# When will idiots learn not to text and drive? (Texas bus accident) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 1, 2017, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-idiots-learn-not-to-text-and-drive-texas-bus-accident/783483 "2017-04-01T06:36:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-idiots-learn-not-to-text-and-drive-texas-bus-accident/783483/101 "2017-04-03T17:14:41Z")
> [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > Having your phone seized for a citation is something that would never fly, though. why not? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-idiots-learn-not-to-text-and-drive-texas-bus-accident/783483/102 "2017-04-03T17:19:35Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > 1. _and_ (this is the key piece) said driver’s _mobile device is confiscated on the spot,_ with the ability to re-claim it at the police station after the fine is paid. > > I think taking people’s toys away from them for a bit would help get the message across. This would work best for minors, AND it would have to be reclaimed by a parent or guardian after the fine’s payment. ---
**Author:** ![Calatin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/439d5e/32.png) [@Calatin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calatin)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-idiots-learn-not-to-text-and-drive-texas-bus-accident/783483/103 "2017-04-03T17:27:32Z")
Texas resident here, and while it is not uniformly banned, there is a law prohibiting cell phone use while driving through school zones, when said school zones are active. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-idiots-learn-not-to-text-and-drive-texas-bus-accident/783483/104 "2017-04-03T17:36:52Z")
> [@jz78817](#): > > why not? IANAL, but I don’t believe police can seize property without suspicion that something more serious than an infraction that results in a citation has taken place. Also, people rely on cell phones for work, getting in touch with children, etc. No one is going to pass a bill allowing police to take away cell phones for citations. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-idiots-learn-not-to-text-and-drive-texas-bus-accident/783483/105 "2017-04-03T17:37:49Z")
Why has no one mentioned the talk-to-text features that lots of phones have? I rarely have texted while driving, but I have used the talk-to-text for short messages, even though I have to push a button on my phone to activate it. Generally I will use the hands-free “call back” option to respond to texts. Or ignore them. My car reads incoming messages to me. I live in Houston, but a large suburb (Sugar Land) has recently passed a law banning use of hand-held devices while driving. ---
**Author:** ![SaneBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@SaneBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaneBill)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-idiots-learn-not-to-text-and-drive-texas-bus-accident/783483/106 "2017-04-03T17:40:11Z")
> [@Fuji](#): > > I’ll continue to read your wildly entertaining posts (can’t wait 12 hours! need it now!) and make disparaging and sarcastic comments as I see fit. Deal? No, no. As long as you make him post here all his hundreds of clients are hanging on the lines fuming. Also he’s texting all these while driving. You may have become accomplices by now. ---
**Author:** ![SaneBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@SaneBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaneBill)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-idiots-learn-not-to-text-and-drive-texas-bus-accident/783483/107 "2017-04-03T17:56:47Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > But texting? In order to text, you have to take your eyes away from the road and look at something else for a while. It’s the same as if you were trying to drive with your eyes closed, and nobody (well, OK, almost nobody) would ever think to try that. What makes people (even sober people who should have their wits about them) such idiots about it? Happened where I work. A coffee break, one summer helper was sitting there starring in front of her hands below the table. When asked, she said she was texting. She learnt in school to text without looking the phone so the teacher wouldn’t notice. Done so ever since. > [@k9bfriender](#): > > The reason that people think that they can text and drive, is because while they were texting, they weren’t paying attention to driving, and do not realize how much they are swerving and not maintaining speed. Once saw a test where the result was that the people who were most convinced their multitasking abilities while driving, were in fact the worst. They just didn’t notice those near misses and afterwards were proud how fine it went. And then they saw some eye-opening footage… ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-idiots-learn-not-to-text-and-drive-texas-bus-accident/783483/108 "2017-04-03T18:40:49Z")
> [@SaneBill](#): > > Happened where I work. A coffee break, one summer helper was sitting there starring in front of her hands below the table. When asked, she said she was texting. She learnt in school to text without looking the phone so the teacher wouldn’t notice. Done so ever since. glad to hear she learned such valuable skills in school. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2017, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-idiots-learn-not-to-text-and-drive-texas-bus-accident/783483/109 "2017-04-03T21:50:13Z")
Some [great footage of kids texting while driving.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-t-pVe-LCs) nobody dies, so enjoy. [From One Second To The Next.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BqFkRwdFZ0) Werner Herzog put together a documentary featuring interviews with people who texted while driving and the survivors of the crashes they caused. People were maimed and killed (long before the movie was made); you won’t enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![Scougs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scougs/32/3158_2.png) [@Scougs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scougs)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-idiots-learn-not-to-text-and-drive-texas-bus-accident/783483/110 "2017-04-04T18:56:04Z")
