Originally Posted by
I-Like-To-Bike
Can I assume then that you agree that qclabrat's assertions "Texting and driving has contributed to more deaths annually than drunk driving" is driven by fear and passion as well as guesswork, rather than any real world accident statistics/data? And the same presumption of emotional response applies to similar fear driven assertions by other passionate posters on BF about the threat to cyclists?
While I agree that it is quite likely that indeed more people have been killed annually by drunk drivers, I don't agree that fear of texting/phone using drivers is irrational by passionate posters... I think the reality is that like drunk drivers back in the '50's, we really don't know how bad this situation is, and over time, reality will dawn upon us.
I think texting/talking drivers ARE a problem... and I base this on my daily observations of drivers, no doubt just as much as some have also observed intoxicated motorists and thought... you know, that guy is going to kill someone.
I can't speculate on the numbers though... that would just be a wild guess.
And I know you hate this... but all those "studies" show there IS something there. And if people can "fail" like the video below when walking... I believe they can also "fail" while texting and driving.
BTW this is NOT the only person walking into a fountain while texting.