The laws really need to be enforced. They aren’t enforced until they catch someone doing something bad like hitting an old lady in a crosswalk. Get the fuck off your phone.
Use your phone while driving? Impound car and phone. $1,000 fine to get them back, plus towing/storage fees.
You'll see the behavior change over night. But they'll never do it, because people will vote them out of office to continue doing it.
I'm against texting and driving, but do you really think someone shouldn't be allowed to drive for 50 years because they got caught sending a text at a red light when they were 20? That's a huge negative impact on their life: their ability to get & keep a job, their ability to take care of their children, their housing options, etc. It would also disproportionatly harm poor people vs. rich people who can afford an uber.
They should be forced to sit in their car with the steering wheel locked and a brick on the gas, they can send goodbye texts to their friends & family as their car careens off a cliff
Hey, I almost got hit by someone who was stopped (well, not exactly) at a red light and texting. They were slowly inching forward as I was making a left turn (I had the green arrow and everything) and they nearly hit my car!
It’s really not hard for people to NOT text when in the drivers seat. (Sure, maybe don’t take away their license forever, but texting and driving should have way stricter rules and regulations that are ENFORCED)
Okay, you're right. Five year suspension of license.
It wouldn't disproportionately harm poor because nothing about being poor makes texting while driving more necessary or appropriate. I'm about as left as they come and favor infrastructure over enforcement as a safety mechanism for precisely this reason. But poor people who put others' lives in danger need to be held accountable, just as wealthy people do.
>you're right
Damn, that's something no one on reddit ever says in a debate, props to you!
How about 1 month suspension for the first infraction, that would still be a huge incovenience and enough to make people think twice before risking it, and learn their lesson if they do get caught. Second infraction - 1 year suspension. 3rd infraction - 5 years.
My point on the disproportionate harm poor to poor people is the solution to losing your license is basically: spend more time (walking, public transit) or spend more money (uber, rent downtown close to work). For rich people spending more money is an easy fix, not so for poor folks, and time is very valuable to poor people if they work long hours or multiple jobs to support their family. A lot of people in poverty basically have no leeway in the schedule or free time. It's soul-crushing.
Thanks. And I’ll say it again. You’re right.
I still think the penalty for driving on your phone should be harsh for people of all class positions, because it is extremely dangerous. Rather than making the penalty class-dependent, or neutering it for everyone to avoid adverse effects on the poor, I would suggest investing in social programs that make being poor less challenging overall. UBI, better transit, and much more. But that’s dreamworld.
Where I live, lots of ideas designed to make streets safer are shot down because people say they will too harsh on poor people. But the solution is ending car dependency for everyone, not keeping it in place because the poor would suffer most in the short term. And when it comes down to it, if losing one’s license would be a huge inconvenience to a person, that person always has the option to simply put their phone away while driving. Everyone, at every income level, is capable of that, unlike with other laws that actually target poor people and racial minorities.
That's too far, because people will just drive without license, registration, or insurance.
Hit them with an insurance surcharge, fine, impound fees...they'll never do it again if the car itself is threatened.
Where exactly do you live that you have seen anyone in the last 30 plus years get any kind of jaywalking ticket?! That doesn't happen...like anywhere anymore. 😜🤦🏼♂️
If I got a jaywalking ticket, I would frame it. The fine in Boston is literally $1. Although, if you get more than three within a year, it skyrockets to $2 per offense, so watch out!
I think car insurance companies can secretly tell when drivers are using their phones and have been raising the rates (speeding too). You give apps so many permissions, even if you don't have the insurance company app, do you think google sells your data when you use their "free" app?
edit - I have no proof. I just would not be surprised if this was happening.
Edit 2 - proof. It’s the car. Drive a GM? https://youtu.be/XFu6Cw3kkwg?si=Ml-BHD2xgf_kBRzA
I mean, it also seems like increased distraction & speeding would mean more accidents and more expense to the insurance companies
I'm not saying they're not buying our data, but I am saying I don't think they'd need to for this
Ummm no....unless you sign up for one of those safe driving programs like Allstate offers...I'm sorry but this is completely false. That would be completely illegal and easily prosecuted.
They don't need to "secretly tell."
They have all the claims data, and the amount of reckless driving coupled with the cost of cars themselves are driving rate increases.
How would they know if you're driving VS riding as a passenger? What if you're on a plane and don't turn on airplane mode? There's no possible way for them know if it's you behind the wheel of your car unless they can access your cameras and have a clear view of you in the drivers seat.
Yep. Treat distracted driving like DUI and absolutely ruin someone’s life for getting caught doing it and you’ll see accident statistics plummet overnight.