In the UK, if you are caught using a hand-held device behind the wheel of a car - even if you are in stationary traffic or stopped at traffic lights - you get six penalty points on your licence. This means that if it is less than two years since you passed your test, you completely lose your licence and have to start again from scratch with both the theory and practical tests. That’s a pretty strong deterrent. ---
**Author:** ![Mnemnosyne](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mnemnosyne/32/3347_2.png) [@Mnemnosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mnemnosyne)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-idiots-learn-not-to-text-and-drive-texas-bus-accident/783483/111 "2017-04-04T20:48:41Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Mythbusters did a show once on this very topic and they found that handheld talking was slightly _better_ than handsfree, which was a complete surprise to me. > > That said, even hands-free talking is distracting: I was once talking to my husband and kids on the phone, driving roads I knew _extremely_ well, and missed my highway exit. I don’t think I’d have missed something jumping out in front of me, but the concept of making sure what exit I needed to take was apparently not something my brain considered important. I’ve done exactly the same thing while talking to a passenger in my car; neither of us noticed we went past where we were going for a bit, because we were engaged in an interesting conversation. I think this sort of thing is part of why the texting thing started being seen as okay. I remember people were up in arms about using cellphones in the car before texting became all that common. It was just **talking** that people were complaining about. When the problem then became texting, a lot of people were used to ignoring the complaining about using cellphones in the car, and they just lumped a real, major hazard into something that’s in the same ballpark as having a conversation with your passenger, which is something that will absolutely happen unless cars are mandated to be one-person pods. If no big deal had ever been made about talking on the phone while driving…well, people probably still wouldn’t listen, but there’s a tiny chance they would have listened about texting while driving. > [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Well, if you were at some minimal level of intelligence, you could record your voice mail message as something along the lines of “I’m sorry, I can’t take your call, I may be driving at this time. Please leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.” > > But you’re russian heel, so fat chance of THAT. No, honestly, he’s got a point. If I’m calling someone who I’m considering paying for a service of some kind, or buying something from, I don’t really care why I don’t get to speak with the person immediately when I call. I’m just going to call someone else about whatever I want. Maybe I’ll call back later, but not if whoever else I called in that moment winds up providing for me. > [@JRDelirious](#): > > Hey, until about 20 years ago, not being reachable on the phone while away from your fixed desk was the normal state of affairs for msot of us. To be totally frank, creating the expectation that I have to be on call 24/7 across every square foot of the Earth’s surface and from sea level to the ceiling of our airliners, or else fall behind in the marketplace, has been one of the most sucktastic parts of technological progress. But yes can at least say, look, the genie’s out of the bottle but let’s adapt and use specific forms of the system that manage the risks. You can reach me, but not necessarily ANY way you want to, we can compromise. > > (That messaging now tells you that the message was delivered and read is aggravating since it panders to the sender feeling entitled to a quick response.) Thing is, 20 years ago, if I call a plumber, for instance, and don’t get an answer, I’m calling the next plumber on my list/in the phone book, not leaving a message and waiting for him to call me back. Unless I have an established relationship with that plumber and I really want that particular one to be the one to service me, at least. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-idiots-learn-not-to-text-and-drive-texas-bus-accident/783483/112 "2017-04-04T22:10:05Z")
> [@Mnemnosyne](#): > > No, honestly, he’s got a point. If I’m calling someone who I’m considering paying for a service of some kind, or buying something from, I don’t really care why I don’t get to speak with the person immediately when I call. I’m just going to call someone else about whatever I want. Maybe I’ll call back later, but not if whoever else I called in that moment winds up providing for me. Well, he’s ether going to have to give up driving, give up his cellphone, or arrange for his calls to be forwarded to another employee who can deal with the client. He doesn’t have a right to optimize his customer service in a way that endangers the public. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-idiots-learn-not-to-text-and-drive-texas-bus-accident/783483/113 "2017-04-04T22:22:16Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Well, he’s ether going to have to give up driving, give up his cellphone, or arrange for his calls to be forwarded to another employee who can deal with the client. He doesn’t have a right to optimize his customer service in a way that endangers the public. Or, pull over when he gets a call. That’s perfectly acceptable. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2017, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-idiots-learn-not-to-text-and-drive-texas-bus-accident/783483/114 "2017-04-04T23:45:26Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > Or, pull over when he gets a call. That’s perfectly acceptable. Why, that’s so crazy _it just might work!_ ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2017, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-idiots-learn-not-to-text-and-drive-texas-bus-accident/783483/115 "2017-04-05T01:25:00Z")
