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U.S. Goverment Shames Texting Drivers on Twitter (theverge.com)
An anonymous reader writes: "The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is the federal body tasked with automotive safety," reports the Verge, adding "If you look at NHTSA's Twitter feed right now, you'll find that it's just a non-stop stream of burns aimed at people who admit -- sometimes gleefully -- that they text and drive."
For example, seeing a tweet that read, "I have no problem texting while driving, but I won't text while going down stairs, the NHTSA replied "You might not have a problem with the texting & driving...but we do. Stay off your phone and #justdrive - it's not worth it." And seeing a tweet that read "I text and drive way too much," they responded, "Um, agreed... Please realize you're putting yourself and others in danger, and a silly text isn't worth it. #justdrive".
The Verge argues "For what it's worth, NHTSA is right: countless studies have linked texting in the driver's seat with higher accident rates... Getting shamed online by a government agency is far harsher than getting shamed by a friend -- but it's still a lot better than getting killed over an email." To which the NHTSA responded on Twitter, "Thanks for the shoutout, .@verge! #justdrive"
For example, seeing a tweet that read, "I have no problem texting while driving, but I won't text while going down stairs, the NHTSA replied "You might not have a problem with the texting & driving...but we do. Stay off your phone and #justdrive - it's not worth it." And seeing a tweet that read "I text and drive way too much," they responded, "Um, agreed... Please realize you're putting yourself and others in danger, and a silly text isn't worth it. #justdrive".
The Verge argues "For what it's worth, NHTSA is right: countless studies have linked texting in the driver's seat with higher accident rates... Getting shamed online by a government agency is far harsher than getting shamed by a friend -- but it's still a lot better than getting killed over an email." To which the NHTSA responded on Twitter, "Thanks for the shoutout, .@verge! #justdrive"
My dad was killed by a texting driver while he rode his bike. The whole thing was caught on his camera, and in the video from his rear-facing camera, you can even see, in crystal clear high definition, that the driver's head is looking down towards her lap the whole time.
She got a ticket for failure to yield right of way. That's it. No manslaughter despite her obvious negligence.
A friend moved from the US to the UK and joined the company I worked at (he wasnt a friend before that point) and he was astounded by how different the drink-drive culture is in the UK - over here, its universally accepted that its a very very very bad thing to do, to the point where very few people pressure you to "have a quick one" if you are driving, and drinking soft drinks on a night out is completely acceptable.
He was very approving of it, and said that it was unheard of from where he came from (California).
You are making a leap.
1. Saying you do something on Twitter as a confession
2. Assuming that that doing something equates to a potential loss of life
3. Punishing it as though it did cause loss of life.
But you don't know its a confession and not a troll.
You don't know whether it was done in a place that could cause potential loss of life, or is even illegal. It's perfectly legal to text and drive on your private road.
Likewise you're punitively punishing it based on your hyped view of the crime.
Online harassment and bullying is not acceptable. It does not matter if it is for a good cause or not. What's next? Some government agency commenting on obese people's photos, that they should go on a diet else they will die soon?
What the hell happened to the US.
And you should work on your understanding of the word draconian and the idea of apt punishment.
As it is, I've already seen drinking and driving go from a reasonable justification to get impaired drivers off the road to an ever increasing escalation of moral signaling that hasn't noticeably reduced the number of drinking and driving accidents, but has been a fucking goldmine for concerned citizens to keep upping the ante with legal limits and punishments and government involvement. You'd think offering free taxi service to and from any bar would be cheaper than locking people up, and would actually reduce the number of incidences, but no, instead we get people puffing out their chests and demanding even more stringent laws when their first round has been an absolute failure. Explain to me again how making texting and driving a felony actually reduces the number of instances? You can't because it is an idiotic way to approach this after the fact, when you are better served looking at prevention through better driver training and licensing requirements.
Not to mention I don't see how texting and driving is more of a distraction than having some screaming toddler in the back, making the drive home after a horrendous double shift, or infotainment systems in cars. Shouldn't these be felonies too? Why so selective in your pretentious march to keep the roads safe?
I have had two cars totaled by texting drivers while parked in front of my house and I used to live in a school zone. I try to never park on the street any more and bought a house a little farther from the school zone where there is less traffic.
In Japan anywhere that serves alcohol must ask if there is designated driver and not serve them anything alcoholic. They usually ask that person to wear a pendant or something so it's really clear to all the staff. Serving the designated driver is an automatic loss of licence.
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SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
You should work on your understanding of this issue. Texting while driving is dangerous like drinking while driving. If you can't drive responsibly, you shouldn't be allowed to put other peoples' lives at risk. This is not too difficult to understand. Do you perchance happen to text while driving, and are getting all defensive?
No, it's nothing like "drinking while driving" (intoxicated driving). If you are incapacitated by drugs or alcohol, you're simply incapable of operating a vehicle safely. No matter what. Getting behind the wheel at all is endangering yourself and others.
When we talk about texting while driving, we are simply referring to a specific kind of distraction. There are many others. Fighting kids, eating in the car, playing with the radio (or "in-car entertainment center"), hunting through the console, putting on makeup, eating, talking on the phone (yes, even hands free), being sleepy.
In fact, drowsy driving is just as dangerous and causes as many highway deaths as drunk driving. Far worse than the specific type of distraction called "texting".
If you're stopped waiting for a stop light, you can whip off a quick text "Driving right now - will respond later". Perfectly safe, and perfectly legal even in jurisdictions where non-verbal mobile phone use (texting) has been outlawed. Nothing like drunk driving - if if you manage to stop at the stop light, it's still not safe for you to be driving.
The whole issue is just another instance of wanting to punish everyone because some people are irresponsible with things. People that allow distractions to interfere with their driving will find another distraction. But people that can use their phones safely while never being in danger of a distracted accident are punished.
"Somebody has to do something. It's just incredibly pathetic it has to be us."
--- Jerry Garcia