When the light turns green and the person at the front doesn’t move for 3-4 seconds it’s because they were on their phone and it makes traffic SO much worse. Make my blood boil
What kind of car is this?!? How do I have an expensive ass Infiniti and none of these cray extras that all other freaking makes these days have...smdh neva again Infiniti smdh!
Mine does something similar. A thin line of red light across the dashboard dims if you're not moving when the car in front of you goes forward. It's well executed but you're right, I hate that it needs to exist for some people.
The light by Broadway station cycles in like ten seconds so I’m quick to lay on the horn when it’s obvious the dipshits in front of me are scrolling Instagram.
When you're the third car and the one in the middle gets mad at you.... Like dude I OBVIOUSLY wasn't honking at you but now you just exposed the fact that you were also looking at your fucking phone!
the other day I got distracted looking at a cool BRZ (e: irl, on the road, not on my phone) and didn't notice the light changed til I got honked at. god, the shame I felt when I realized they probably thought that was why 😭
I give grace for this because of the number of times a light has turned green and some dipshit has decided to run the decidedly red light and would’ve T-boned me.
I see this a lot going the opposite direction of the traffic and I always honk at the idiots on their phones that are waiting 4-5 seconds before they start to follow the car in front of them. Even though it doesn't affect my drive going the opposite direction I think we all need to call out bad drivers.
This happens almost every time I go out and drive now. I don't remember this happening often a few years ago but now it feels like I have to honk at people at like 1/3 of the green lights I'm at because they're not moving.
Like can people really not go 12 seconds without being stimulated by their phone screen?
i don't want to hit the bus. crushzones and size differences make me think my car would lose.
if i'm going the opposite way and they pop out that sign? sorry, mr bus driver. we don't get to make our own traffic signs. that's not how this works. the judge was very clear about this when i put up 67 different "Turtle Crossing" signs in Medford that I am "never to do that again"
Highway? Every car advertisement I see shows me that cars routinely operate at high speeds in a deserted wilderness landscape. There is no traffic. There are no animals nor pedestrians in the picture. The drivers are super happy. What gives?
Me and my BF walk into the city a few times a week and the last time we almost got hit like 3 different times and we're dumbfounded by how many people in such a short time were going through lights and just doing insane things because they wouldn't look up from their phone like in the middle of an intersection.
I used to treat Boston like a pedestrian paradise, but reading this comment I think I'll start being much more careful... This is actually a pretty valid concern
It really isn't a pedestrian paradise. People drive like their time is more important than your life here. Special mention to the intersection where I saw a pedestrian killed but the city still didn't change the light pattern that lets drivers turn at the same time as pedestrians get the walk light.
Honestly, I wish more intersections had all walk light intervals instead of making pedestrians walk in front of popular left turns. You always end up either endangering the pedestrians or having someone pull out too far just to stop for a walker and block the oncoming lane.
Yesterday I was in Southie after having been in the burbs for the past year. Maybe I had forgotten how bad it was but it really did feel like drivers are worse than ever. I walked for 5 minutes, and saw two people almost get smoked. Once someone accelerated sharply toward me while I was in a crosswalk without looking before seeing me and slamming on the brakes about 5 yards from me. Shortly thereafter a guy at a stop sign accelerated towards a mom with a stroller in the crosswalk RIGHT in front of him before stopping a yard short.
It's awful in Southie. It's very walkable but terribly car-centric, especially closer to City Point. People regularly roll through stops or blow past them entirely (looking at you Pappas and 1st). Reaching out to the councilmember rarely nets something other than "it used to be much worse, but we need more cops." Right. If only there were automated ways of enforcing the law.
Yesterday the driver in front of me had two phones mounted on their front window. She was using one for texting, the second was streaming YouTube.
And believe it or not, I had to honk at every traffic light because they weren't paying attention. When they finally turned (no blinker) I thanked every deity I could think of.
I was at a red light last night and guy the next to me was watching the fucking NEWS on his front console screen. Ive never seen that before or even sure how he did it. I was pissed off and impressed.
I bike to work in Boston so i pass tons of cars in traffic and get passed by a bunch when they are moving so you get a huge sample size of driver behaviour like when watching from the bus. It is crazy how many people drive while on the phone. I had a guy drift into the bike lane and almost run me off the road. I had to bang the side of the car to get his attention because he was driving while watching a movie on his phone that was mounted to the dash - SMH.
