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Today's Poll!Opinion: Distracted driving
Editorial
Sunday, June 17, 2012
The Hawk Eye, Burlington, Iowa, on distracted driving:
They're pretty easy to spot. They're either going way too fast or way too slow.
We're referring to drivers who are busy with their mobile devices while attempting to navigate the roadway.
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood called texting and talking on a cellular phone while driving a "national epidemic."
He's right.
Particularly vulnerable to problems are teens. First, they don't have the experience behind the wheel to do anything other than drive. Adding a distraction such as texting or talking on a phone is a recipe for trouble. But in a government survey, 58 percent of high school seniors and 43 percent of high school juniors admitted they had texted or emailed while driving within the past month.
Some states, including Iowa, have passed laws that prohibit the texting practice. But that hasn't stopped people from doing it.
Iowa law enforcement officers have written very few citations for texting while driving since the law went into effect last year.
It's a genuine concern, especially for parents turning over the keys to the family car to a young driver. Sixteen percent of teen motor deaths can be attributed to distracted driving. ..
Messing with a mobile device while trying to navigate slippery roads is just asking for trouble.
Laws prohibiting the practice make sense, though enforcing them is hit and miss.
Common sense, though, is the best teacher.
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Comments
ifitoldyou 11 months ago
I just can't get over the fact that all you guys seem to think its just the teens! I see more adults text, talking, searching on their phones that teens point blank! Then add screaming kids in the backseat, or food, OMG food! I see so many people eating while driving its freaking nuts!!! Its not just cell phones, and its not just teens. Point the finger at everyone instead of the teens who will be changing your dippers cause truthfully, you can sit in your own pea all week if your going to keep pointing fingers at teens like me! If you keep saying what I can and can not do, then I'm for sure leaving you in your filth! Think about it! The teens are the future, the adults are the futures dirt! Get over yourselves!
spelchek 11 months ago
Screaming kids like teens? What are dippers? I eat peas, not sit in them.
TickledPink 11 months ago
And you are the type of teen that gives all the rest a bad name. Did you actually read the article? It does mention teens but it's not the focus. Try working on your comprehension (and spelling) before you start blasting.
JMO 11 months ago
"If you keep saying what I can and can not do, then I'm for sure leaving you in your filth!"
If you don't like adults telling you what you can and cannot do, I suggest you:
And do you know what you'll find out then? That there will still be bosses, cops, rules and laws telling you what you can and cannot do. See #1 - that's life, get over yourself.
Sequoia 11 months ago
Geez people, chillax! This kid will improve her writing, and when she does, you'll all still be thin-skinned hypocrites.
Oooooh, grammar mistakes. Oh noes!
Some kid just called you out for texting and driving. You know you do it, so why don't YOU get over it. For reals.
JMO 11 months ago
Perhaps my response was harsh, but I'm sick to death of teens - yes, I have one myself - with their "Don't tell me what to do" attitude. And no, I did NOT have that attitude when I was a teen. I wasn't always an angel, but when my parents, teachers or other authority figures told me what to do or not do I listened, and when I didn't, I knew I was doing something wrong. So many now have the idea they should be able to do what they want, when they want and no one should say otherwise. I really look forward to the day when they learn that's the exact opposite of being an adult.
Sequoia 11 months ago
What's the exact opposite of being adult? Have you read the "adults" on this forum?
Just look at how people react when they don't get their way: Oh, the tyranny! Oh, the government oppression! What about my religious freeeeeedommmm? What will become of my way of life? Booo hoo hoo! Oh, I'm so oppressed! We're going to revolt! I have it just as bad as the victims of the Holocaust because I have to pay taxes! Where's my thank you note?
I hear adults whining all the time about how victimized and oppressed they are. They don't sound like grownups to me.
And y'alls grammar and spelling, and other rhetorical skills, ain't much better than txtspk lol!
JMO 11 months ago
I said nothing about his/her spelling and grammar.
And being able to do what you want, when you want is the opposite of being an adult, unless they happen to be one of the very wealthy. An adult has bosses and rules and laws to follow just like everyone else. An adult - one worth being called that, has to earn their own way, consider other people when deciding what to do when. They have family to think of first, or society in general, before themselves. Doing what you want, when you want, is the attitude of a child or a criminal.
I don't want to work today - but I have bills to pay and a family to provide for. I want slap the smirk off some buttheads face. But I can't, I'll go to jail. I want to drive with an open container, drive 85 mph, run red lights when there's no one coming for a block in either direction - oh wait, I can't, it's AGAINST THE LAW. I want to text while driving - maybe I can, but I don't, because it's stupid and dangerous and you have to think of other people first.
