I Hate Texters

Which noise maker? The one under your hood, or the one on their phone who sings "just dance dance dance"?

 

we have three grown children, all have 2x4 impressions on the sides of their heads. very effective.

 

I also will sometimes text at a red light, brief messages like my ETA. However I have heard of people getting a ticket for texting at a red light. I would think that would be the type of behavior we want to encourage, waiting until stopped to text. I guess technically the cop is following the law because I guess you are still driving even if you are stopped at a light. But I just think it's something they should reconsider. Of course it's annoying when someone is texting and doesn't notice that the light has turned green, which in some cases could also be a hazard, so I would say if someone is caught texting while sitting at a green light they should get a ticket.

 

There's other ramifications to red light texting though: you don't come back to reality instantly, and especially when you've just been honked at, you're liable to make an unwise move.

 

I guess just bring on the autonomous cars then. As a species we have failed the driving test.

 

interesting article in usa today, today, about pedestrian deaths, and phone and marijuana use by both drivers and pedestrians.
nothing in there about car noisemakers though.

 

U.S. finalizes long-delayed 'quiet cars' rule, extending deadline

Does anyone know if the noisemaker on the Plug-ins and Primes is compliant? I definitely want the option of:

"Regulators said they will consider a request from automakers to allow them to include multiple sounds that would allow owners to select a preference."

That would come in handy, especially if one could select both the sound and the volume...

 

Well I guess besides autonomous cars we're going to need autonomous Segways also.

 

AM radios were standard in most cars by the 60's (My wife had a 64 mustang w/o a radio because her father thought that the radio would be a distraction).

JeffD

 

Oh yes it would, that 2x4 lumber really smarts! Assuming that's how you deliver the common sense

 

they are compliant because there is no requirement yet.

 

Hi Henri-
I am so with you on this. But I don't think your insurance solution would be good because WE are the ones who are going to get hit by the the texters, and then there insurance will not pay off, leaving us in the lurch.
My friend in Wales tells me that if you get caught texting and driving there, it takes 6 of the 12 points on your driver's license. He also said that if people have video of you doing it (usually from dash cams), they can give that to the police and they will cite you based on that alone (which is hard to believe). It needs to be something severe like that. My friend said it isn't a big problem there as a result of those measures.
When I get a text, I can quickly glance at it on my Apple watch. If it's important, I can respond verbally through Siri or pull over to answer (I usually do the latter if it is important).
As far as getting the attention of oblivious texting drivers, I have had an air horn installed on my Prime. It's not the loudest air horn, but it is much louder than the OEM horn. I wouldn't be without an air horn. You can't get people's attention with a standard horn. Cars are too sound-insulated now, radios are too loud and drivers are too distracted. But the air horn gets their attention!

 

How can you tell if someone is texting versus, say, watching Google Maps so they don't get lost in an unfamiliar location?

 

I'd say it doesn't really matter. Your attention ALWAYS has to be on the road. If they need to look at Google Maps, they need to pull over.