FlatMaster
07-31-09, 02:16 PM
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32232659/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/from/ET
It's getting worse.
It's getting worse.
Advocacy & Safety - Texting, talking tow-trucker hits car, pool
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John E
07-31-09, 05:59 PM
It will keep getting worse until we start imposing some genuine penalties for this sort of behavior. Sometime in the future, we will look back and marvel at what motorists got away with.
ChipSeal
07-31-09, 06:10 PM
From the linked story:
LOCKPORT, N.Y. - Police say a western New York tow truck driver was texting on one cell phone while talking on another when he slammed into a car and crashed into a swimming pool.
Niagara County sheriff's deputies say 25-year-old Nicholas Sparks of Burt admitted he was texting and talking when his flatbed truck hit the car Wednesday morning in Lockport, which is outside Buffalo.
The truck then crashed through a fence and sideswiped a house before rolling into an in-ground pool.
Police say the 68-year-old woman driving the car suffered head injuries and was in good condition. Her 8-year-old niece suffered minor injuries.
Sparks was charged with reckless driving, talking on a cell phone and following too closely.
LOCKPORT, N.Y. - Police say a western New York tow truck driver was texting on one cell phone while talking on another when he slammed into a car and crashed into a swimming pool.
Niagara County sheriff's deputies say 25-year-old Nicholas Sparks of Burt admitted he was texting and talking when his flatbed truck hit the car Wednesday morning in Lockport, which is outside Buffalo.
The truck then crashed through a fence and sideswiped a house before rolling into an in-ground pool.
Police say the 68-year-old woman driving the car suffered head injuries and was in good condition. Her 8-year-old niece suffered minor injuries.
Sparks was charged with reckless driving, talking on a cell phone and following too closely.
CB HI
07-31-09, 08:47 PM
Any bets on how the car got damaged, that was on his tow truck, before he caused more cell phone mayhem?
zonatandem
07-31-09, 08:50 PM
So, did he drown???
Naaaaah, he just got a ticket.
Naaaaah, he just got a ticket.
bhop
08-01-09, 03:36 AM
truck driver was texting on one cell phone while talking on another
So, he was driving no-handed?
So, he was driving no-handed?
genec
08-01-09, 08:41 AM
So, he was driving no-handed?
/speculation on
perhaps he was using hands free... :eek:
/speculation off
/speculation on
perhaps he was using hands free... :eek:
/speculation off
genec
08-01-09, 08:42 AM
It will keep getting worse until we start imposing some genuine penalties for this sort of behavior. Sometime in the future, we will look back and marvel at what motorists got away with.
Hell I look around today and wonder how we let it get to this...
Hell I look around today and wonder how we let it get to this...
velocipede d
08-01-09, 08:49 AM
It will keep getting worse until we start imposing some genuine penalties for this sort of behavior. Sometime in the future, we will look back and marvel at what motorists got away with.
If you look back at the 50s and 60s, for example, you will notice that they got away with MURDER back then. So it's progressively getting more stringent, as far as the law goes. Lax punishment is not the problem.
The true problem is a general stupefying of the population that is leading to a giant void where common-sense used to sit.
If you look back at the 50s and 60s, for example, you will notice that they got away with MURDER back then. So it's progressively getting more stringent, as far as the law goes. Lax punishment is not the problem.
The true problem is a general stupefying of the population that is leading to a giant void where common-sense used to sit.
genec
08-01-09, 10:56 AM
If you look back at the 50s and 60s, for example, you will notice that they got away with MURDER back then. So it's progressively getting more stringent, as far as the law goes. Lax punishment is not the problem.
The true problem is a general stupefying of the population that is leading to a giant void where common-sense used to sit.
couple that with increasing high speeds, distracting new electronic toys, and cars that isolate the driver from the road in such a way that drivers often are driving beyond their ability to respond... and more and more crowded roads.
The true problem is a general stupefying of the population that is leading to a giant void where common-sense used to sit.
couple that with increasing high speeds, distracting new electronic toys, and cars that isolate the driver from the road in such a way that drivers often are driving beyond their ability to respond... and more and more crowded roads.
BarracksSi
08-01-09, 01:31 PM
Tangential beef --
What do you wanna bet that his texting-and-calling was at least partially work-related?
In other words, should employers continue to plan on being able to get their drivers' attention at any moment? Do they think that text messaging and phone calls really increase productivity over what was managed with the old CB radios?
What do you wanna bet that his texting-and-calling was at least partially work-related?
In other words, should employers continue to plan on being able to get their drivers' attention at any moment? Do they think that text messaging and phone calls really increase productivity over what was managed with the old CB radios?
genec
08-01-09, 03:56 PM
Tangential beef --
What do you wanna bet that his texting-and-calling was at least partially work-related?
In other words, should employers continue to plan on being able to get their drivers' attention at any moment? Do they think that text messaging and phone calls really increase productivity over what was managed with the old CB radios?
Well there is a certain advantage to texting over CB... you can leave the message to be retrieved later... and at the same time, one CAN actually WAIT to retrieve the message when it is very safe to do so... the latter issue tends to be the problem... folks seem driven to answer the text messages just the same as if it is an immediate voice call.
What do you wanna bet that his texting-and-calling was at least partially work-related?
In other words, should employers continue to plan on being able to get their drivers' attention at any moment? Do they think that text messaging and phone calls really increase productivity over what was managed with the old CB radios?
Well there is a certain advantage to texting over CB... you can leave the message to be retrieved later... and at the same time, one CAN actually WAIT to retrieve the message when it is very safe to do so... the latter issue tends to be the problem... folks seem driven to answer the text messages just the same as if it is an immediate voice call.
BarracksSi
08-01-09, 04:08 PM
Well there is a certain advantage to texting over CB... you can leave the message to be retrieved later... and at the same time, one CAN actually WAIT to retrieve the message when it is very safe to do so... the latter issue tends to be the problem... folks seem driven to answer the text messages just the same as if it is an immediate voice call.
Yeah, true... That's what I tell people who don't see the point of text messages, that they're like a long-distance virtual Post-It note. They're very handy as reference to a new address or appointment, and they're great for keeping in touch with friends during the workday (if they're busy at that moment, they can get back to you eventually).
Like you say, though, they're not voice calls, so they can always be put aside for later. That's what people really need to do.
I'd also guess that a reason for using cell phones is that it's cheaper than hiring a codriver to work a CB and jot down info on a notepad.
Yeah, true... That's what I tell people who don't see the point of text messages, that they're like a long-distance virtual Post-It note. They're very handy as reference to a new address or appointment, and they're great for keeping in touch with friends during the workday (if they're busy at that moment, they can get back to you eventually).
Like you say, though, they're not voice calls, so they can always be put aside for later. That's what people really need to do.
I'd also guess that a reason for using cell phones is that it's cheaper than hiring a codriver to work a CB and jot down info on a notepad.