I don't believe you have ever heard ME whining about tyranny, being victimized or being oppressed. I don't find that to be adult. You don't like a law, do something to change it. You don't like how people treat you, do something about it. But a smart mouth kid telling me they'll leave the adults in their own filth when they're elderly because, God forbid, there's a rule they have to follow? Just a real good thing that's NOT my kid.
John 10 months, 4 weeks ago
Actually, I do NOT do it and I know plenty of adults who do HAVE the devices but do NOT use them while their vehicle. is moving. Yes, many adults do talk or text while driving. However, many ARE smart enough that when their cell phone rings while the owner is driving an automotive device, they do not answer it nor even glance to see who is calling.
JCLifer 11 months ago
It is legal for us to do it.
Sequoia 11 months ago
But not smart.
Whatever emoting you just NEED to blurt all over the web-o-sphere can wait until you've finished parking.
Put down the screen.
Watch what you're doing.
Just shut up for a second.
All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.
PatsyDecline 10 months, 4 weeks ago
"All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone."
LOL
And here I always thought it was man's inability to listen to a woman. :)
tonto_goldberg 10 months, 4 weeks ago
Huh? Did someone say something?
Littleinvestor 11 months ago
It was a bit more than that. She condemned adults to sitting around in wet diapers at the nursing home. Pretty mean for a kid. She must be in junior high as junior high girls are about as mean as any animal on the planet.
ifitoldyou 10 months, 4 weeks ago
I'm 23 and male. I'm sorry if my spelling was not up to par for everyone but I thought this article was about distracted drivers. Being that most adults I know can't spell, it really should not be directed to only "teens". Think about it, this article blames teens and only teens for distracted driving. When you argue that teens can't spell and adults can, you must be bias. But its okay, I wont hold any grudges against what pinpointed hateful things you said. Your just bias... now, if anyone would like to discuss the topic, I'd be glad to join in...
Again, sorry my spelling was not perfect, but your attitude torwards teens scares me and you shouldn't have the teen you have now... I feel very sorry for that teen's life...
dokeus6 10 months, 4 weeks ago
It's unfortunate that most of the adults you know can't spell. This article is not placing the blame on just teens. The article merely pointed out that teens are more vulnerable than adults because adults have more experience behind the wheel. Just because adults have more experience doesn't mean that the adults are not immune from having an accident while texting or even talking. I myself have seen several where the people driving where not paying attention because they were chatting on the phone but that's neither here nor there. The point of the article is that being distracted on the phone is a problem. I am guilty of texting and talking on the phone. So, I am not pointing the finger at just teens. I choose my spots on the road where I will text. It's not one hundred percent of the time that I have my phone in my hands when I'm driving but when I have to I pull over and call.
JMO 10 months, 4 weeks ago
I find it interesting that you are suddenly 23 when in your original post you referred to "teens like me". You began this thread with a nasty rant against adults in general, which is why it went the way it did. Calmly pointing out that it is not just teens who drive with distractions would have been a far more productive way to handle it, if you had any desire to have a discussion, or simply stopping your post before you began ranting about leaving old folks in their diapers. It was childish and uncalled for.
The article does not say only teens text while driving. It says they are more vunerable to distracted driving because of their inexperience. There's a world of difference between those two sentences. Of course adults do stupid things to distract themselves while driving. You seem to be the only person who thinks adults don't know that.
tonto_goldberg 10 months, 4 weeks ago
Age is always relative to a troll.
JCLifer 10 months, 4 weeks ago
Another reason why we don't like young people in this town. Older folks ate such more desire able.
tonto_goldberg 10 months, 4 weeks ago
I don't think so. People in general aren't much fun to be around. A dog will at least pretend he's listening to you. I think the old folks are just slower than the young ones. Nasty and mean and self-centered turns into cranky and mean and self-centered.
connor 10 months, 4 weeks ago
Well Finally Something I can agree with Morus on. I would even go further and say cell phone usage while driving should carry the same penalties as being intoxicated and behind the wheel.
viktorkowski 10 months, 4 weeks ago
when I'm biking I count the cars at intersections who aren't able to make eye contact due to distractions. as of this moment it sits at around 50%
gofish 10 months, 4 weeks ago
The "Don't tell me what to do" attitude" is a normal developmental stage of late teens early twenties. My parents became significantly smarter by the time I reached my late 20's and they became geniuses when I had my first child. Sometimes it's the adults that need to take the high road and grow a thicker skin when youthful people rebel.
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