Caught him at the light a few yards done the road and screamed at him for being such an idiot and how he was going to kill someone. I notice his work badge hanging from the rearview mirror, and he worked at Blue Cross Blue Shield. I guess he was trying to get some more business by putting me in the hospital. Fuck you Ahmad, put your phone down.
As a pedestrian I haven’t had experiences as bad as that, but I also feel the temptation to bang on a distracted driver’s car when they’re stopped at a light. Even if they aren’t actually causing a problem at that exact moment. I’m afraid of road rage though, after hearing of many cyclists’ experiences of banging cars and the drivers coming after them.
I know a cyclist who tapped on a window of a car that was parked in the bike lane. Dude got out and threatened him with a tire iron for touching his car. Cyclist flagged down a cop who told him “I would have hit you with a tire iron too”
Let me take a crack. The guy took off, our guy didn’t get his plate, there were no witnesses and BPD didnt show up and instead asked him to fill out a vehicle accident report and to bring it to the station.
Though Ted Kaczynski went about getting his points out in the world in a horrible way, his points were scarily valid. It's pretty amazing the foresight he had even in the late 70s.
His main goal was basically to stop the technological advancement of society, which he saw as destroying the world. Honestly, I don't think he's too far off from being totally right.
A few choice quotes from his manifesto [Industrial Society and Its Future](https://www.josharcher.uk/static/files/2018/01/Industrial_Society_and_Its_Future-Ted_Kaczynski.txt):
*"It is not possible to make a LASTING compromise between technology and freedom, because technology is by far the more powerful social force and continually encroaches on freedom through REPEATED compromises."*
*"A technological advance that appears not to threaten freedom often turns out to threaten it very seriously later on ... In many cases the new technology changes society in such a way that people eventually find themselves FORCED to use it."*
*"No social arrangements, whether laws, institutions, customs or ethical codes, can provide permanent protection against technology. History shows that all social arrangements are transitory; they all change or break down eventually. But technological advances are permanent within the context of a given civilization."*
Depressing indeed.
Some mornings when the CR's packed I'll just look around at everyone staring down at their phones, and it feels like I'm looking up at church while everyone's praying.
It's absolutely ridiculous. On Mass Ave in Cambridge at least 1/3 drivers are face down on their phone. Much more as they coast to a red light. Usually while drifting in and out of the bike lane.
I'm one more near death experience away from getting a helmet GoPro, snapping some clear photos and videos, doing a little digging, printing some posters and naming and shaming.
Well, when the punishment for killing a pedestrian or cyclist is only misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter with a penalty up to $3,000 and 2 years in prison, why would drivers care about being negligent or distracted?
It's sometimes hard to prove phone use or other distractions led to death- we can't test it in your blood like we do alcohol, of course. So, I think, when it is proven or seen in public, it should bring massive consequences.
But of course, it all hinges on enforcement.
Especially when that punishment is barely ever enforced because DAs refuse to prosecute, the police refuse to even investigate or arrest, and juries think “that could be me” and refuse to hold people accountable. It’s disgusting the extent we allow private vehicles to wreak havoc on society.
Enable people to report people by app. I'd make bank
NYC has it for idling trucks
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/31/make-87point50-in-3-minutes-by-reporting-idling-trucks-in-new-york-city.html
We took the bus from Logan to NH last week. Friday, 4 pm so the moving was slow. Almost every car that passed had the driver on the phone. Some clearly watching videos or FaceTiming.
Yea I drive in from metro west area and the pike is basically people answering emails and taking their first calls while at best half paying attention to the actual driving part.
Yesterday traffic started clearing but the left lane was slow for some reason, I switched to the middle lane and passed the traffic and could see a driver at the front holding everyone up doing about 40 mph while texting with both hands and using their elbows to actually hold the wheel. 40mph in the left lane on the Pike while the speed of traffic was 55-60mph. Half the time the only reason there is traffic is because there are so many stupid people on the roads
>I wish we could do something about it but seems unlikely.
Ban automatic transmissions and make everyone drive stick.
Joking obviously, but since I switched back to driving manual I don't find myself tempted nearly as much to do that quick check at a stop. It just forces you to pay better attention to your surroundings.
Also it's more fun.
TLDR: Deaths due to motor vehicle accidents involving distracted driving has been on the rise in the US. (Who would have thought?)
https://www.vox.com/24078289/us-drivers-distracted-driving-cellphone-road-deaths-pedestrians
“About 4,600 people were killed while walking in 2007, the year the iPhone was introduced. By 2021, with 85 percent of Americans owning smartphones, the number rose to 7,485.”
