16-year-old driver who killed cyclist was speeding & using social media

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by boywander

There are cellular signal blocker that can easily be incorporated in all motor vehicles if only federal/states mandated.
.

unfortunately, and definitely adding to the distracted driver problem, thousands of people these days make a living tied to driving and their mobile phone.

uber, lyft, grubhub, doordash etc etc.

i cringe when i'm in an uber car and watch the driver fiddling with the app on their phone taking off my from my home to the airport. it's certainly possible that if a person was cycling the driver would not see them fiddling with the app to make sure they get paid for the ride.

a big problem that seems to be ignored as more of these gig based jobs push people to use mobile screens while driving.

[CAAD]

That kid just got away with murder. Will probably just get community service and a suspended license for a few months.

I do like android auto. While moving you can only use voice commands. Also while moving if you do use the touch screen for more than a few swipes it force pauses and makes you wait a good 5 seconds with a timer bar countdown before it will let you continue, forcing you to re-engage on the road. Now they just need to make the phone completely locked and inaccessible while android auto is running.

[72gmc]

Originally Posted by Tandem Rider

This fatality is close to where I used to live and rode this stretch frequently, although I didn't know either of the people.

One encouraging piece of information, the company I work for is installing an app on all company phones with a 5mph lockout. When the phone exceeds 5mph, the voice and text, are paused and an auto generated message is sent to the other person. The vehicle has to go under 5mph before you can call or text out. The technology is there, we are just too entitled to allow it to be used.

This is, I think, one of the avenues that seems most effective. Hold companies accountable for their employees’ phone use while driving and you’ll see policies and lockout apps appear faster than otherwise.

[fiamme red]

Originally Posted by 72gmc

This is, I think, one of the avenues that seems most effective. Hold companies accountable for their employees’ phone use while driving and you’ll see policies and lockout apps appear faster than otherwise.

But then we have companies like Lyft, Uber, etc. (mentioned by AngryScientist above) whose drivers are not employees but independent contractors, and hence the company is not legally liable if one of their drivers killed a cyclist or pedestrian while using their app.

[bigbill]

I bought a new Ford Escape last year. The screen sticks up out of the dash and at first it was annoying, it looked like an afterthought. It doesn't block any view through the windshield but I get it now, I don't look down at it, I just glance over while my peripheral vision is still looking down the road. My older car had it mounted down near the shifter. I use android auto so everything is hands free and voice activated.

My drive to and from work is on old Rt66. It's not unusual to see folks driving partially on the shoulder then swerving back into the lane. There was a head-on a few weeks back that killed the drivers because a distracted driver crossed the center line. If I ride on the road, I do it in the early morning hours wearing bright colors and 2-3 taillights. I'm mostly off road these days.

[makoti]

Originally Posted by merlinmurph

Uh, unless things have changed since the last time I was on a plane (3/16/20), they're not banned on planes. A lot of flights offer wifi so you can use your device during flight. Yes, you are asked to disable your device during takeoff and landing.

Again, disabling is incredibly shortsighted, and you haven't addressed any of the situations I mentioned. Like I said, my GPS is off almost all the time.

AFAIK, you are supposed to put it in "airplane mode", which is, wait for it...disabling certain functions. And yet you live.
So now your GPS is on all the time instead of able to be turned off. Crisis? Not for 99% of phone users. You'll adjust to having it on..
Can exceptions be made? Sure. Law enforcement, medical personnel, first responders could be issued phones that allow keyboard access while moving, but they STILL don't need facebook or other such apps.
So the problem here seems to be you thinking that you are entitled to constant, unfettered internet access, but others are not entitled to being safe on the roads. Stop pretending that the world will come to a screeching halt if people can't use certain features of their phones while moving over 10mph.

[jb_11]

Originally Posted by vav

"In addition, the screens in cars now are as bad as phones, if not worse. I can just see a day sometime in the very near future where those screens will have all the functionality of a phone. Facebook on the car screen. Now what do you do? Ugly, huh? You bet."

100 % agree. Tesla comes to mind but other manufacturers are not far behind.

Agree, but Tesla's goal (and others) is autonomous driving. The car is capable already, they're just tuning their AI while waiting for the regulations to finalize. When it all comes together, they upload the software and you're watching Netflix from the driver's seat.

Originally Posted by zap

Pretty simple. If you have a DL you are an adult.

