quote:Originally posted by Veers: If you mean is it legal to do that, PsyLiam, then yes it is legal. Unfortunately it leads to many traffic accidents, along with people just not wanting to put on their seat belts.
I think the seatbelt should not function at all if the phone is on: after all, the cell phone user is taking everyone erlse's life in their hands by distracting themselves while driving, so why not their own?
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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Saltah'na
Chinese Canadian, or 75% Commie Bastard.
Member # 33
posted
Come to think of it, the fucking sap probably was on his cellular. Besides, even a long drone from my horn didn't detract him from forcing me into that truck.
Does anyone know if a traffic lawyer can fight this? I've just been served with a ticket for careless driving. Not good.
-------------------- "And slowly, you come to realize, it's all as it should be, you can only do so much. If you're game enough, you could place your trust in me. For the love of life, there's a tradeoff, we could lose it all but we'll go down fighting...." - David Sylvian FreeSpace 2, the greatest space sim of all time, now remastered!
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Don't bash SUV drivers. Fortunately, it has become apparent that the absolute WORST drivers are now required to display a circular hazard warning emblem on their cars. Anytime you see anyone driving with this emblem on their car:
RUUNNNNNN!!!!!!! YOUR LIFE IS IN DANGER!
-------------------- I am the Anti-Abaddon. I build models at a scale of 2500/1
Registered: Aug 2003
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Saltah'na
Chinese Canadian, or 75% Commie Bastard.
Member # 33
posted
-------------------- "And slowly, you come to realize, it's all as it should be, you can only do so much. If you're game enough, you could place your trust in me. For the love of life, there's a tradeoff, we could lose it all but we'll go down fighting...." - David Sylvian FreeSpace 2, the greatest space sim of all time, now remastered!
Registered: Mar 1999
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Okay, let me start this off by saying that I KNOW I'm not going to win, so don't jumnp all over me... I'm just speaking my mind....
SUVs are great... I LOVE them..... no, I don't own one, but I definately hope to someday! There ARE valid reasons to own them, and not everyone driving around only has one to "look cool" or show off.... Now, I can understand what y'all are saying about some people using them as a "status symbol" and the fact that SUV drivers suck.... you're right, a some of them do... BUT, so do those damn kids driving around in their little souped up rice rockets and those old people driving around in their big ol' boats. Oh, and don't forget the moms in the minivans and the teenagers in the beaters. Don't blame the cars, blame the people.
I'm just saying.... people suck. Some people shouldn't be allowed to drive. Yet they are... it's CRAZY! But it happens.... don't blame the car, blame the driver......
Oh... and as for cell phones.... yes, they can be a distraction for some people. But so can putting on mascara or lipstick, which a lot of people (women) do, changing the radio station or CD, which I think we probably ALL do when driving, and dealing with kids and/or other passengers in the car.
It goes back to the same thing - drivers are the problem. Some people shouldn't drive. But they do. And that sucks.
Saltah'na
Chinese Canadian, or 75% Commie Bastard.
Member # 33
posted
It seems that asshole drivers are either in: very old cars they don't really care about crashing, or those SUVs in which they think they are invincible.
Almost all my close calls involve those vehicles. My accident involved one of those vehicles. And now it has cost me. Dearly.
-------------------- "And slowly, you come to realize, it's all as it should be, you can only do so much. If you're game enough, you could place your trust in me. For the love of life, there's a tradeoff, we could lose it all but we'll go down fighting...." - David Sylvian FreeSpace 2, the greatest space sim of all time, now remastered!
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
Uh-oh... Now I'm going to get rolling. Liz brought up a lot of points that all roll together in my head into one macropoint. I guess I call it the distinction between "liscensed operators of motor vehicles" and "drivers". The former category encompasses all the fucktards who somehow managed to get the DMV to issue them a card that says they know what they're doing behind the wheel. The latter category is people who have taken the time and spent the effort to acquire a degree of finesse behind the wheel. Let me elucidate.
I have no problem with SUVs in theory. I personally am planning on eventually owning no less than four cars between me and my fiance�. A Ford Bronco to haul stuff (infrequently driven), a Ford Crown Victoria police interceptor for long-distance schleps and trips to the grocery store (somewhat more frequently driven), my DeLorean for other in-town trips and the occasional weekend getaway (fairly frequently driven), and whatever car Jen eventually sets her heart on for much the same purpose for her.