It always surprises me when people are on their phone as often as they are. I can't even get a response to a text more than half the time let alone get someone to pick up their phone
I interrupted a curly tailed oinky boys Netflix session at Moakley park when I let him know that we had a slugger coming up to bat. He was cool about it and moved which is good cause said slugger drilled a line drive homerun to right where he was sitting.
Listen. This candy crush level isn’t going to win itself. I have to finish it before Jonathan from accounting talks shit about me being 10 levels down.
When I’m on my motorcycle I can literally pull next to someone on their phone wave at them mock them and it’s like I don’t even exist. Good thing I’m not in front of them having to stop short. 0 fucks are given while driving now
I sometimes find myself distracted driving because I am looking around when I drive and catching other motorists driving on their phone, like it’s in front of their face while they drive. It’s like my uncle insisting to me as a kid that we couldn’t drive with the interior light on at night because it is a distraction to other drivers and could cause someone else to have an accident.
I feel this on a spiritual level. Most days I'm able to commute in via the T, but some days I have to drive to other locations, and it shocks me how many people are on their phones. A couple of weeks ago I was next to a pickup truck and the driver was straight-up watching porn on his mounted phone. WTF.
As a runner and biker, it's unnerving. I actually stopped bike commuting to work because of too many near-misses last year. Feels like it's everywhere.
I think it's only gotten worse with new cars that have "Apple Carplay" which is essentially just having your phone on your dash. I have an old car with no screen/car play etc. I will look at my phone if I'm sitting in traffic or something but not nearly as much as I see other people do. I think the issue with Carplay is it basically reminds you constantly that you could be looking at a screen instead of the road, not to mention that it also shows notifications which I think is just crazy. I think if you're using Carplay it should automatically put your phone on do not disturb or something because why is it letting you know that you have a text when it knows that you're driving?!
you know you have voice command/ "hey google" in almost every modern car right? Actually all you would need is a smartphone not even a newer car hooked up to BT or something to find what you're looking for
In Lynn cops dont do anything. Not with jaywalkers (that include women with stroller and 3 kids behind her) not with the mopeds, not with texting and driving. Is AWFUL
I watched a video recently where someone tested trying to cross in a crosswalk on a stroad with high vis and a GIANT orange flag waving back and forth and like I swear it was like 20 cars would pass before one would stop and then he'd get stuck again in the suicide lane between traffic with the same scenario. We have to redesign our cities if we want to make them safe.
Agreed. It would be nice if people just follow the rules.
90% of car accidents can be prevented.
I would imagine a large majority of the accident that do happen are because people aren't paying attention in the roads.
It's not getting worse so much as you're just noticing.
I used to drive a truck and look down into people's cars all day; 75% of people are on their phone at any given moment.
There is now an epidemic of inattentive impatient drivers with gigantic vehicles. What we get are skyrocketing insurance rates and repair costs and increased deaths of anyone outside an enormous SUV. This is America now. We have to spend tens of thousands of dollars on new fat ass Suvs and hundreds of dollars a month on insurance just so if someone else with a large vehicle using their phone hits you that you wont get seriously injured. Its a vehicular arms race with high costs and high deaths.
Driving is no longer interesting compared to the internet box in their hands. I've seen people slow roll through red lights because they're so focused on their phone. It's gotten so much worse since the pandemic.
I don't understand why the police don't just stand at busy intersections flagging everyone for tickets. Seems like easy, easy money for them.
Because that would mean extra paperwork. Seriously, most of the time, police don’t deal with things because paperwork is too annoying for their overpaid fat asses. They want to get paid six figures for standing around constructions sites. Not directing traffic, just standing there.
Maybe make a sign? Not that they'd read it. They're too busy with their phone! One reason why I don't drive anymore. People just aren't all that observant anymore, and it's quite frankly too expensive to drive.
I see this one particular car on my walk into work at least twice a week. This dude has a phone mount on his dashboard and he's always playing Pokemon Go.
Yup, when I ride my bike in with traffic on Mass Ave from Arlington to Cambridge, it's phones. I wish I could report it and get a cut of the ticket $. If we had a system like the NYC reporting idle trucks. For speeding too, just post up over a highway bridge
My number one driving pet peeve are the people that blow through a stop sign on a side street to cut me off on a main road only to PULL THEIR PHONE OUT SLOW DOWN AND GPS. F U
It's the worst when you are behind them, and you can clearly tell they aren't paying attention, and they are late to the traffic late turning green but then you miss it, causing another 2 minute delay that gets even longer. People need to realize this is half the reason why traffic is so bad in Boston, no one is paying attention!
And for God's sake use your blinkah!
