Despite all of the warnings, the accidents and the talk of new laws, people continue to send text messages while driving.
The latest victim became 18-year-old Erika Jolie, who was seriously injured last week when her car crossed the center line on I-295 and slide sideways into the path of another vehicle in Yarmouth.
A state trooper investigating the accident found her phone and the partially composed text message at the scene.
As if texting at highway speeds isn't foolish enough, troopers report it was raining heavily at the time of the crash.
The accident comes on the heels of an insurance industry report showing laws against texting while driving have been ineffective.
Accident rates actually increased in a handful of states that adopted specific laws and penalties for texting while driving.
Experts theorize that people go right on texting, they just use the devices below window level to avoid detection by police. This actually increases the time period that their eyes are not on the road, causing more accidents.
It's hard to see how the researchers established this, but the fact remains that laws alone are not enough.
Experts have compared the risk of texting while driving to drinking while driving. The likelihood of an accident is roughly equal, they say.
Yet, over the years, we have managed to reduce the number of drunk drivers on the road. That has taken a combination of laws, enforcement and public education to work.
It will take the same combination to dissuade distracted drivers.
Editor's note of Oct. 11, 2010: Erika Jolie died of her injuries Sunday, after the editorial above was published.
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right its the laws fault?
yup those stupid people breaking the law if we just got rid of it then there would be no problems? the law was put in place because of those stupid people in the first place. your really advocating that a law is to blame for the way people act?
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Drivers with cell phones pasted to their head are a good enough reason for me to keep my
Harley louder than stock. My exhaust isn't ridiculously loud like many other bikers out there,
but it might be just loud enough to get the attention away from your all important phone conversation and back to your driving where it belongs.
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I believe it should be slid sideways, not slide sideways.
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Because of the law, people now hide their cell phones below the dash while texting and driving. Before, we could just hold it at the steering wheel and keep an eye on the road at the same time.
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It is truly sad that she died. And if she had been allowed to legally talk rather than forced to text she may be alive. Thank you nanny state, this girl's death is a direct results of your actions.
Tron, i am not surprised you cannot read. I said No study has ever shown that talking on a cell phone is ANY MORE DANGEROUS THAN TALKING TO A PASSENGER OR ON A CB.
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i have written to our governor a few times and asked that something more should be done i.e.: public service announcements, awareness at schools, driver's ed, and bureau of motor vehicles. the sad thing is that people want to believe that they're invisible. the brain no matter who you are-male of female-young or old does NOT allow you to text/cell phone use while driving. it physically will NOT allow you too... its called 'inattentional blindness' people LOOK it up. the thing that gets me-its being a wreckless driver-and they DO NOT have a right to risk my life while they're on the road.
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Well then, as Tron would say, stay home.
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I don't like broad strokes either but I like less the thought that people challenge others without just doing the research themselves.
There are studies and research that indicates that cell phone use whether hand held or hands free can be as dangerous as driving while under the influence. The studies seem to indicate that it's all about distraction.
I have provided some links relative to studies that support Tron's assertion.
The interesting thing to notice is that the studies also seem to indicate that cell phone use may be a factor in more fatal accidents than driving while intoxicated.
For those who only believe it to be true if it comes from Fox News I have included a news story from them that supports Trons blanket statement.
http://www.unews.utah.edu/p/?r=062206-1
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,201586,00.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phones_and_driving_safety
http://stupac2.blogspot.com/2006/08/driving-and-talking-on-cell-phone-is...
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OK tron, bend over
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The parrot sez you won't do it.
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unfortunately TRON has a history of making comments based on the "grapevine" instead of seeing the evidence with his own eyes so he is rarely believable. Remember the story about the boy that cried wolf? Antedeluvian, my suggestion to you is go as far to the left or right as you can because if you get too close to the middle you'll just get more of his crap!
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Erica Jolie died from the injuries she sustained in the crash. Let's pray this makes others think before they engage in disracted driving for any reason. Our thoughts are with Erica's family and friends.
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Business people need to 'hit the ball over the net'. Teens consider it rude not to reply immediately to texts. Home schedules would grind to a halt without immediate communication. We are conditioned to pursue this level of efficiency but we are all supposed cease this behavior once we sit in our respective 5,000 pound pieces of steel and glass. Anyone can win an argument in a forum like this by saying "Just put the phone away" - but we can see its just not happening.
I just read that 72% of teens text daily - many text more 3000 times a month. New college students no longer have email addresses! They use texting and Facebook - even with their professors. This text and drive issue is in its infancy and its not going away.
