - where are you from?!

genec

In all my years of cycling I have never even had a close call with another cyclist.... I can't say the same for automobiles.

Rice923

I bike on a college campus that has more bikes than cars on any given day. I got trucked on my side by some girl that went into opposite traffic to try and pass me.

genec

I hope someday to be in an environment that has more bikes than cars on any given day... I have yet to see it.

degnaw

Once I was in a car where the driver was texting while driving on a narrow 2-lane road in the pouring rain at 6:30am (dark). I'd never been so scared in my life.

Fortunately, I managed to get him to put his phone away.

Digital_Cowboy

They had a couple of experts on who also said a couple of times during the program that the human brain isn't designed for that kind of multitasking.

BlueJay66

Illinois has a new law that makes it illegal to text and drive. I do not know what the penalties are, but I suspect that if the driver is found to have been texting while driving and caused an accident the penalties will be worse than what they used to be...still not stiff enough...but it is a start.

Rice923

Come to Davis Although during the start of the school year, all the freshies are out to cause bike pile ups.

Or you can try Beijing.

Digital_Cowboy

Hell, I'd settle for an environment in which the bicycle was treated with respect as an equally valid form of transportation. I know that it's not likely to happen any time soon, but one can hope.

genec

Been to Davis, and to Oulu Finland, and to parts of China... in all cases even though bicycles are much larger part of those societies than in the US, there was still a domination by motor vehicles.

Davis had wonderful paths and great infrastructure, but if you look in any local shopping center parking lot, cars rule. Even on the streets there were more cars than bikes.

Oulu Finland has a path network that makes the path network of Davis look juvenile. In the center of town it was cool as there were no cars... probably the closest I have been to that more bikes than cars environment. But the sad reality is that again more trips are made by motor vehicle than bike.

China was amazing... and in reality where I was (Hangzhou) there were more bikes than cars... in fact at the high tech industrial campus area where I was working with Chinese engineers, there was virtually no motor vehicle parking. For each multi-storied building there was a small lot out front that might have held 20 cars total, if packed in. Out back, the bikes were stacked like cordwood... Bikes did out number cars there... but there was no way I was going to try to bike as the road habits were so different. But technically indeed bikes did outnumber cars... But the sad thing is that the roads and infrastructure are still dedicated to cars. Bikes, while making up a vast majority of the transportation (I believe) were still given the "crumbs." Also it was hard to tell if it was just pedal bikes or scooters that dominated. Still I have to admit that on a couple rainy days there I quite enjoyed the colorful scenes of the mass number of bikes with riders either carrying umbrellas or wearing colorful rain capes.

Leo H.

I saw the Oprah episode from the link below. I wrote to these people once I read recently that they are an advocacy group trying to stop cellphone use and texting in autos. My state and Texas are the only 2 states without either laws prohibiting this or even have legislation pending to curtail cellphones and texting in cars. I've written my state rep to find out if someone is trying to bring this measure up next session.

Frankly, we are at the point where we have to either ban them and make it a nationwide primary offense, or give in and start teaching how to drive and talk on the phone since there are now hundreds of thousands of kids growing up and seeing mummy and daddy jibber jabber on the phone, shovel them in the car, buckle up, start up the car and drive without putting the phone down other than stopping the call or the phone slipping out of their ear.

Leo H.
Sun Valley, NV




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Jennifer smith [mailto:info@focusdriven.org]
Sent: Wednesday, January 27, 2010 5:50 AM
To: Leo Horishny
Subject: RE: public support direction



Hello,



Thank you for contacting us at FocusDriven. I am so glad you are interested in helping with our efforts to stop cell phone use while driving. Thank you for all of the groups you suggested. I had thought of a few of them already but I know this is something that is very important to many. I will contact thse that you have listed for sure.



At the bottom of this email is a link to the National Safety Council’s Distracted Driving website which provides many resources for information on the topic. We have partnered with them because of their knowledge of the topic. If you have not had a chance please check out our website at www.focusdriven.org and send a link to all your friends and family to share the message. Also, we are a new organization so fundraising is a big part of what we need to do right now so we can put all of programs into place and attend the legislative meetings across the country. If you are able to help please visit the webpage and click on our support the movement tab and donate to our non-profit organization. All donations are tax-deductible and are appreciated.



We are beginning to make additions and functionality to it to be more useful to our members so we’ll let you know when we have more features available. We will be sending out newsletters and contact our members when important legislation is pending in their local legislatures so you can get involved. We are very new so please bear with us as we put all of the pieces together but we will be uploading information in our website such as downloadable information you can hand out in your communities and letters to send to your state representatives. We are also working on some of the great ideas we have been given like bumper stickers and t-shirts. We will be in touch as soon as we have made some progress for you to get more involved. In the meantime please just spread the word about our group and what we are trying to do.



Let us know if there is anything we can to do to help you or if you have any questions and we will be in contact soon. Thank you again for joining our efforts and caring enough to share in our mission. Remember to spread the word and not to use your cell phones while you drive. Also, if someone calls you when they are driving, tell them to just call you back once they are stopped. If we all work together we can bring a change and save thousands of lives.



