# Parents with teenage drivers may want to pay extra attention to this (new?) trend



## Beaver101 (Nov 14, 2011)

*Half of Grade 12 students say they text and drive: Ontario survey*

http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/07/09/half_of_grade_12_students_say_they_text_and_drive_survey.html



> Almost 50 per cent of Grade 12 students who drive and more than one-third of all licensed youth in high school say they’ve texted while driving in the past year, according to an ongoing survey of Ontario adolescents. ...
> 
> Health professionals say the survey results show *more needs to be done to warn about the dangers of distracted driving,* and when it comes to mental health issues some students — particularly girls — may be unnecessarily falling through the cracks. ......


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## hystat (Jun 18, 2010)

so almost 50% are lying?
Like anyone who drives a pickup truck, or other taller vehicle, I can tell you it's not just youth. Up to age 40 or so, staring at a phone while driving is really common. Once a year? If that's the frequency, the stat is way higher than 50%. Probably 95% I don't know if it's texting specifically, and why texting would be singled out makes no sense to me. Operating any app or program no different in my book. 95% are distracted by a tech device once a year. 

Ford Sync... probably more distracting. Satellite radio in a Kia- probably worse than Sync. 
I'm not sure why a center dash mounted touch screen with thousands of characters of text is legal and the same thing in your lap is not.


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## hystat (Jun 18, 2010)

In 1991 I test drive a Pontiac Grand Prix with HUD (heads up display) that projected speedo onto the windshield. It was pretty cool. Whatever happened to that?


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

We got around the "dad can I borrow the car" problem by buying a standard transmission car. I suspected my stepdaughter would be too lazy to want to learn to drive standard, and I was right!


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## Toronto.gal (Jan 8, 2010)

hystat said:


> why *texting* would be singled out *makes no sense to me.*


Makes perfect sense considering the survey collected data from middle/high school students. Driving or not, they prefer texting rather than talking/staring at their phones, no? 

As the article mentioned: 'Young people are very attached to their phones — to their electronic devices,” noting the survey found more than 80 per cent of them visit social media sites daily.'

Tougher fines are fine by me.
http://ca.autoblog.com/2014/03/18/distracted-driving-ontario-canada-OPP-fine-demerit-points/


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## hystat (Jun 18, 2010)

Toronto.gal said:


> Driving or not, they prefer texting rather than talking/staring at their phones, no?


they play a lot of games on their phones too. And despite many saying they are too cool for facebook, the hottest addictive content among the hundreds of teens I deal with is FB.


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

If only the resultant wreckage could be restricted to single vehicle, driver only, crashes....they could be written off as Darwinistic.


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## DayTek (Sep 26, 2013)

I see this all the time…every where and of any age. It's especially scary when you're on the 401 and the person next to you has their head down! 

A couple of guys I went to high school with were in an accident because the driver was texting. The driver died and the other passengers were seriously injured. 

No jokes, minimum fine should be $1000 if you are caught looking down from the road for an unreasonable amount of time. $5000 if you were using your phone (phone history will prove this). This is a growing epidemic that needs to be dealt with harshly. I couldn't imagine loosing a family member or friend to such a stupid act of disregarded responsibility.


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## hystat (Jun 18, 2010)

What I would like to see is more police on the road, seeing what we're seeing daily. Actually watching someone be inattentive and charge them accordingly. Obviously the law is little deterrent now.

The odds of getting a ticket are miniscule. I'll bet there are people who have texted at the wheel for hundreds of hours since the law came out without any cop seeing them. A ticket every 5 or 10 years that's roughly equal to one of their cell phone bills... why stop?


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## hystat (Jun 18, 2010)

There's an old Ford Econoline van comes down my road every Thursday. The driver has both windows down, driving down the middle of the road, wandering side to side at 40km/h in an 80km/h zone while he fishes in the back for newspapers.
Then he throws papers out the driver's and passenger side window into driveways while driving. 
15 years -never missed a Thursday that I recall. 

Is it time for me to make a call? I suppose so.


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## Beaver101 (Nov 14, 2011)

I say make the call or video his delivery method and send the taping to the cops' station and let them take care of it. The cops may thank you for preventing a future accident.