I decided to do something about it after my three year old daughter was nearly run down right in front of me by a texting driver . Instead of a shackle that locks down phones and alienates the user (especially teens) I built a tool called OTTER that is a simple app for smartphones. I think if we can empower the individual then change will come to our highways now and not just our laws.
Erik Wood, owner
OTTER LLC
OTTER app
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The victim is the person who Jolie crashed into. That person may now have injuries and definitely has a demolished car and endless insurance, financial, and replacement-car-hunting headaches, all caused by a foolish texting incident. You can feel sorry for the girl's injuries but her license should be pulled for at least a year. Small consequences for the harm she caused the other driver.
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Even though it is far more dangerous to text than talk on a cell phone while driving, we still push to make it illegal.
Couple that with that, unless you get into an accident while texting, you can't be seen, let alone caught, texting while driving.
I know some people are too engulfed in cell phone envy to follow this logic, but they must understand the law we have making it illegal to drive and talk on a cell phone is what is causing the increase in driving and texting.
Driving and talking on a cell phone has never been proven to be any more of a distraction than driving and talking to a passenger or on a CB. Driving and texting on a cell we all agree is very dangerous, but our boneheaded state laws force kids to do exactly that.
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study after study has concluded that talking on a cellphone, even a hands free one, is just as dangerous as drunk driving.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.tron, are you serious??
...hands free talking is as dangerous as drunk driving??? Produce just ONE of those MANY studies to back up THAT claim and I will gladly kiss your backside.
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Are you seriously debating this? This has been known for many years. Here's a link to an article from the New England Journal of Medicine, one of the most respected journals in the world: http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMp0910137
The highlights, for the rest of you flat-Earthers: "talking on a cell phone while driving posed a risk four times that faced by undistracted drivers and on a par with that of driving while intoxicated" and "moreover, using a hands-free device does not make talking on the phone any safer".
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Scotty I'm not debating this issue with tron, my view is to have people pull over if they are going to use their phone. My point is tron always seems to post what he says is fact but if ever questioned he never produces proof. Debating tron would be child play. He's the guy who shows up at a gun fight with a wooden knife, all show but no substance...
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he's right. I don't remember where I read it. Didn't think I'd have to. For what purpose? But I do remember reading it.
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I'll pass!
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.the REAL problem here...
... is you, and others like you, have the right to vote. It's no wonder we are in such a mess.
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As ususal...tron...swing and a miss. You always speak in broad stroaks like you know more than anyone else and when asked to prove it you come up short. You have never given an iota of proof when questioned and so you have no credibility.
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talking on a cell phone while driving is perfectly safe? You're delusional.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.Tron I'm not the one who made
Tron I'm not the one who made the statement that it was as dangerous as drunk driving...you did and you said there were a multitude of report that prove it. You didn't make an attempt to show proof. All I stated is you always speak as though you are an expert when in fact you sit home in uburn at your apartment waiting for your government checks in the mail. What is disturbing though is your complete lack of understanding of what logic and reason is all about. You shouldn't have slept through what few years of school you attended, it appears those years were wasted on you.
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have been frustrated by the right wing wackos for years. For no matter what we provide as proof, you guys either deny the 'science', for condemn the study group, or have some wacko group of your own that disputes everything. I've read my studies on this issue, and the conclusion that can be reached by REASONABLE people is using cell phones while driving is dangerous. I know you'll dispute that because you're such a gifted individual that you can talk on the phone, sing songs, discipline the kiddies , put on your make up AND eat breakfast while driving down the interstate at 75mph. But it is still dangerous for NORMAL Americans.
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lAww, here we go.. you can't get into a meaningful discussion without getting into the "right wing wacko" name calling. I wondered just how long it was going to take you to get down to your usual subterranian level. Didn't take long at all. Nice going T...
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The "editorial" refers to her as a "victim". She was texting while driving in heavy rain and lost control of her car. That's a victim? Like, that wasn't her fault? I'm certainly sorry to hear she was injured, but it's not as though some thug from the dirty Lew attacked her, yanked her out of her car and viciously beat her. That would make her a victim. What happened to her was just dumb. Hopefully, with no long term consequences.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.I agree with most of your
I agree with most of your post, tired, but I take exception to your "dirty Lew" reference. Lewiston, by no means, has a monopoly on senseless homicides. I can recall a few years ago when a drunken young man in the Old Port was pushed through a plate glass window to his death by some cowardly thug because he had urinated on the sidewalk.
Try to lighten up on Lewiston; it ain't perfect, but it's a lot better than 40 other cities I could name.
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