...Or pull over and talk on your cell phone,,,but get out of the way!
Okay, I don't know about anyone else, but I've had enough of drivers on their cell phones! They make me crazy!
It's not often that I feel the need to rant and rave online, but today I just have to!
Yesterday afternoon I had an appointment 35 minutes away, in a torrential storm. I hesitated to even go out in this kind of weather, but had already made the commitment to show a couple of houses. My trip there and back were filled with drivers that shouldn't have been on the road.
It was bad enough that is was raining like crazy, but drivers on their cell phones seemed to be crazy, too!
A lady was stopped at a traffic light, talking on her phone. She never noticed the light changed till the 5 cars behind her started honking their horns, then she moved.
A guy in a pickup truck was driving 25 in a 40 mph zone, in the left lane, gabbing , and throwing his arms up...looked like he was screaming at the person on the other end of the phone. He had about 10 cars stuck behind him because they were boxed in.
A lady in a brand new Lexus pulled out of a parking lot about 3 car lengths in front of me in a spot where the puddles were 3 to 4 inches deep! I hit the brakes, my van skidded and I thought I was a goner! She never even flinched or looked up. She was laughing and enjoying her "fun" conversation. As she proceeded on in front of me at about 20 miles per hour, it took me over 4 traffic lights to get around her!
We were all stopped for a red light and the guy next to me was talking on his phone. He and I were in the front of the line. The turn lane light changed from red to the green arrow. Well, he took off. He and I were in the straight lane and our lights were still red. He and two cars came within inches of colliding...they all hit their brakes and went skidding.
It was a wonder that I made it there and back yesterday in one piece.
I just wish that some people would put their cell phones away and concentrate on the road before they 
kill the rest of us!
Thanks for allowing me time to vent,,,I feel much better now...until I get back out on the road.
that for you
Can I get a witness? Thanks and AMEN!
Lol....Thnsk for the laughs!
Talking on a hand held phone and driving is against the law in New York State. People still do it though. It is very frustrating!
This just seems to get worse and worse. If it is THAT important, pull over and have your conversation. It may not be against the law to talk on your cell phone while driving, but driving recklessly and endangering others (not to mention vehicular manslaughter) is against the law. It's a very FINE line. Everyone should consider that... a judge and or jury certainly will should it come to that.
Russell and Nathan, Thanks for the comments! And watch yourselves out on the road!
amen, shut up and drive.
Ray, Don't drivers get ticketed for talking on cell phones and driving in New York? Or they can't catch them? You're right, it is incredibly frustrating!
Hey Steve, I wonder how many accidents occur with drivers and cell phones. I read somewhere that a driver on a cell phone is comparable to someone driving drunk! Doesn't surprise me one bit!
Hey Michael, I couldn't agree with you more...shut up and drive or pull over and get out of the way!
When I was 34 years old I worked for a cellular phone company as an outside sales rep. I had a fixed phone in my car, a portable, a manual shift transmission car and generally when I was in my car I had my big daytimer in my lap. I would have 2 conversations going at the same time shifting my car and trying to write in my daytimer. Now that was insanity. It's amazing that I made it to age 35! I am now older and wiser -- I have an automatic transmission car, one phone with an earpiece and to heck with the daytimer. Because I live in a mountainous region my phone doesn't work everywhere anyway, so most of the time I'm stopped when I talk on it today. ~Evelyn
Wow Evelyn, It really makes you go back and look at the wild life you used to live, doesn't it? I suppose we all look back at our lives, when we used to "live on the edge". You sounded like a wild woman,that needed a new life! Thank goodness you got one. Good for you for changing things around, to reclaim a bit of sanity. I love to hear that you are stopped when you're on your phone. Best to you!
Hey, I have to agree with you that it gets on my nerves as well. I cant stand it when someone is talking ont he phone and has no concept as to what is going on around them. Thanks for ranting, Jim
Hey Jim and Maria, You know, what I really don't think some people realize is that some drivers on cell phones are dangerous to all of us! It scares me sometimes to be out there with some of these drivers that just don't pay attention. And, I have a 15 year that just got her learners permit. Now, that really, really scares me! It gets on my nerves too!
Sandy, I think driving while yapping is at least as dangerous as driving after a couple of glasses of wine. Not that you should do that either - I just think that people underestimate the dangers of distracted driving.
I couldn't agree with you more... Fortunately, July 1 it became illegal to talk on a cell phone in California while driving unless you have a hands-free earpiece in use. Unfortunately, so far I don't see it being enforced, but hopefully it will be in the coming months. People talking on their cells while driving are almost as dangerous as moderately intoxicated drivers...
Here in California, a law recently went into effect on July 1st that makes it illegal to use a cell phone without a hands-free set while driving. I honestly haven't noticed much of a difference besides the boost in sales of bluetooth headsets; people still talk on their cell phones with or without the hands-free, and the fact that they're talking is enough to distract them from their driving. Plus, the new law doesn't even address an even more dangerous thing you can do while driving - sending text messages.
Hey Patricia, Steve Shatsky mentioned that driving while on a cell phone is endangering the lives of others. Well, I couldn't agree more...I commented back to him that I recently read that driving while talking on a cell phone is comparable to driving drunk! Not surprising at all! Very scary stuff! Thanks for the comment and have a great week!
Sherry, I agree that driving while talking on the phone is the same as being intoxciated. I guess it would have to be, wouldn't it?
Hey Pete at ForecloseHelp, I heard about the California law. My sister lived in Japan for 3 years, where you cannot talk on a cell phone while driving and she said that drivers would just stop RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD, blocking traffic, so they could talk on their phones! And she said the roads were so narrow, that it was very difficult to get around them. Unbelievable! I never thought about the text messaging aspect of it! Ouch! You're right!
Well I guess I'm alone on this one but I often use my cell phone while driving. Most of the time it's with a bluetooth but not always. My question is, where has all the outrage been over the years? I've seen accidents caused by tuning the radio (happened to a personal friend) I see people picking through their CD collection, women putting on makeup, people reading newspapers or even books. If you want to outlaw one distraction you have to go after all of them. The fact is it's possible to use a phone and drive without endangering others. If it's not then you shouldn't be allowed to talk to fellow passengers while driving. As a matter of fact talking to the person in the passenger seat is more dangerous because the tendency is to look at them when you talk to them. So how far do we go in what we outlaw???
Hi Sandy,
We have the no cell phone rule in NY also, but that doesn't stop anyone. And what's even worse than seeing someone driving while on their cell phone, is seeing some cars with movies showing on their dash screen?!@!?
Hey Larry, I agree that accidents can happen with many different kinds of distractions, not just cell phone usage. It would seem that talking on a bluetooth could potentially take some of the risk out of it. Your points are well taken! I know that certain people absolutely should not be talking on cell phones while driving - and I saw 4 of them yesterday! Perhaps some are better at it than others. Thanks for your perspective on it - well appreciated!
Hey Kim, How are you today? Really, in New York no phones are allowed but people do it anyway? We keep hearing the same things. It seems funny, doesn't it? On no, movies on dashboards...oh my gosh...I have not seen that yet. I know that we rented a mini van to go on a long vacation last year. It had a DVD player in the back, just above and behind the 2 front seats. When my girls put the movie in, the sound was blaring. We tried to shift the volume to the back speakers only, but on that particular vehicle you couldn't. If we turned it down, our girls couldn't hear it, but it remained so loud, that for me, while driving it was incredibly distracting. Oh well, what are you gonna do? Have a great day!