# "Sure I text while driving. \*#@% you if you don't like it!" **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 5, 2016, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-i-text-while-driving-you-if-you-dont-like-it/745271 "2016-02-05T21:07:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2016, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-i-text-while-driving-you-if-you-dont-like-it/745271/181 "2016-02-15T15:26:02Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Right. And when you use your phone to play music, you are not focusing on your driving and are being unsafe. When I use my phone to play music, I’m at home. I don’t think my car fits in the lift… ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2016, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-i-text-while-driving-you-if-you-dont-like-it/745271/182 "2016-02-15T17:50:31Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > I sleep while driving, but I never set the cruise control above 75 when I do. Plus, I only do it when I drive on the other side of the road against oncoming traffic. It’s safe because I have my high beams on and I sleep with one hand on the horn. AH! I know you’re joking but this reminds me of one of those horror stories I can’t forget. Out west, guy sets his cruise control to 80 and then falls asleep. He hits a jackknifed tractor trailer which of course takes the top off of his car, him, and his front passenger. A friend is lying down sleeping in the back and survives. I just can’t imagine being that guy, waking up stuck under the trailer with half of your friends in the front. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2016, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-i-text-while-driving-you-if-you-dont-like-it/745271/183 "2016-02-15T19:25:04Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > I sleep while driving, but I never set the cruise control above 75 when I do. Plus, I only do it when I drive on the other side of the road against oncoming traffic. It’s safe because I have my high beams on and I sleep with one hand on the horn. Dad? Wait - Do you also stick your head out the car window to look straight up at passing planes? (Yes, while driving. D’uh! You can’t get a good look at them if you’re sitting still. :rolleyes:) I spend any time I’m a passenger in a car with my dad providing a constant narration on road conditions and his driving. And praying. Swearing and praying. He doesn’t text though… ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2016, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-i-text-while-driving-you-if-you-dont-like-it/745271/184 "2016-02-15T19:41:56Z")
> [@ddsun](#): > > Dad? Wait - Do you also stick your head out the car window to look straight up at passing planes? (Yes, while driving. D’uh! You can’t get a good look at them if you’re sitting still. :rolleyes:) > > I spend any time I’m a passenger in a car with my dad providing a constant narration on road conditions and his driving. And praying. Swearing and praying. He doesn’t text though… My Grandma seemed to have decided that stop signs were somewhere between “just a suggestion” and nonexistent a full 20 years before she died. Then there was the time she forgot to turn her headlights on… Luckily I only visited her about once a year. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2016, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-i-text-while-driving-you-if-you-dont-like-it/745271/185 "2016-02-15T20:17:46Z")
When I die, I want to go peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather, and not screaming in terror like his passengers. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2016, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-i-text-while-driving-you-if-you-dont-like-it/745271/186 "2016-02-15T20:41:12Z")
> [@ddsun](#): > > Dad? Wait - Do you also stick your head out the car window to look straight up at passing planes? .… How else can you hit them with a laser? ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2016, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-i-text-while-driving-you-if-you-dont-like-it/745271/187 "2016-02-15T22:31:22Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > AH! I know you’re joking but this reminds me of one of those horror stories I can’t forget. Out west, guy sets his cruise control to 80 and then falls asleep. He hits a jackknifed tractor trailer which of course takes the top off of his car, him, and his front passenger. A friend is lying down sleeping in the back and survives. I just can’t imagine being that guy, waking up stuck under the trailer with half of your friends in the front. Half a friend + half a friend still = one whole friend! ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-i-text-while-driving-you-if-you-dont-like-it/745271/188 "2016-03-10T19:13:04Z")