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

Beaver101 said:


> I say make the call or video his delivery method and send the taping to the cops' station and let them take care of it. The cops may thank you for preventing a future accident.


I've long thought that for these and other infringements, (e.g. throwing garbage out of the car), a Bounty Hunter program should be instituted..........get 'em on film, fine 'em $1,000, (or $10,000, or whatever), and the Hunter gets 1/2......a whole new industry.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Nemo2 said:


> I've long thought that for these and other infringements, (e.g. throwing garbage out of the car), a Bounty Hunter program should be instituted..........


Ingenious!

Until then here is my modus operandi:


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

^ +1

That was you?


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Nemo2 said:


> That was you?


Nope, but I got the idea from him years ago


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## dogcom (May 23, 2009)

The police should set up by a river and if they catch you using your cell phone they should let you watch as they see how many times they can skip it before it sinks. Of course this would be polluting but it would be very funny.

Years ago when I found out I would be liable for any money over the insurance when my son was under 18 and driving his own car I made him get the highest coverage possible. I asked the lady what the highest coverage was and she said 15 million so I said that is what you are getting if you want to drive your car.


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

I don't know how this is a "new" trend.

This was a "new" trend almost 10 years ago.

Although I agree that texting and driving is not a good idea and should be punishable - I would still rather focus on "How to drive - For Dummies" as a mandatory thing before getting your license.

It's just too easy to get your license in Canada. People scare the flock out of me.

Anyway - Texting is no more a distraction than a radio or CD changer can be, or those stupid GPS systems or whatever else.
I'm not one of those people that is against texting and driving to the full extent. I text and drive. But I wait until I'm at a red light or something. Sheesh.

Some people are texting away while taking a turn at 70kmh.

Is it really that hard to wait for a red light if you are in the city? Or if you are in the country can't you wait until there's nobody on your 2 lane highway?

By all means.... text away if your car is stopped or there's nobody around you. But texting on the 401 in the middle of the GTA, for example, is a little bit ludicrous. If someone hits the brakes in front of you at ~130kmh? Nice knowin' ya.


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## JosephK (Nov 7, 2012)

Has there been an accompanying increase in the accident rate for teenage drivers? If not, I think we can dismiss this as just the latest scaremongering.


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## hystat (Jun 18, 2010)

not too scientific, but seems to be a lot more dead animals on the road. It used to be the odd skunk here and bunny there. 
Now going to town is like: Skunk, turtle, possum, cat, seagull, skunk, porcupine, fox, skunk, rabbit, repeat.....


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

In Québec, snow tires are mandatory between December and March. Meaning, the police can fine anyone on the road without a snowflake symbol on their tires. This costs money to enforce and discourages common sense in a time of climate change. It's not uncommon to see a snowstorm in November, October or even April. It's also not uncommon to take a motorbike out in March to ride south.

In Europe, if you get in an accident in the winter with summer tires on you are at fault. Too easy! Maybe this could be applied to electronic devices. If only there was a way to determine if the driver was distracted by an electronic device.. maybe the dash cam of the other vehicle. The thing with 2 vehicle accidents is it usually takes 2 distracted drivers. Like all those animals who didn't look both ways before crossing


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## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

hystat said:


> not too scientific, but seems to be a lot more dead animals on the road. It used to be the odd skunk here and bunny there.
> Now going to town is like: Skunk, turtle, possum, cat, seagull, skunk, porcupine, fox, skunk, rabbit, repeat.....


That's not because of teenage drivers (or any drivers).
That's because we are destroying their old habitats by cutting down forests & wooded areas to build more houses, condos, etc., and driving them out from the wild into the streets & highways.
Unfortunately, skunks, turtles, rabbits, etc. aren't the brightest of species and get run over easily.

In the area that we live in, we have seen significant destruction of forests & wooded areas in the last 10+ years to build more houses, shopping malls, etc.
As a result, we are experiencing rabbits, skunks, etc. scavenging our gardens and ripping apart our trash cans, green carts & recycle bins on a regular basis.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

How do you run over a turtle? Did it jump out in front of them? It could happen that an animal runs out at the last instant, but more likely is they freeze in front of you. I have never run over an animal even though drive mostly in the Canadian backcountry. A small patch of sand, oil, or pot hole could kill a motorcyclist.

