Texting and Driving...why we should not!!

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. It couldn't be determined Thursday whether he has a lawyer.

I think we all may have text and drove at the same time before..but most states have made it against the law and this story is a great reason why.

Tony

I've never sent a text whilst driving.  All too often I see idiots on their cell phones sitting too close behind me because they are not concentrating.  Talking is not so bad with a hands free but some people (not aimed at men...cough cough) just cannot multi task.

In the UK if you are cought with a cell phone in your hand - you don't even have to be using it, its just in your hand - you will be nicked and receive a fine. 

Sound advice though Tony.

blue

Hi Tony,

I am guilty as charged! I DO text, talk, ck emails....all while NOT wearing a seatbelt. I know this is wrong. I have gotten a little bit better since i have a new phone. Being that it is touch screen.....its alittle harder to TM while driving. Isn't that awful...better ONLY cuz its harder!

It's the craziest thing with me about seatbelts...i always tell everyone to buckle up and ALWAYS say "be safe"....but don't practice what i preach. Do i think i am invincible....do i think i have 9 lives....or is it think i will be just fine....it's everyone else i worry about!

I have a jinx factor about saying "be safe"....for those i care about its a MUST that i say it. If i forget...for a moment i will fret that i didn't say it.

Lips

I must say, my mother is the worst!!!!!  She is just learning to text and she actually tries to while she is DRIVING!!! yikes!!!

I'll just bet the insurance company has the major shivers waiting for the elderly driver and her nieces lawyer to come forth!

I'm not one of those for a good reason.

I have "Large" fingers and though I let my nails grow a tad and keep them sharpened to easily hit the texting buttons, I still have a hard time texting while standing still!!

I am inept I guess for the phones..If I had one of the old ones, I might do better, but then again, they didn't have texting then!!

(Hey, I also remember when MTV played Music Videos!!)

Good reminder....oh, GO DUKE!

Theres a picture on the internet, a horrible crash..
It is very graphic shows everything, it is a guy with his
body cut in half, a devastating accident, a cell phone still in his hand.. found that he was texting while driving..
I will not touch my phone while driving, i turn it off

      I'm to scared to drive and text.
        I've heard to many bad things about accidents and such. 
I will take a call, or call someone while in the car, but I make it quick.  There are so many things to have to pay attention to while driving.  I don't trust myself enough to do more than two things at once while driving.  I used to be better at it when I was a young kid, but as I get older, I see myself slowing down just a tad. It makes me to anxious, and that right there is a reason not to tempt fate.
                                                              PMM2008

The Governer just past the law for the state.....no text messaging...downloading...or browsing while driving.

The law goes into effect Jan. 1, 2010.


Lips

is this the same as playing poker on my phone and driving too?
how about mobile blackjack and driving?
mobile slots and driving?

what am i suppose to do while driving?!??! what is this world coming to? the more the things they give us to do...the more things they tell us we can't do...so why do it if ur just gonna tell us not to do it? i dun get it...

My friend has a PS hooked up in his car, screen on the dash.. he says
he plays it at the stop lights.. CRAAAZZZYYYYYY

Thats so crazy I am right around that area, I didnt even hear about it (just got home from toronto). I admit I am guilty when texting and driving, sweet $75 fine (now I think its min. of $150)

Sorry...no offence to all you texters out there, but I think texting is for morons!!! Why can people just pick up a phone and say what they need to and be done...It drives me nuts when I see my daughter texting away a mile a minute, when really whever they are texting about could be said in a 2 min. phone conversation, but thanks honey for running up the phone bill!! And yes it is extremely dangerous to handle a cell phone at all while driving...A friend of mine wrecked her car recently, because her cell phone rang and while sitting there trying to dig it out of her purse, god forbid she dropped the phone then procceeded to try and pick it up off the floor board...then....BAM!!!! Sorry, but no phone call is worth putting myself and other innocent drivers in danger over...There is a such thing as voicemail, and caller id on cell phones, so if your driving and get a call, please be considerate of yourself and others and call whoever back when you get out of the car!!!!

oh and by the way...GREAT POST TONY, I don't think to many people really realize the dangers of cell phones and driving....or maybe they do and just think that they can handle 2 things at once!!

God bless you Lips 

In response to lips...sorry, like i said in my post , no offense to anyone and i'm not "attacking people"...maybe i should rephrase...............in response to nal....omg I can't tell you how many times i've been cut off, almost run off the road, sitting at green lights...and the list goes on and on.......and you look over at the idiot causing the problem and guess what their doing?!!!! I can't believe how much people have grown dependant on cell phones, people have lifed for thousands of years without them, now everywhere you go you see people glued to them....I just heard on the radio about a poll they did and turns out that 90% of people would turn around and go home if they forgot ther cells....even if it meant being late for work...Who do you so desperately need to talk to at any given moment that you would risk your job over??? I don't get it!!