> [@Mnemnosyne](#): > > No, honestly, he’s got a point. If I’m calling someone who I’m considering paying for a service of some kind, or buying something from, I don’t really care why I don’t get to speak with the person immediately when I call. I’m just going to call someone else about whatever I want. Maybe I’ll call back later, but not if whoever else I called in that moment winds up providing for me. > […] > Thing is, 20 years ago, if I call a plumber, for instance, and don’t get an answer, I’m calling the next plumber on my list/in the phone book, not leaving a message and waiting for him to call me back. Unless I have an established relationship with that plumber and I really want that particular one to be the one to service me, at least. So, nothing has changed on your end in 20 years, come to think of it… If your point is that meanwhile on the provider side the competition is fierce and the margin thin (depending on the trade) well, certainly. That is why I agree that we can compromise and avoid texting but use the hands-free, bounce straight to voicemail those calls you recognize as noncritical, or like someone else proposed _if the business is large enough_ route calls through home office so only the really necessary ones get to you on the road. My objection is to the generalized expectation of quick response 'round-the-clock even for non-urgent communication. ---
**Author:** ![Rysto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecccb3/32.png) [@Rysto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rysto)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2017, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-idiots-learn-not-to-text-and-drive-texas-bus-accident/783483/116 "2017-04-05T01:30:27Z")
If that business call is so important, you can hire somebody to answer the phone for you. If it’s not worth it to do so, the call isn’t that important in the greater scheme of things. ---
**Author:** ![Maurie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df788c/32.png) [@Maurie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maurie)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2017, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-idiots-learn-not-to-text-and-drive-texas-bus-accident/783483/117 "2017-04-05T19:36:52Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > I think it’s possible to turn things around and make texting while driving socially unacceptable, but it’s going to take a combination of law enforcement, individuals speaking up, and an awareness campaign. I think that’s happening. I was recently driving in an unfamiliar town and had my GPS running, giving me spoken directions. I was finding it hard to hear, so while stopped at a red light, I picked up my phone to adjust the volume. Someone on their porch yelled out “DON’T TEXT AND DRIVE!” and I was absolutely mortified. For a brief moment I felt defensive and irritated by it, but deep down I knew he was right and I should have pulled over. My face was burning the whole way home. > [@](#): > > It also may take things like phones that make the text function unavailable when the GPS system is engaged. You know, if you are using something on the phone that 99% of the time indicates you are driving, the phone will not allow you to text. This would be awfully tricky, though. When we travel somewhere as a family generally my husband drives and I navigate, so my GPS on my phone is engaged, but I would still want to be able to use the rest of the features to look up restaurants or text to confirm an address or call to say what time we’ll get there or whatever. There’d really be no way of knowing that the person using the GPS is actually driving the car. Also, if my GPS is engaged while I am the one driving, and I pull over to send or receive a text for further directions or what have you, I would hate to have to turn the GPS off to do so, and then start all over again before getting back on the road. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2017, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-idiots-learn-not-to-text-and-drive-texas-bus-accident/783483/118 "2017-04-05T21:58:47Z")
I’d certainly never text while driving. Who does that? Sent from my BMW 330i using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2017, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-idiots-learn-not-to-text-and-drive-texas-bus-accident/783483/119 "2017-04-05T22:42:49Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > I’d certainly never text while driving. Who does that? > > Sent from my BMW 330i using Tapatalk Not mmm… .//.sa ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2017, 10:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-idiots-learn-not-to-text-and-drive-texas-bus-accident/783483/120 "2017-04-06T10:12:22Z")
I drive for work, like **russian heel** , and a few years ago I got a text on my work phone, and I picked it up to check to see how urgent it was. That was enough for me to wander into the other carriageway, where I hit a truck coming the other way, spinning my car out and ending up crashed up against someone’s gatepost. I was very lucky - no one was hurt and I was able to avoid a “driving without due care and attention” charge by taking a safe driving course. Now my phone goes in the glove box when I’m in the car, and I don’t touch it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-idiots-learn-not-to-text-and-drive-texas-bus-accident/783483.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-will-idiots-learn-not-to-text-and-drive-texas-bus-accident/783483.md?page=7)