The vast majority of humans freeze during a traumatic event as well. The blood leaves your brain without you knowing unless you've already trained to that situation.. and horror movies don't actually prepare you for real life. The biological reason is to not run away from a predator before it sees you. It comes before fight or flight.

If you drive over turtles, you could someday drive over a child..


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Our province put in a distracted driver law in a couple of year ago. It covers texting, phones, GPS, even potentially eating. Essentially you cannot have you phone even in your hand while driving, stop lights included. The other things that would be considered at the discretion of the police if it is causing a problem. 

The police are finding that $172 fine is still not a big enough deterrent, though it has helped. People have been caught doing really stupid things in the beginning, but the really stupid ones seem less and less. One the first weekend, one person was ticketed for backing out in a standard, eating a ice cream cone, talking on the phone held by his shoulders, and had a tablet he was managing. another was going th down the highway at 172 km texting 

I think the laws need to take in effect and people need to use more common sense.


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

Plugging Along said:


> people need to use more common sense.


OK...so _that's_ not gonna fly.


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

Plugging Along said:


> One the first weekend, one person was ticketed for backing out in a standard, eating a ice cream cone, talking on the phone held by his shoulders, and had a tablet he was managing.


What the hell...

How can you even look properly if you are shouldering your cell phone?


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## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

Plugging Along said:


> The police are finding that $172 fine is still not a big enough deterrent, though it has helped. People have been caught doing really stupid things in the beginning, but the really stupid ones seem less and less. One the first weekend, one person was ticketed for backing out in a standard, eating a ice cream cone, talking on the phone held by his shoulders, and had a tablet he was managing. another was going th down the highway at 172 km texting


Blame the modern day ADD/ADHD culture for this.
No one seems to have any patience & tolerance any more.

Here is another shining example of driving skills:

_*Man accused of throwing steel block at family’s car*_

_A family was driving along Highway 7 near Trafalgar Road, in Halton Hills, at 10 a.m. on Monday, when a vehicle behind them started following too close, and appeared to be looking for an opportunity to pass.
When the driver got the opportunity to pass, police said *a man threw a steel block through the partially-opened passenger window of the family’s car*, shattering the driver side window and showering them with shards of glass. 
The victims included two children — a five-year-old and a three-month-old baby. Police said glass shards struck their faces and eyes._

Square these types of behavior with the assertion that the vast majority of drivers consider themselves "above average".

Too bad Darwinism doesn't apply to drivers :rolleyes2:

I wonder if these types of driver behavior make a case for self-insurance.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

Plugging Along said:


> The police are finding that $172 fine is still not a big enough deterrent, though it has helped.


A number of provinces also give you demerits which is a good idea as this (normally) raises your insurance costs and could cost more than the actual fine itself. I do think each province should increase the penalty for each ticket within a time period (two years?) for both the fine and number of demerits. I still see many people texting, more often at red lights than while driving.


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

I really don't see what the concern is with texting at a red light.

You aren't endangering anybody if you aren't moving. The worst that will happen is the person behind you is going to get annoyed and honk the horn if the light goes green and you don't move fast enough.


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## RBull (Jan 20, 2013)

^you're still in control of a motor vehicle. Even at a stoplight you should be paying attention to other traffic, pedestrians, possible emergency situations arising and the change in lights. There's too much temptation to keep texting for another moment or two when the light has changed and you are or should be moving. Texting isn't important enough to not wait until the ride is over or stop and do it then. 

Keep the phones and other distractions out of the car. I don't even like handsfree as it's still a distraction. $172 is laughable. It should be at least a grand to be a deterrent.


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

I really don't think texting at a red light is any more distracting than having a baby in the backseat, or an annoying friend in the passenger seat.

I would rather have the person in front of me texting away than a screaming baby in the back or a dimwit friend in the passenger seat.


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

KaeJS said:


> I really don't think texting at a red light is any more distracting than having a baby in the backseat, or an annoying friend in the passenger seat.
> 
> I would rather have the person in front of me texting away than a screaming baby in the back or a dimwit friend in the passenger seat.