I love my cell phone, it has been a great invention, and it has saved me in
times where i needed to talk, stranded needing help, or just being able to
pick it up and call my daughter and say i love you anytime i want to,
even finding out she's okay where she is, we text each other and friends
all the time..sometimes 3000+ texts a month
But we are responsible with it, while driving we do not use them.
Before the warnings, before we knew the dangers, yes we did
I'm a textn' not a moron!

the reason why those people who get into accidents texting while driving is because they never properly trained themselves. what? u think cuz u see someone else do it...that u can just do it too? when u first learn how to ride a bike...do head out straight for the busiest street or intersection?? NO! u go where there's no traffic - a side street or sidewalk with little or no obstructions. And finally when u no longer tilt over and fall for no reason or when u no longer hit the front brake first that had u flipping over the handle bars then maybe..u  could venture out into more traffic. Driving with cell phone in hand and texting..there are mechanics and skills u need to learn..first practiced in the safety of your house on the sofa..before even daring to take on the road..first the thumb...it needs to be trained to be able to correctly hit each # with absolute accuracy...practice starting with #2 and hitting it once for an a and then 3 for a d...continue down the numbers clicking once until u get all the first letters that correspond with it's #key. After go back to #2..but click twice...bringing up the 2nd letter b..and just like before continue on but clicking each key twice to being up the 2nd letter...then go around again for the 3rd...

Now the thumb and the brain need to co-ordinate together so begin the same practice as before for the thumb but now as you hit each key call out each letter without looking at the screen until you have completed the whole alphabet...so it goes somewhat like this;

a d g j m p t w b c e h k n q u x c f i l o r v y s z

now looking back at the screen..did you get all the letters correct and in this exact order?

yes? - ok then you are good to go

no? - and you actually thought you had the skills to text and drive? shame on you..if you can't even do that simple task..u are a deathtrap in the making if you even try to text and drive. put the phone away..and if its that important find somewhere to pull over...but walk away...far away from the vehicle before you start texting.

I know, Soda...like way back when it was cool to drink and drive too...

I taught everyone how to loosen up enough so NOT to spill there drinks...

When the bumps in the road come up you have to sway with them...move your arm up and down..up and down...won't spill a drop

Just as ludicris, but just as logical to me back then, I guess.

If you read your drivers manuals, you would know that you should not even be holding anything when you are driving, i.e. food or drink...both hands are supposed to be on the wheel at 10 o'clock and and 2 o'clock.  This is obviously not enforced with a can of coke etc. but I think when it comes down to putting peoples lives in danger,  cutting them in half, killing them,...maybe its time they ought to take another look.

AMEN NAL!!!!

Well they already have it where you can text to landline, the landline
reads the text in voice to be heard when you answer the phone..
Now if that could just be reversed....

I'm sure they'll come out with something like that soon enough........

dictatype software already exists - you speak - it types....you enter words - it speaks.

Is this the service for deaf people you are referring to Soda?  My friend has one of these..I don't think you would want to carry it around with you, it is very large.

Or is this something different?  The regular dictatypes, are just the ones the stenographers use in the court room, and these do not use voice.

There are dictaphones docs and lawyers talk in, and then they take them  to a dictatype service and have them transcribed  into documents, but I haven't seen the ones you are talking about.  Where do these exist?

I have the Professional Edition of Microsoft Office, and it comes with the software so I can do the same thing on my notebook, but it isn't called dictatype.  You talk into the mike, and it types it self. 

If Lips was thinking hands free texting..this is just too gigantic for this purpose.

it's different - actual software for your computer that enables you to everything just by speaking - including typing a letter.

Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Product Suite
Turn Talk into Type
Most people speak over 120 words per minute but type less than 40 words per minute. What if you could create email, documents and spreadsheets simply by speaking? What if you could control your PC just by talking to it, starting programs, using menus, surfing the web?
Dragon NaturallySpeaking works with the most commonly used desktop applications, including Microsoft Word, Internet Explorer, AOL and more! Just about anything you do now by typing can be done faster using your voice. Create and edit documents or emails. Open and close applications. Control your mouse and entire desktop.

With Dragon NaturallySpeaking 10 Standard you can talk to your computer and watch your spoken words instantly appear in documents, e-mails, and instant messages. It’s fast, easy and amazingly accurate. A high-quality headset is included

That's what I have from Microsoft Office Professional Edition.  I got it from school.

It added a lot of other crap that I didn't like too, so I deleted it, and accidently deletely the wrong program...I threw away my $400. worth of software instead of the cheap 6 month temp. stuff I got from school >:( 

not funny