Re: U.S. Withheld Data on Risks of Distracted Driving and Cell Phone


a truck driver who has an accident has his livelihood threatened and
so the stakes for stupid behavior are pretty high and accordingly they
conduct themselves ...that way

Here's another idea. It's damn easy to lose a CDL over a simple
violation or two. How about putting the same restrictions on a 4-
wheeler license? Hold everybody to the same standard. Granted,
driving schools and driver education programs would have to become a
lot more like those in Europe, but is that really a bad thing? Hell,
while we're at it, require 4-wheelers to have the same safety
standards as big rigs!

the problem with lots of 4-wheelers is that they have this attitude
that they are "covered" by their insurance even if they screw up...

Yes, and now the gecko, the good neighbor, the outstretched hands, et
al. are really encouraging this with "accident forgiveness" and
similar one-time everybody-gets-a-free-screw-up programs. This has
its roots in the "everybody's special, even if you got an F on the
test" attitude that pervades public education. That generation is now
running the insurance companies.

and to be perfectly honest.. there are quite a few folks out there who
really don't give a rat's behind as to whether or not their driving
habits are adverse to others.

you see it all the time... people planting themselves in the left
lane... or weaving back and forth.. or speeding up to cut in front of
others or passing on the left then veering over to make the exit, etc,
etc

Right. As I said, the highway as a roller derby rather than as a
waltz.


folks who drive like this are putting out a statement to the effect -
" I'll drive like I please no matter whether it causes you problems or
not".

And these people behave like this not only on the highway, but in most
every daily interaction with other human beings.


I keep advocating a driving ethic that I call "Cooperative Driving"
and at it's basic, it's simply driving the same way you would as if
you were going into a store and held the door for the person behind
you.

Uh, yeah, it's such a novel idea, it has a name..."The Golden Rule".
As a Christian, I see it as the mandate to love your neighbor. It's
amazing how many people see an active blinker as an excuse to block
that driver out with every ounce of their might.


Right now.. we've got folks who drive who not only won't hold the door
but they'll actually slam in on others....

LOL, they do the door slamming literally as well! And check out the
aisles at your local Wal-Mart. People wield shopping carts just as
they drive their cars, right on down to pulling out of the end of an
aisle without stopping to look for oncoming "traffic"! And don't get
me started on those motorized Rascal things, or the kids in those
damned Heelys. It's scary to be a cartless "pedestrian"!

cell phone use is just the latest example IMHO.- Hide quoted text -

I think it comes down to this. If you're already a smart, considerate
driver, you will know enough to maintain your activities and
conversations so that they remain secondary to your driving. If
you're a MFFY, then the cell phone is just going to make things that
much worse.
.

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