If this is multiple choice can I take "None of the above"?


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

Nemo2 said:


> If this is multiple choice can I take "None of the above"?


You may take none of the above.


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## hystat (Jun 18, 2010)

an equal fine should extend to a parent paying for the data pkg.


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

KaeJS said:


> You may take none of the above.


Thank you Alex......wow, it's the Daily Double!


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

KaeJS said:


> I really don't see what the concern is with texting at a red light.
> 
> You aren't endangering anybody if you aren't moving. The worst that will happen is the person behind you is going to get annoyed and honk the horn if the light goes green and you don't move fast enough.


Ya, you're likely just disrupting the flow of traffic but, since this person already has their priorities out of wack with their electronic leash I'd say they are very likely to do it while driving as well. Of course if the person is really distracted, with no other traffic stopped to cue you in to the light has turned green, you might get rear ended by someone travelling at speed.

I guess the bottom line is it's illegal and a fair number of drivers on road barely have the skills to even be on the road, they don't need more distractions.


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## praire_guy (Sep 8, 2011)

Another top 10 post cainvest. 

Kaejs welcome to my ignore list. Too bad I liked most of your posts, but now your just an idiot. You drive a motorcycle so that explains a lot.


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

praire_guy said:


> Kaejs welcome to my ignore list. Too bad I liked most of your posts, but now your just an idiot. You drive a motorcycle so that explains a lot.


Is it that time of the month for you?

I don't even own a motorcycle or carry an M license. I'm the idiot? Get your facts straight and stop being so butthurt.

EDIT: Hey, Carver. Do you see what I mean, old man? Everyone is offended about something these days. :biggrin:


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

praire_guy said:


> Kaejs welcome to my ignore list. Too bad I liked most of your posts, but now your just an idiot. You drive a motorcycle so that explains a lot.


This is sarcasm, right? That was fucking rude as hell otherwise...

And do we have an actual ignore feature here? lol. I always thought that people saying "I'll add you to my ignore list!" were just being sassy. :biggrin:

On topic: If I get a text I will read in at a red light, and if it is an important message I will reply at a red light as well. Usually it's something unimportant and I just leave it until I get to where I'm going before replying. 

I think talking on the phone while driving is several times safer than texting. Especially now that everything is touch screen and you pretty much HAVE to look at what you're typing. On my old button phone I could type out a whole sentence with T9 and one thumb while driving and watching the road.


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

peter,

There is an ignore function.

If you click someone's username and View Profile, it will be on the left hand side.


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## peterk (May 16, 2010)

Heh. Good to know. I mean not for me personally. I am an adult who doesn't act like a child, thus can disagree with one aspect of a person's idea without condemning the entire person to an eternity of "ignoring". Much like a child would do...


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

Hey ... I ride a motorcycle ... that's how I see all these people texting at red lights! 
It's kind of funny sometimes, they see me looking then slowly slide their phone down out of sight ... makes me laugh.


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## RBull (Jan 20, 2013)

KaeJS said:


> I really don't think texting at a red light is any more distracting than having a baby in the backseat, or an annoying friend in the passenger seat.
> 
> I would rather have the person in front of me texting away than a screaming baby in the back or a dimwit friend in the passenger seat.


Could be right but the big difference is one of those 3 things you are in control of.


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## RBull (Jan 20, 2013)

cainvest said:


> Hey ... I ride a motorcycle ... that's how I see all these people texting at red lights!
> It's kind of funny sometimes, they see me looking then slowly slide their phone down out of sight ... makes me laugh.


So do I. I guess I'll get added to the ignore list too if I'm not there already.


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

RBull said:


> So do I. I guess I'll get added to the ignore list too if I'm not there already.


Hey, maybe _that's_ the solution to all the 'controversial' type threads - everyone ignores everyone else and we all respond to our own threads and tell ourselves how sensitive and astute we are and what a great job we're doing.

Harmony.


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## Spidey (May 11, 2009)

I'm going to sound like a dinosaur but I can't see why typing into a phone has become such an obsession. Almost on a daily basis I see people driving erratically on the Queensway and when we pass them, sure enough they are looking down at their phones and texting. I believe that texting while driving is as dangerous as being over the legal limit with alcohol and driving and should be treated as such. I think that texting falls into a different category than talking on the phone, drinking a coffee or eating because as much as those other activities may not be advisable while driving, you still can keep your eyes on the road. I suspect we don't have any idea of the amount of accidents that occur due to texting - after all, the police can check someone for being over the legal limit for drinking but nobody is going to admit that their accident occurred due to texting. If it were up to me, I would raise texting while driving to a criminal offense and increase the fine to perhaps $3000.00.


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## hystat (Jun 18, 2010)

I wonder the same thing. Who the hell are you texting? really. 
If I catch a student on their phone in class, I usually look at the content out of curiosity. About 2/3's of the time. It is some retreaded drivel straight out of a scene from Idiocracy. 
Maybe, it's just some sort of escape from structure. A rebellion against anyone telling them they have to pay attention to one thing and when that thing is not entirely on their terms, they need another thing that they choose. dunno - it's weird.


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## bgc_fan (Apr 5, 2009)

m3s said:


> In Québec, snow tires are mandatory between December and March. Meaning, the police can fine anyone on the road without a snowflake symbol on their tires. This costs money to enforce and discourages common sense in a time of climate change. It's not uncommon to see a snowstorm in November, October or even April. It's also not uncommon to take a motorbike out in March to ride south.


While that's true, unless you get involved in an accident and your tires are found not to be snow tires, I doubt the police would really care. I remember being in Quebec when it first came out and I don't recall being stopped by the police for random tire checks.


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## m3s (Apr 3, 2010)

Spidey said:


> I suspect we don't have any idea of the amount of accidents that occur due to texting - after all, the police can check someone for being over the legal limit for drinking but nobody is going to admit that their accident occurred due to texting. If it were up to me, I would raise texting while driving to a criminal offense and increase the fine to perhaps $3000.00.


A cop told me they are fighting to be able to ask the data provider. It should be easier than a search warrant, because they don't want any personal details, just whether data was being sent or not. They would ask for the phone number, call it to verify, then call the provider to find out about usage. I understand drinking and driving was culturally acceptable at one time as well, and it's the same with distracted driving today. You aren't self aware of how much drinking or texting affects your driving while you're doing it.


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

KaeJS said:


> a screaming baby in the back


We were out for a walk this morning when a vehicle pulled up at a Stop sign kitty corner to where we were.........our initial reactions were "Wow, that motor sounds sick"........then we realized there was a screaming kid inside. :biggrin:


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## Spidey (May 11, 2009)

This is the best explanation that I've ever heard for the obsession/addiction with texting.


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

Spidey,

That was a good video. I think Louis is right.


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## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

^lol

I don't ride a motorcycle, but sometimes I do give people a look when they are on their phone or texting.ad and butter, but we have very strict limits on our kids. 

They get less than a couple hours a WEEK of screen time and that includes tv, video, and computers. 

At my little ones school, they send studied out at Christmas to remind parents NOT to buy technology toys and the harm it does in at young ages. 

There are actually detox centre for Tweens and teens for the removal of their devices. They are finding anxiety to be separated which comes partially from the loneliness of not always being connected. 

I worry for my two girls when they are older, because they are already different that they tell their fiends at play dates they want to play instead of be on the computer. It's hard because they don't always fit in. 

Imagine 10 years from now when the babies that gre up with devices are driving.


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## Spidey (May 11, 2009)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tlxjng8h3Tc


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## sags (May 15, 2010)

First they banned talking on a cellphone while driving.

Then they developed bluetooth earpieces and it was legal again to talk on the cellphone while driving............but illegal to hold a cellphone.

Then they developed bluetooth in car audio systems and it is legal to talk on the cellphone, use Onstar, adjust 150 digital radio stations, adjust the volume, download navigation, adjust the favorites on your radio menu, and a bunch of other things................but it is still illegal to hold a cellphone.

People can do pretty much whatever they want............except hold a cellphone.

All making it illegal to "talk" on a cellphone did..............was drive everyone to texting on their cellphone.

It was the unintended consequences of a stupid law..............and it is infinitely more dangerous to text than to talk while driving.

Anyone who can't manage to talk and drive............probably shouldn't be driving at all.