Are you though? 18 is the legal adult age. It's one of those weird in-between areas. Old enough to drive, but not vote, or old enough to vote, go to war, etc., but not drink/smoke.

[J.Higgins]

Originally Posted by CAAD

The federal government needs to step in a just ban all use of devices while driving. Infuriates me reading these stories.

And why not? They'll do everything in their power to screw us up every chance they get, but cigarettes and automobiles still kill millions every year.

They made seatbelts mandatory, Lawsuits against car companies for airbags set precedent, so why cant they make cars that cancel text usage while the car is in gear? Why has it taken so long?

[beech333]

Originally Posted by vav

"In addition, the screens in cars now are as bad as phones, if not worse. I can just see a day sometime in the very near future where those screens will have all the functionality of a phone. Facebook on the car screen. Now what do you do? Ugly, huh? You bet."

I had a former boss brag to me that he got his screen to show movies. I did not care whether or not I believed him, just that he likely made an attempt to be able to do that and did not care why he should not be doing that. He was a terrible boss and a terrible person.

[Peter P.]

Originally Posted by jb_11

... and you're watching Netflix from the driver's seat.

Will never happen. Because WHEN the driver gets in an accident while watching Netflix, someone will have to be responsible, and it ain't gonna be Tesla.

You can bet the laws will be written requiring the DRIVER to maintain control of the vehicle and assume responsibility, and will absolve the manufacturer of all liability.

[Dave Ferris]

.

[zap]

Originally Posted by jb_11

Are you though? 18 is the legal adult age. It's one of those weird in-between areas. Old enough to drive, but not vote, or old enough to vote, go to war, etc., but not drink/smoke.

I get that. In some states you can start driving at 14.

The position should be......if you have a drivers license then you have all the responsibilities and must deal with all the consequences that adults face.

Alas, I've sat in court rooms enough times (to support victims) to become thoroughly disgusted with judges.

Parents (many of whom are guilty as well), industry, law enforcement, judges and state/local leaders are all complicit in these killings.

[merlinmurph]

Originally Posted by makoti

AFAIK, you are supposed to put it in "airplane mode", which is, wait for it...disabling certain functions. And yet you live.
So now your GPS is on all the time instead of able to be turned off. Crisis? Not for 99% of phone users. You'll adjust to having it on..
Can exceptions be made? Sure. Law enforcement, medical personnel, first responders could be issued phones that allow keyboard access while moving, but they STILL don't need facebook or other such apps.
So the problem here seems to be you thinking that you are entitled to constant, unfettered internet access, but others are not entitled to being safe on the roads. Stop pretending that the world will come to a screeching halt if people can't use certain features of their phones while moving over 10mph.

Please, cut the drama.

Again, you're ignoring all those people on trains, busses, and passengers in cars, needlessly disabling their device. Lots of people commute over an hour each way and would like to use that time to be productive. That's a main reason why people do commute this way - because they can use their time productively.

Regarding GPS....there are huge privacy concerns here. I don't know about you, but it's very creepy when I get a msg on my phone saying "How was Joe's Diner?". Or, when I get a monthly report from Google giving my timeline, showing where I was in the last month. My timeline has a lot of holes, but it's still creepy. We give up enough of our privacy, and I use very, very little social media (Strava, IG a bit). Sorry, but no.
Also, I keep GPS, bluetooth and wifi off most of the time to save battery, and turn them on selectively when I need them. It's just good practice.

Bottom line: Disabling phones just isn't going to happen. Instead of taking the lazy way out, try to come up with a good solution.

[merlinmurph]

Originally Posted by beech333

I had a former boss brag to me that he got his screen to show movies.

I have no doubt at all. I'm sure there's a hack out there that can cast the phone screen onto the car screen. Or, coming soon, somebody hacks Android Auto and puts a Netflix/YouTube app on it. It can't be that hard to do.

Wish I had an answer to this bull....

[Mark McM]

Originally Posted by merlinmurph

I have no doubt at all. I'm sure there's a hack out there that can cast the phone screen onto the car screen. Or, coming soon, somebody hacks Android Auto and puts a Netflix/YouTube app on it. It can't be that hard to do.

It's probably easier than this. Some vehicles already have built-in rear seat entertainment systems, with screens that can display videos. It shouldn't be that hard to pipe the video into the front seat screens as well.