Need I say more?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_7050000/newsid_7050200/7050201.stm
The video of that was all over the news yesterday. The cop said he had a hard time getting her out of her car because she was on her cell phone trying to call for help.[D)]
A second man had a run in with an Amtrak yesterday because he was text messaging on his phone and didn’t see the train.[banghead]
I personally think cell phone use in autos needs to be banned…PERIOD!
You’ll get no argument from me on that one.
It is illegal to use a cell phone while driving here in Australia. Studies here have shown, driving using a cell phone is like driving drunk.
Regards,
Nige.
There was a crash with a CP train the other day here. Some guy parked his truck on the tracks and stood in front of it. Needless to say, he accomplished his goal. It was kind of selfish if you ask me. The poor guy running the train will probably have a hard time with it.
It is here in the States as well. Police tend to ignore it as most people do it anyway, including the police (who can do it legally). Almost every time I see someone pulling a real stupid on the road maneuver, I see a cell phone being held to the ear. The lastest in stupidity is driving and text messaging at the same time. Five high school girls were killed in an accident near where I live a few months ago because the driver of another car had to text the driver of the car to tell her that she “just went past her house…”. Duh!
I can drive through my Wal Mart parking lot and almost get into 5 wrecks with morons talking on their phones!
Actually, it depends on which state you are in. Not all states have laws against using cell phones while driving. Some states require “hands free” devices if you are going to use your cell phone while driving, other (like Utah) have laws against “distracted” driving.
George
You should see what happens when I drive through the local Wal-Mart parking lot. People do a double take and drop their cell phones just long enough to make sure I’m not a cop.
The only state that I’m aware of that has banned simultaneous driving and cell phone use is New York state. It would be great if all 50 would ratify that law. Sadly, its the youngest drivers (who lack the years of driving experience) that run the greatest risk because they are the heaviest users. Even so - whether newbies or seasoned drivers - being distracted while you are driving is dangerous.
The one question to ask is: Did the woman learn from the experience? I sure hope so.
Tom
Lots said here too: http://www.trains.com/TRC/CS/forums/1241935/ShowPost.aspx
Well I was wondering if the cop was a railfan as he was taking his break near the tracks!
This is a copy of my statement in the trains.com Gen Discussion forum thread about this topic.
I am inclined to give this clearly distraught woman credit for being in a suitably emotional state due to the magnitude and potential danger to everyone involved, whether the passengers and crew on the train, the peace officers who were doing their duty to her as a member of the public, and for her own sake…was she a mother and wife, for example, and did it hit her hard at impact that she might not have seen her family again, or that they would have had to bury what was left of her. Would her husband have been able to recognize her from the remains, and what would that have done to him?
Her tears and expressions of remorse are nothing more than gratitude, shock, fleeting and hurried thoughts and fears, and true regret for not having been more careful.
I think she just made an error, not an egregious one. The cell phone thing is germane; I don’t feel that it is sensible or that it ought to be acceptable to drive and manipulate a hand-held device at the same time.
http://www.nysgtsc.state.ny.us/phon-vt.htm
Not quite. Althought the terminology in the law says you can’t “use” a cell phone while driving it defines usage as holding a cell phone in proximity to ear or in one hand. Hands free cell phones can be used while driving. So in that sense, you can legally talk on a cell phone while you are driving.
So, if I put a little switching layout on my dashboard, I shouldn’t use a hand-held throttle while driving down the Interstate at 70? How about a Zephyr, then? Would that be OK?
Y’know, I’m glad we’ve got one of these we can joke about. No injuries. Most of the time people aren’t so lucky. Still, I’ll bet the engineer of that train didn’t know the vehicle was unoccupied when his headlight beam reached the intersection and he saw all the “police activity” and a car on his tracks. He probably got to breathe a big sigh of relief to find out later that there was no one inside.
A Zephyr is a Digitrax product, isn’t it. I guess I could make an exception in that case.
I think it was about three days ago a 20 yr.old woman driver was hit by a train near Spokane. A traffic officer actually witnessed the accident. He was astounded, he said,the woman stopped at the track like she was suposed to then rolled onto the tracks. She wasn’t killed but was severely hurt. both legs broken I think. The traffic officer was on the scene to ticket people rolling thru the crossing without stopping after complaints were made. Also about two weeks earlier a train/ truck accident killed the driver of the truck,it was an empty tanker truck. From the video you could hardly tell it was a truck after the wreck. That accident was just within a few miles of the second wreck.
You know, I can’t walk and chew gum at the same time; I cannot understand how anyone can be talking on a cell phone and keeping their eyes on the road.
That said, let me own up: my wife and I have cell phones; we got them after we had an emergency arise and were unable to contact each other. I have, upon occasion, violated my own rule; on many more occasions I have gone so far as to pull off of the freeway to either take or make a phone call. I do not say this in an effort to solicate accolades.
When I was a kid back in the early 1970s, there was a couple here in town that were drinking and got into an argument, and when the woman threatened to leave him, the guy stopped the car on the tracks in front of an oncoming SP freight train and they were hit. They both survived with a lot of injuries. They were really lucky.
My cousin Connie was killed back in April of 1987 by a Santa Fe coal train between Bellville and Sealy Texas. She had her raido on real loud and apparently didn’t hear the horns blowing. My younger cousin that saw the accident said she was coming over the tracks real slow because the crossing was bumping and was waving at here when all of a sudden the train came along and hit her doing about 50 mph.
I also agree with you folks that are against cell phone use and driving. I had a friend who’s sister was killed in an accident because she was looking down dialing a number and slammed into the back of a truck that was stopped at a red light while she was doing about 60 mph with no seat belt on.
Tracklayer
Actually, it is banned in 5 states with partial bans and restrictions in quite a few others. I should have said New York State in my previous post. And yes, using a “hands free” device is permited.