The telcos also added to the problem...........when they gave unlimited plans for texting...............but kept costly plans to talk.

The simple solution is to allow people to talk on the cellphone while driving, but change all texting to voice texting.

In my opinion........a much better solution than bigger fines and more demerit points.....when the majority of the people are going to ignore the law anyways.

It doesn't give me any comfort to know........that if someone crashes into me while texting.........they will pay a bigger fine.


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## Spidey (May 11, 2009)

I don't think texting is being driven by not being allowed to talk on a cellphone. I see people texting as they are walking down the street.


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## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

Spidey said:


> I don't think texting is being driven by not being allowed to talk on a cellphone. I see people texting as they are walking down the street.


Teenagers are often sitting right beside, and texting each other.


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## KaeJS (Sep 28, 2010)

Saw some stupid w(B)itch on the highway today. Doing 80km with her face down in a 90's civic. Going east on the 401.


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## praire_guy (Sep 8, 2011)

peterk said:


> This is sarcasm, right? That was fucking rude as hell otherwise...
> 
> And do we have an actual ignore feature here? lol. I always thought that people saying "I'll add you to my ignore list!" were just being sassy. :biggrin:
> 
> ...


Rude?? You are rude. Welcome to the list *******.


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## praire_guy (Sep 8, 2011)

cainvest said:


> Hey ... I ride a motorcycle ... that's how I see all these people texting at red lights!
> It's kind of funny sometimes, they see me looking then slowly slide their phone down out of sight ... makes me laugh.



I like you. You won't end up on the list. Even if you drive a motorcycle. 

I spent a week in kewlona, and let me tell you through out the Rockies, and in the oka organ, I saw some outright idiotic motorcycle drivers. Lots of them, almost everyone of them. 

There were a few guys on gold wings and Harley's. For the most part they were fine. But the cloth rocket drivers were all bad. Each and everyone of them. Passing around a curve on a dotted line, and then cutting back abruptly in front of people, almost causing a panic brake. 
Zigging and zagging in and out to only be stuck behind 12 cars instead of 13?

Unbelievable.


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

praire_guy said:


> There were a few guys on gold wings and Harley's. For the most part they were fine.


That's because the guys who ride these bikes are all 60+ :wink:


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

praire_guy said:


> I like you. You won't end up on the list. Even if you drive a motorcycle.
> 
> I spent a week in kewlona, and let me tell you through out the Rockies, and in the oka organ, I saw some outright idiotic motorcycle drivers. Lots of them, almost everyone of them.
> 
> ...


The kids can get carried away out there, beautiful roads with nice corners, some will learn the hard way. I guess the good thing was they were focused on the road and not texting!



Nemo2 said:


> That's because the guys who ride these bikes are all 60+ :wink:


I hope I'm still riding my sportbike when I'm 60+, they're sooo much fun.


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## Spidey (May 11, 2009)

peterk said:


> On topic: If I get a text I will read in at a red light, and if it is an important message I will reply at a red light as well. Usually it's something unimportant and I just leave it until I get to where I'm going before replying.


Drivers should have their eyes on their surroundings at all times, even when stopped. 

The average commute time in Canada is 25 minutes. Just so I can understand - can you give an example of a text you've received that is so important that it can't wait until you're home - Is the house burning down? The baby's drowning? Someone's having a heart attack?


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## Nemo2 (Mar 1, 2012)

Spidey said:


> The average commute time in Canada is 25 minutes. Just so I can understand - can you give an example of a text you've received that is so important that it can't wait until you're home - Is the house burning down? The baby's drowning? Someone's having a heart attack?


One of the (numerous) reasons we don't have a cellphone.......there's nothing that can't wait until we're home, and if there is an 'emergency' elsewhere and we're out, what are we able to do about it anyway?


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## hystat (Jun 18, 2010)

In the 90's I had a bag phone in my car and we had "home free" in our plan where you could call home for free. I commuted 2 hours each way. 
I talked to my wife for over an hour on the way home most nights. We really relied on that time to communicate. 
I can talk on a phone and drive without any issue. I have been doing that since the 80's (had a radio phone in my work truck - "over")

Texting... no way


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