Paraphrased from a comedian, I believe it was Nick Thune: “A cop gave me a ticket for texting and driving, but I was able to get it thrown out, because I proved that I was just taking a picture of my crotch.”
Last year I saw a guy on a bicycle rear end a car while texting. He had minor injuries.
That had not occurred to me, thanks.
A texter hurt my feelings once.
I’m sorry you were injured Annie, but I’m a little baffled. He was charged with assault? Was he arrested at the scene? Dude was completely in the wrong, and I know people get arrested for things that are accidents all the time, but assault is a pretty serious charge. People do time for that sort of thing. Was your reaction (screaming at the guy) what attracted the cop to the scene to begin with? Was the guy apologetic at all? I’m not doubting your story, I’m just pretty surprised that an incident like this would result in criminal charges.
Maybe it’s just me, that’s possible, but that just seems like an extreme reaction to a relatively minor incident and subsequent injury. Someone could really lose their freedom over something like this? Annie, can you clarify a bit? Again, I’m not calling you a liar or anything, I’m just a little taken aback by the end result.
I once removed a texter’s appendix witha grapefruit spoon.
Stranger
There’a an app for that now.
You said *exactly *what I was thinking.
In 2001 I ran a stop sign while texting and got t-boned by a driver who had right of way. He didn’t want my info and was anxious to get out of there. He probably didn’t have insurance/license/had a warrant/undocumented. I explained that my insurance would cover his car’s damage, but he just wanted to get outta there.
Curiously, his front bumper was a huge log lashed to the car. I wasn’t hurt, but my brand new Maxima was plenty hurt from being logged.
I haven’t texted while driving since. I also find that hands-free Bluetooth phone calls are incredibly distracting and do it very seldom.
In Honolulu it is illegal to text while crossing the street ( Cite)and I think I read in the Times about another town doing the same thing. Banning texting while walking would be fine with me. It is not like you can’t stop in a doorway to get your oh so important text.
Walking into people is assault? I’m a total klutz – by Annie’s rules, I’d be on Death Row.
That isn‘t what the o.p. described. In her words:
This is more than just bumping into someone casually. Assuming the o.p has not exaggerated the circumstance or injuries, this would appear to be severe neglegence on the part of the texter and depending on the circumstances I could see a police officer issuing a citation for assault.
Stranger
I saw a woman texting beside her car in a parking lot. Her cart was full of sacks and a baby in a car seat. She had the trunk opened, I assume to put the sacks it. The cart was rolling away and she continued to look at her phone, a guy walking by caught the cart and rolled it back to the woman. I was was stunned. And she just laughed.
Inconsiderate, sure. But having the person arrested for assault? That’s just overkill. It’s not like people ever ignored their surroundings before texting was invented. There are jackasses out there in the world, and shit happens.
Assuming the OP has not exaggerated her injuries, he’d have to be going at a pretty good clip to send her flying and falling.
Others may not be doubting her account, but I am. Bumped into her and she fell, maybe. Send her flying?
I also think screaming is a pretty ineffective way of dealing with the situation. It certainly doesn’t get bystanders on your side the way calmly addressing the situation would.
I don’t even own a cellular telephonic device!
I can only go by the o.p. but I don’t know what her motivation would be for lying about the accident or the citation, and yes, I can see a large man barreling into and forcibly knocking over a small woman, particularly if he is making no effort to avoid her, because I’ve witnessed that very thing happening.
Regardless, I have personally experienced a somewhat similar incident a couple of years ago in which while coming to the end of a moving walkway at an airport some bimbo decided she needed to stop right in front of the slideway end and drop her giant rollerbag across the exit so she could fuck around on her phone, causing the five people in front of me dogpiled across her luggage; I had enough time and distance to do a double leap and pirouette that should have gained me a place in the Bolshoi Ballet. The woman in question then she tried to grab her bag out from under the pile of passengers and run off and pretend nothing happened. I grabbed the handle and held her up until emergency services got there, and yes, she was charged with assault, creating a public nuisance, and several other charges owing to the stream of profane and threatening abuse she hurled at me and the police officer of whom she was under the mistaken impression were just security guards. One person was taken away on a gurney with a possible concussion and two others were treated for minor contusions. So yes, behaving in a way that is recklessly indifferent to the safety of other people and physically injuring them, even if unintentionally, can result in criminal penalties.
Stranger
you’re a bad seed! 
mc
A texter brutally raped and tortured my father then forced him to mine for blood diamonds.
Not texting, but distracted driving, and it was my father. He was on his motorcycle and the guy behind him, in a pickup, looked down to put a CD in the player. He sandwiched my dad between his truck and the truck my dad was following. By the time I got the call and rushed to the hospital ER my dad was dead. We weren’t even told if the other driver was ticketed, although there was an insurance settlement. I would have gone after him in a civil suit, but that would be up to my mom and she couldn’t bear it. Her decision, and I never said a word. All I wanted to do was ask the man who killed my father if the music was worth it.:mad: