Seattle Forrest

You think everybody should agree with her because she's a woman?

And are you calling people "jocks" to be divisive? For shame.

SpeshulEd 

Should have asked him if there were any Pokemon in the intersection.

faulker479

My riding buddy tried to tell someone yesterday that they should be wearing a helmet. The excuse was "I wear a helmet on my motorcycle". Told my friend he was just wasting his breath.

Rowan

So you think it appropriate for the driver to say "Go F**k yourself"? And for another poster to describe her as a pr**k?

If you want to be included in the jock catergory, go ahead. I didn't think you would want to, but then life turns up all sorts of surprises.

Rowan

And I will go further. There have been posts here where male cyclists have bashed on the sides or roofs of cars after being "offended" by driver behaviour. And the subsequent support has been overwhelming. There also have been lots of threads about cyclists yelling at drivers, giving the single-finger salute and other protest behaviour. All with support.

Yet a woman rider takes a stand, points out to a driver an issue that is recognised as a significant cause of vehicle collisions -- some with cyclists -- and she gets dumped on.

Interesting behaviour.

FullGas

one needs to pick their battles wisely...and choose an appropriate behavior modification tool.

scolding strangers rarely achieves a positive result.

when ******y motorists feel compelled to remind me that I didn't come to a 'full stop' at a sign, I usually inform them that they apparently have me confused with someone who gives a crap what they think.

BobbyG

If it makes you feel better, yesterday I was behind a car at a stop light. The light changed, but the car didn't move. I saw the driver with hands off the wheel looking down. If I were in my car I would give a polite toot of the horn, but I was on my bike and feeling a little adrenaline and such, so I blasted my Airzound airhorn for a moment longer than polite. The car began pulling away and I saw the driver look up and into the rearview mirror where he did a double take.

beechnutC23

I don't know about the OP's location but in my jurisdiction (Quebec) it is an infraction to handle a cell phone while in control of a motor vehicle. To do so you are obliged to pull off the road and immobilize your car. And do it quick as we also have a law against idling for more than 3 minutes except when in traffic.

drlogik 

In today's world what you did was a "micro-aggression" and is frowned upon. You see, it is politically incorrect to interrupt a person who is self-absorbed in their electronic media. It's best to let them walk off a cliff by themselves.

PhotoJoe 

Yes, that's the law. I have a friend who's a cop and assigned to bike patrol. He can ride up the white line at intersections and have his pick of people to cite for being on their phone while driving. He says the looks he gets when he gently taps on the window and asks the driver to pull over is priceless.

OldTryGuy

https://dmv.ny.gov/tickets/cell-phone-use-texting Noticed driving not operating is the word used???

Different guidelines for Commercial drivers. Distracted Driving, Talking & Texting

Jadesfire 

Well, I'm not sure I would have taken the same approach as the OP, I do agree with the sentiment behind it. The state government is trying to pass stricter cell phone laws in Louisiana now, too. While I have no doubt that it is strictly a money-grab, as a driver that has passed people on the Lake Ponchartrain Causeway that are face-timing on their phones going 70mph, I am a big fan of less technology when operating several tons of mechanics. As a cyclist, I just have to ride with as much situational awareness as possible and I am certainly a more defensive rider than I am a driver.

calamarichris

Thanks for trying Teacherlady, but these selfish jerks really don't care if they hit & kill anyone.
And as you can see from several of the responses herein, many of them are cyclists too.

I drink a toast to Darwin whenever one of these drivers manages to take himself or herself (and their offspring) out of the gene pool without dragging one of us with them.

Seriously, if you text while driving (and that includes while stopped) I hope you are the only one who eventually pays the price for your selfishness and stupidity.

PepeM

I would say that being happy about someone dying is worse than texting while on a stop light, but each to his own.

jefnvk

No idea the gender of anyone in this story, but knowing it now, it still doesn't change my stance that it is a waste of time and far more likely to result in confrontation than someone admitting they are wrong.

In Michigan, so long as the vehicle is not in motion (and if we really want to nitpick, the offending act is only sending a two way text communication, so facebook is technically legal anytime) it is OK.