I have included a list of links to our different social networking sites and groups for you to spread the message.

Facebook: FOCUSDRIVEN – Advocates for Cell-Free Driving (photos and video sections)

https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=198533425587

YouTube Channel: focusdrivenorg

https://www.youtube.com/user/focusdrivenorg

Twitter: FocusDrivenorg

https://twitter.com/FocusDrivenorg

Flickr: focus driven (to see other victims stories from across the nation)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/focusdriven/

The National Safety Council our strategic partner has many resources available for more information:

https://www.nsc.org/safety_road/Distr...d_driving.aspx



P.S. I do not know if you were able to see it but The Oprah Winfrey Show on Monday, Jan. 18 discussed the dangers of distracted driving. Two of our board members were featured guests and the other three were in attendance in the audience. It was a very powerful show and we hope that it brought even more attention to this epidemic. If you missed it, here is a link to it on her website.

https://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Watch...bsession-Video



Thank you so much for your interest and your support,







Jennifer Smith | President | www.focusdriven.org

PO Box 2262 | Grapevine, TX 76099

630-775-2405 Voicemail

817.310.5952 Fax








--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Leo Horishny [mailto:LHorishny@renown.org]
Sent: Tuesday, January 26, 2010 2:01 PM
To: info@focusdriven.org
Subject: public support direction



I hope your group has contacted the various motorcycle groups, ie HOG,

Gold Wing Road Riders of America and the BMW Motorcycle Owners

of America. They should have a position opposed to distracted driving and

their memberships are generally middle class and upper.

Of course, you may run into a snag with the riders who use GPS which could

be considered a driving distraction :-\



Also, any of the bicycle associations, League of American Wheelmen and

such should be in support of your actions.





Leo Horishny

Sun Valley, NV

Sir Lunch-a-lot

In Saskatchewan, a new law has come into effect banning the use of cell phones while driving unless you have a wireless cell phone device. Since that law has come into effect, I have noticed a lot of people come into the gas station wearing those bluetooth ear pieces. The law says that you can only use those if you are an "experienced" driver. However, as I understand it, even hands free calling devices can be incredibly distracting... I suspect part of it being that the person you are talking to cannot see the road, and consequently cannot pause at appropriate moments or recognize the reasons for long pauses forcing the driver to press on with the conversation when their attention is more desperately needed at the wheel (I have noticed when driving that it is a lot easier to carry on a conversation and drive with someone if they are with you in the car than if they are on the other end of a phone). And it always bugs/bugged the heck out of me when friends would be busy texting while driving. Based on what I have heard from people I know, the vast majority of young drivers text while driving at some point these days. If you stopped at a set of lights... fine (although I won't even do that, because I don't know what sort of distinction this new law may or may not make as far as that goes).

I saw the Mythbusters episode that a few of you have mentioned. They had their subjects drive a test course talking on their cell phones (ranging from casual chats to actually working out problems/puzzles), drive it without any distractions, and then drive it at the maximum legal blood alcohol levels. In the end, they found that the level of impairment caused by even talking on ones cellphone and being inebriated were very similar.

I wouldn't be in favor of ridiculous prison sentences... Although I could see having ones license revoke being in order. And I would definitely be in favor of more comprehensive hands on aspect to drivers ed programs.

tallard

Truthfully, you shouldn't think that way. The fact of the matter is, not matter how much and many mothers and scaredy-cats rant and rave about the dangers of cycling in traffic, collisions have been on a steady decline on North American roadways since the 70s.

Today roads are safer; there should me MORE cyclists riding carefree, but instead NOOOOOO, the wussies of our society keep focusing all the attention on the over blown death accounts that persist in the media.

CYCLING IS NOT DANGEROUS, JUST RIDE, BE HAPPY, less cycle laws, more car laws, that's what makes cycling safer.

tallard

Agree with you on all points. I notice my risk compensation even wearing a seatbelt, which I only use on highways, usually. However, if I am on the highway without my seatbelt, I am driving much safer, and much more on the alert for other vehicles potential bad behavior.

I only got my driver's licence at 30, after being a 364 day/year cyclist, the tester was really impressed at how I always covered all view angles before turning and using my signals properly. she could tell I was a cyclist, I was in constant alert for cyclists coming up on my right side.

I have come to think that maybe we simply have to raise the initial driving age to match drinking age, at the very minimum. Recent studies have demonstrated that people who drink from a younger age are more prone to addiction, similarly to hooking people on nicotine during the teen years. These are highly 'influenced' years, and is not the best time to learn to drive.

If everyone was forced to cycle transport for at least 5 years before being able to apply for a driver's licence, now that would be nice.

Or another thought: a vehicle graduated licencing system. First 2 years smallest possible vehicle, next 2 years slightly heavier vehicle, next 2 years mid size vehicle, and maybe earn the right to pick-ups and SUVs after 8-10 years.

I bet that would put a significant dent in road fatalities!

tallard

Oh that sounds fun! I've limited myself to a little red laser light. It's been effective to startle driver's thinking they can cut me off while night riding. I leave it hanging from my shoulder, as soon as I see someone looking like they're gonna cut me off, I flash the red light into their eyes and they stop instantly, and I peddle along...