Texting and driving should be treated the same as drunk driving, amirite?

The problem with this is it's a lot easier to catch someone is drunk driving. A drunk driver can easily be spotted with a breathalyzer or just by how they are acting but I can just turn my phone off in under a second. People zone out all the time while driving and snap back but there is nothing to really prove you are were texting and driving.

by Anonymous 9 months ago

Smart freeways are changing that. People get caught on camera using their phones or without a seatbelt and then get a fine in the mail

by Stewartpfeffer 9 months ago

a lot easier to catch someone is drunk driving. Video recording of someone using their phone while driving is easier than a breathalyser test

by Anonymous 9 months ago

I'm also not super supportive of millions of cameras everywhere designed to catch every little mistake that could be fined. Jaywalking for example. Just seems like an excuse to be monitored even more than now.

by Anonymous 9 months ago

It's weaker evidence

by Anonymous 9 months ago

No it's not

by Anonymous 9 months ago

Definitely is. An automated system is way easier than paying and organising a booze bus to catch people on mass

by Stewartpfeffer 9 months ago

I was thinking of like other people recording like random civilians off the road my bad

by Anonymous 9 months ago

I don't disagree with this. It's so dangerous and unnecessary. I'm not even some old fuddy duddy, I'm 25 but it is so easy to not use your phone when you're driving. I don't understand people who do it at all.

by medhurstgwendol 9 months ago

I saw some woman reading her kindle while driving.

by Anonymous 9 months ago

One more chapter...

by RelevantAd3808 9 months ago

Jean Girard beat Ricky Bobby while reading a book

by Darelinnie 9 months ago

but he was a professional! and french! lol

by weissnatreece 9 months ago

I think texting while drinking is a bigger problem.

by Anonymous 9 months ago

Talking on the phone while texting while drinking while eating while driving 😂

by Anonymous 9 months ago

Texting while drinking while driving

by Anonymous 9 months ago

Texting real quick at a red light is one thing but I don't think that's what OP is talking about. When I see people steering with their knees and texting on the highway I want to scream. Not even kidding when I say I see it at least once a day. If you are that distracted by your cell phone, it's for sure as dangerous as drunk driving

by Regular-Island7405 9 months ago

Right but you can choose to use your phone or not, if you're drunk driving you can't. They're not even remotely the same and people like OP are just outraged.

by Werner90 9 months ago

Texting at a red light is stupid af too. You should have situational awareness at all times when controlling a vehicle.

by Anonymous 9 months ago

Ugh. People that look at their phone at a red light are assholes.

by RideEconomy 9 months ago

Laws against texting and driving actually result in more accidents. People don't change their behavior, they just try to hide it, which means they aren't looking at the road.

by Anonymous 9 months ago

Citation needed.

by Anonymous 9 months ago

Literally the sentence below the quote you provided cites a study with the opposite finding. "More recently, Abouk and Adams published the first national-level study of texting bans' impacts on traffic fatalities. They examined the impact of texting-while-driving bans on the occurrence of only single-vehicle, single-occupant accidents between 2007 and 2010. Their findings indicated that stronger bans that are applied to all drivers were associated with decreases in single-vehicle, single-occupant accidents." The Abouk and Adams paper has a more robust research design and has the benefit of being published in a peer reviewed journal.

by Anonymous 9 months ago

Yeah... pretty much before hand..? youd have you phone up and have the road visible... now? you hide it

by Anonymous 9 months ago

What about texting while the car drives itself? That is going to become more and more common in the future. My car will drive in traffic hands free upto 15km/h. If I get caught texting in traffic is that equivalent to drunk driving? I do agree texting while your controlling the vehicle is super dangerous.

by Anonymous 9 months ago

People should mainly be punished for poor driving. A lot of people get into trouble trying to hide texting while driving and could possibly be ok if they weren't trying to hide it....

by aurorelindgren 9 months ago

It's worse in Australia

by Anonymous 9 months ago

Isn't it already?

by Anonymous 9 months ago

How is this unpopular

by Anonymous 9 months ago

YES YES YES YES YESSSSS!!!!

by Anonymous 9 months ago

And tired driving is worse than all of them.

by Anonymous 9 months ago

I can't tell if this is serious or sarcastic

by Anonymous 9 months ago

It actually is. A 0.08 driver is far safer than someone who's extremely tired. Obviously neither are good. But if your eyes are drooping you really shouldn't drive

by FlashyTreacle6083 9 months ago

Driving while sleep deprived is as dangerous as drunk driving. That's not an opinion, that's a fact backed by research

by Beneficial_Sea8105 9 months ago

No, it should be worse. You're not drunk, your judgement isn't impaired by drugs, you're fully capable of making decisions and you chose to not pay attention

by Anonymous 9 months ago

Okay, now show the the device people can blow into to prove whether or not they were texting and driving.

by feilshaylee 9 months ago

Yeah I can see how the cops will use this every chance they get

by Anonymous 9 months ago