It is micro-aggression. It is not the OPs job to enforce traffic regulation (AFAIK). It would be like me walking up to a job site and pointing out OSHA violations: even if I am right, I have no authority nor powers of enforcement, and the result is likely to be a big FU from anyone there. If it was that big of a deal, she should have pulled out her phone and called the police with the plate number.



My horn is most often used on those who are oblivious to green lights too, but that is just downright funny!

NYMXer

That's interesting as I know many who were ticketed for texting a stop light, or talking on the phone. I noticed a lot of old dates and wonder if it is possible that the info is out of date? I also wonder if DMV and the law books the police use differ because I did not see things like "sections" of the law on the DMV link. That makes me thing the language might be different and misleading. I really can't explain what I don't know, I was never cited for this offense. NYS uses weird language and in something like a drunk sleeping in his car in a parking lot, if he is in possession of the keys, he is deemed "in control of his vehicle" and can be charged.

Some people just pull over along a major highway and take their calls. I believe that if the car is running, it's illegal but I am not sure. What I do know if driving along a highway and trying to merge at speed is probably more dangerous than talking while driving. Texting is more dangerous that talking, but now many phones have talk to type features.

Either way, I don't do it, the calls can wait and texting is not something I do often

Hardrock23

I wouldnt of said anything myself. If you had said that to me though, I wouldve put my phone down a bit embarrassed actually because i do think its wrong (imo) and dont much like seeing others on theirs either. Even though legally I can talk on the phone while driving, i usually pull over when im alone or put it on speaker and set it down if im on the hwy (i hate pulling off the hwy...so many get hit being parked on the side). If my son is with me, he will take over phone duties...hes 4 lol

This is the law in my state on cell phones, below. Cops will still pull you over for seeing it in your hand even while stopped though. But at the same time they themselves are constantly on their phones too. Not to mention my father was t-boned by an on duty cop a couple years ago in his driver side door...the cop was on his personal phone talking to his girlfriend.

Anyone under 18 years old is banned from using cell phones or any other personal communication devices while driving.
Texting is banned for all drivers. In Virginia, it is considered a primary offense, which means police can pull you over if they suspect you of texting while driving. The fine is $125 for the first offense, and $250 for subsequent offenses.

"Although the law says a driver cannot “manually enter multiple letters or texts” while driving or “read any email or text message transmitted to the device,” drivers are still allowed to use their hands to make phone calls and get directions using a smartphone’s Global Positioning System."

Its almost a useless law at this time though...until they ban it altogether like other states have.
They are trying to extend the law in making handheld phones illegal to use while driving though.

OldTryGuy

I was waiting for our court case to be heard and before the judge was a guy who was arrested and was charged with something related to being drunk, car crash and .....? Guy's attorney argued that arresting officer did not see the crash take place and even though guy was drunk and there, he could not be charged for violation the officer wrote up. The attorney saved the guy money, prevented some lockup time and loss of license.

sail

Can't see how a disagreement at a red light would result in anything but anger. Maybe a chance to vent, maybe a chance to get shot.

nycphotography

Almost, but not quite, as inappropriate as presuming to scold someone for txting while not driving.

nycphotography

Don't play the gender card.

I for one didn't even notice it was a woman. Had I noticed, my response surely would have been different.... the last word would been better gender targeted. The rest however would be exactly the same, and no, NOT because it's a woman. Just because it's asinine. Period.

10 Wheels

The Driver may have had a legit message to send out.

Used the light time to send it.

nycphotography

Yeah, we should all dig our fanfold maps out so we can find our way around. That was SOOOO much safer than using an electronic device.

God this whole thing is so ********. Everyone tells everyone not to do something that everyone is doing themselves. The absolute peak of hypocrisy.

Thanks to these fabulous safe laws, now people don't hold the phone above the wheel where they can see the road.... oh nooooo, now they secret it away down in their lap where they have zero chance of seeing anything on the road. THANK YOU BIG BROTHER FOR MAKING SURE THAT EVERYONE IS COMPLETELY BLIND WHILE THEY CONTINUE TO DO WHAT THEY ALWAYS DO.

indyfabz

But they are drifting with their eyes looking at, and their minds focussed on, their phones, which increases danger to others. Rationalize if you want. Humans are not good multi-taskers. They are good task switchers.

Machka 

Is using mobile phone while in a car illegal where you are?