The reason I lay all that out is because some people seem to think an SUV is the only vehicle they need. Bull. It's fine for bringing home cement and cinder blocks to build a garden wall. It's wasteful overkill for dropping your six-year-old off at school.
As for the other matters. I have a multi-disc CD changer so I don't have to twiddle with the radio en route, and even then the controls are repeated on the steering wheel. I am getting a cel phone next week, and I plan on only having it turned on when I am neither driving nor anyplace where it would be disruptive (restaurants, cinemas, buses, etc.). The most reckless thing I do while driving is to occasionally be eating something.
Now on to the finer points. One of the reasons I think most people shouldn't be allowed to drive SUVs is because they have no sense of the size of their vehicle. I've lost track of the number of SUVs that have almost clipped my front end off cutting in front of me on the freeway -- or who almost drift sidelong into me because they fill their lane so much they have no leeway for inattention.
Then there are all the little things. Speeding. Darting in and out. Tailgating. Peeling out. Changing lanes or turning without signaling. There are so many, and they add up to such big results. *sigh* All are signs of someone who doesn't know enough about how cars work to be in good conscience permitted to operate one... and someone who is so self-centred they definitely shouldn't be allowed behind the wheel of a two-ton-plus killing machine.
--Jonah
-------------------- "That's what I like about these high school girls, I keep getting older, they stay the same age."
--David "Woody" Wooderson, Dazed and Confused
Registered: Feb 2001
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quote:Originally posted by LOA: Oh... and as for cell phones.... yes, they can be a distraction for some people. But so can putting on mascara or lipstick, which a lot of people (women) do, changing the radio station or CD, which I think we probably ALL do when driving,
People should not put on make-up when driving. And fiddling with the radio isn't really the same, since it takes second at most (changing CDs is another matter, and also shouldn't be done).
quote:Originally posted by Peregrinus: I personally am planning on eventually owning no less than four cars between me and my fiance�. A Ford Bronco to haul stuff (infrequently driven), a Ford Crown Victoria police interceptor for long-distance schleps and trips to the grocery store (somewhat more frequently driven), my DeLorean for other in-town trips and the occasional weekend getaway (fairly frequently driven), and whatever car Jen eventually sets her heart on for much the same purpose for her.
Thank god America continues to defy it's worldwide image of gross overspending and waste. Three whole cars, for slightly different types of driving? How often do you need to haul stuff? Why is one car good for trips to the grocery store, but not other in-town trips? And who the fuck actually owns a Delorean in real-life?
Good to see you're making sure the woman only has one car though. Keep her in her place!
-------------------- Yes, you're despicable, and... and picable... and... and you're definitely, definitely despicable. How a person can get so despicable in one lifetime is beyond me. It isn't as though I haven't met a lot of people. Goodness knows it isn't that. It isn't just that... it isn't... it's... it's despicable.
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
The house I grew up in (in Miami) was bought a cuban family taht folowed their cultural tradition and made the landscaped front yard into a circular parking lot for their SIX cars. They paved the back yard too, for when their relatives come over. Makes me sick.
Nobody needs three or four cars...two I could see, if one was work and the other for recreation but four?!?
-------------------- Justice inclines her scales so that wisdom comes at the price of suffering. -Aeschylus, Agamemnon
Registered: Aug 2002
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Saltah'na
Chinese Canadian, or 75% Commie Bastard.
Member # 33
posted
IT HAPPENED AGAIN!!!!
This time, I was forced into oncoming traffic by an asshole in a Toyota RAV 4, where I was hit by opposing traffic.
Again, no major damage. Both my car and the other car I hit were able to slow down enough to avoid major damage. Hit in the same spot too as the first time.
THIS time, it is not my fault. The driver of the other car I hit concur that this was due to that asshole SUV driver who cut me off and forced me into oncoming traffic.
I don't care what anyone says now. SUV DRIVERS SHOULD BE SHOT ON SIGHT!!!
-------------------- "And slowly, you come to realize, it's all as it should be, you can only do so much. If you're game enough, you could place your trust in me. For the love of life, there's a tradeoff, we could lose it all but we'll go down fighting...." - David Sylvian FreeSpace 2, the greatest space sim of all time, now remastered!
Registered: Mar 1999
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