So I am bumping this thread to report on yesterday. Driving up the northway at around 70 mph I saw no less than THREE drivers texting while driving. The first one was in the far left lane, going about 68 mph or so. He veered gently into my lane (I was in the middle), corrected, then veered again, further this time. I gave him a gentle tap on the horn but he didn’t react at all, so I decided I’d feel safer if I passed him. Got up level with him and in the 3-4 seconds that I passed him I could see he was driving, in the left lane, with one hand on the wheel, his cellphone in the other hand, and all of his attention on the cellphone that he was busily texting on. As I passed him, the woman behind him dropped into my lane, clearly also irritated with his lack of predictability. A few miles later she dropped into the far right lane to take the exit. She caught up to me and as I glanced over - yup, texting! Again eyes not even budging from the phone in the few seconds I saw her. Last guy was a guy in a van, in the middle lane, doing about 60, also texting. I didn’t get much of a chance to look at him as I passed him (I usually set my cruise to 70 on the 65 mph highway). I guess the point of my story is a)it’s ubiquitous, and b) people be crazy, yo. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-i-text-while-driving-you-if-you-dont-like-it/745271/189 "2016-03-10T22:33:24Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I gave him a gentle tap on the horn but he didn’t react at all, so I decided I’d feel safer if I passed him. Why would you feel safer with an obviously dangerous driver behind you? ---
**Author:** ![fachverwirrt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/94ad74/32.png) [@fachverwirrt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fachverwirrt)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-i-text-while-driving-you-if-you-dont-like-it/745271/190 "2016-03-10T22:48:11Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Why would you feel safer with an obviously dangerous driver behind you? Because then you can just drive away and they’re no longer your problem? I’m confused by the question. I presume she didn’t hang around with him right behind her. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-i-text-while-driving-you-if-you-dont-like-it/745271/191 "2016-03-10T23:21:03Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > Everyone agrees that texting while driving is a bad idea \*\*\*except \*\*\*when I do it safely. > > Bicycling seems so much more dangerous these days that a few decades ago. You never know when some asshat is talking on their phone or texting and not paying attention to the cyclist sharing the road. I would be curious if there are any studies showing or disproving this. I cycle to work every day along a busy but slow (due to traffic) road. There is a painted cycle lane. The last three times a car has veered into the bike lane have been because the driver was texting. The last time I caught up to the woman in traffic and wagged my finger at her. She wound the window down and asked what the problem was. I told her she had missed me by inches. She didn’t even know. From her accent she was from Western Europe; probably Dutch. She admitted she had been texting and was almost in tears because she said she was pro-cycling and she was so upset at what she had (nearly) done. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2016, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-i-text-while-driving-you-if-you-dont-like-it/745271/192 "2016-03-10T23:22:04Z")
> [@Mithrander](#): > > I’d be careful with that one. If you get pulled over, the cops will probably throw the book at you. That is _so_ bad that I love it. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2016, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-i-text-while-driving-you-if-you-dont-like-it/745271/193 "2016-03-11T01:04:46Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > Because then you can just drive away and they’re no longer your problem? I’m confused by the question. I presume she didn’t hang around with him right behind her. Plus the texters I’ve seen leave lots of space in front of them “to be safe” - just like drunk drivers. Being in front is a lot safer. ---
**Author:** ![bldysabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@bldysabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bldysabba)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2016, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-i-text-while-driving-you-if-you-dont-like-it/745271/194 "2016-03-11T06:34:17Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > A mark of a texter, or a drunk, is being careful by leaving tons of room in front of them. Which works fine until someone cuts into that space and they don’t notice. > Plus, you must be reading incredibly crappy boring books, because any good ones I read (never while driving) make me forget about the world for a short time. > Audiobooks are a bit distracting, but much less than what you do. I actually only leave something like two feet between the car in front of me and myself, so it’s in my peripheral vision. This is in stop-start traffic going at a maximum of 30 kmph. And yes, I do read pretty crappy books while driving. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2016, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-i-text-while-driving-you-if-you-dont-like-it/745271/195 "2016-03-11T14:10:44Z")
> [@fachverwirrt](#): > > Because then you can just drive away and they’re no longer your problem? I’m confused by the question. I presume she didn’t hang around with him right behind her. Yeah this. I stayed in the middle lane and no longer had to worry about him veering into my lane. There was traffic, but everyone was moving, so I was able to drive away. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2016, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-i-text-while-driving-you-if-you-dont-like-it/745271/196 "2016-03-12T02:06:50Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > That is ignorance, and I’m here to fight it. Thin gruel man, thin gruel. [Snopes may prove informative.](http://www.snopes.com/photos/accident/texting.asp) Then again, since apparently you believe your behavior and statement are all you need to fight ignorance, you may glean exactly zero information from reading the linked article. I must tell you, the mindset of " I do it and I’m right so therefore it is right and you are wrong because you don’t believe I am right and I am allowed to do what I think is right" is not at all how ignorance is fought around here. And, welcome to The Straight Dope. :smack: Sincerely, Cartooniverse- retired NYS Emergency Medical Technician who has likely pulled more people out of car wrecks than you have. Nitwit. ---
**Author:** ![furdmort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@furdmort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furdmort)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-i-text-while-driving-you-if-you-dont-like-it/745271/197 "2016-03-13T15:00:40Z")
> [@Hooleehootoo](#): > > I have never driven on the German Autobahns, but I understand the people who drive on them observe a rule that you are to stay right except when passing, and if you are going too slow in the left lane you can expect to have brights flashed at you and be tailgated. Now given the common stereotype of Germans, it is possible that this custom is actually codified, and not evolved, organic, adopted. But if it is the latter, would it not be evidence against your claim, as presumably there was a first left-lane-light-flasher, and another, and finally the custom was widespread? “Keep right except when passing” is codified. “Bright lights and tailgating” is illegal, and will get you pulled over by the police if any happen to be around. ---
**Author:** ![jerry\_smissingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e56c9b/32.png) [@jerry\_smissingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerry_smissingfinger)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-i-text-while-driving-you-if-you-dont-like-it/745271/198 "2016-03-13T19:48:50Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Periodically I wonder why local police don’t enforce this aggressively. Seems to me it could raise revenue similar to speed traps and redlight cameras. Simply have an unmarked car equipped with cameras to take pics of a driver with a cellphone and their license. If the driver contests, get the cell records. Ding ding ding. Tennessee is all over it > **[Tennessee Highway Patrol using semi trucks to hunt down texters on the...](https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2013/mar/15/highway-patrol-uses-trucks-vantage-point/)** > > • Bans all cellphone use (hand-held and hands-free) for bus drivers and novice drivers (primary law) ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-i-text-while-driving-you-if-you-dont-like-it/745271/199 "2016-03-14T08:58:47Z")
Public Service Announcement: "Craig Settler, 27, of East Loser was killed in his car yesterday. The crash happened at 13:23. According to his cell provider, the following texts were sent by Mr. Settler in the preceding 5 minutes: {date/timestamp, sent/received flag, actual text that was damned important that he died to send/receive}". Screw privacy: this is a Public Health issue. Maybe, just maybe, one or two kids will get the idea that the “Is this all THAT important?” question embedded in their minds BEFORE they get behind a wheel. If we end up with a generation which considers _quiet_ a sign of extreme distress, we should probably allow these idiots first dibs on self-driving cars - as long as the “cars” are pods which cannot harm people in real cars (which will be restricted to people who CAN live without constant chatter). ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-i-text-while-driving-you-if-you-dont-like-it/745271/200 "2016-03-14T11:00:07Z")
I thought I was about to be proved a genius one day last week. On my way to work I came up behind a woman driving just under the limit in the fast lane. As I passed he in the center lane I saw that she was looking down at her lap. I was indicating to change lanes in front of her but changed my mind and stayed in the center lane. She went zooming off toward the stationary cars in front of her with no sign of any braking. I was getting my story ready to tell at work when she slammed on her brakes and screeched to a halt. She at least had the sense to get off the road to complete her call/message. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-i-text-while-driving-you-if-you-dont-like-it/745271.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sure-i-text-while-driving-you-if-you-dont-like-it/745271.md?page=11)