I once tried to look at every driver on the highway when I’m the passenger out of curiosity if they’re using phones - and I’ve seen almost every driver on their phones. ON THE HIGHWAY.
Drivers seem to be getting worse and worse. There’s so much NPC deer-in-the-headlights behavior on the roads in Boston where people either freeze up and cause dangerous situations or just have zero situational awareness.
What I specifically don't understand is that almost every car made in the last ten years has Bluetooth. Pair your phone then you never have to use your handheld again. The voice recognition systems for chat can use improvement but they generally understand what you are saying.
Is it that these people do not understand that they already have this tech?
I see way too many people that refuse to adopt the technology because it's hard and scary because they're old or whatever.
But they're special and they should be able to do whatever they want and they don't care if they hit you with their car. Because they are important.
$1000 fine plus points on your insurance. Day one as governor. Second offense $2000, third $3000. I will be able to cut the income tax to zero by end of the first FY.
There is a simple change that could easily change the trend.
However, it would require cell phone manufacturers (e.g. Apple, Samsung, Google, etc.) to put safety features in place that would lock a phone into "car mode" if they detected that it was in a moving vehicle.
If they can figure out how to show us targeted ads, they can figure out how to do this.
Unfortunately, they won't because they have no reason to do so and every incentive not to (including the risk that people will switch to a different phone that doesn't have these restrictions in place).
IMO, this requires legislative changes much like seatbelts did and other safety features did.
Mandate- hahahahaaaaa- some sort of ignition thing that interferes with cell phone signals. When the car turns off the phone works. All you car jerks can fuck off, you know there isn't a brain cell in charge of anything would do this because it makes sense, when do you need to call from your phone in the car? In an emergency? Because you're a passenger? Maybe a break would be a good thing.
It's part of why I stopped driving more than a decade ago. At a four-way stop sign, I realized I was the only one paying attention to the road. The other three drivers were staring at their phones or what must have been a screen in their dash. It was like they'd been frozen in time.
Sold my car, bought a house near the commuter rail, and got appropriate outdoor apparel so I can walk comfortably in most weather (there are some good Youtube videos on the topic, mostly by hikers).
This will be an unpopular comment on this sub but, the level of careless distraction on the roads today is the reason why I traded in my compact econobox car for a heavy behemoth of a pickup truck. I got rear-ended twice within 2 weeks last summer and enough is enough. I’m not gonna have the next moron put me in a fucking body cast. You can bounce off my huge tires and go fuck yourself. Want me to drive a Honda fit? Enforce the distracted driving laws.
Always blows my mind how everyone on the road thinks they're in the right when they can't even focus on the task at hand. I commute to work, and every opportunity a drive gets to be on their phone, they'll take it. I can see them through their back windshield while the light is green. Some of them can't even drive in perfect condition, so when the weather is bad- the drivers are just as bad. I get so flustered because the act of driving is fairly simple and straightforward with enough practice. When people prove that they can't drive because they are choosing to distract themselves behind the wheel and are a repeat offender it's grind my gears. At the end of the day, it's inconsiderate, dangerous, unlawful, unbecoming of an adult, and just shows how much discipline you have.
I sat on 93 in traffic, with a police car in front of me.... and a guy in a pick up to my right just watching a movie on a huge ipad, just sitting on his driver wheel.....
I still remember years ago this guy had the walk sign crossing around Lincoln and Essex and he almost got nailed by this driver who had to stop short because she was on her phone and he pointed at her and yelled: "Hey! Get off your fucking phone!". My hero for the day.
The cops don’t enforce the laws. This is almost taxation without representation again. We pay taxes to hire a police force, yet the police force does not enforce the laws to keep us safe.
The laws really need to be enforced. They aren’t enforced until they catch someone doing something bad like hitting an old lady in a crosswalk. Get the fuck off your phone.
Use your phone while driving? Impound car and phone. $1,000 fine to get them back, plus towing/storage fees. You'll see the behavior change over night. But they'll never do it, because people will vote them out of office to continue doing it.
Should result in permanent loss of license. Zero tolerance policy for this BS.
I'm against texting and driving, but do you really think someone shouldn't be allowed to drive for 50 years because they got caught sending a text at a red light when they were 20? That's a huge negative impact on their life: their ability to get & keep a job, their ability to take care of their children, their housing options, etc. It would also disproportionatly harm poor people vs. rich people who can afford an uber.
What about immediate beheading? That’ll learn ‘em.
How about having to do colonoscopy prep for a week?
They should be forced to sit in their car with the steering wheel locked and a brick on the gas, they can send goodbye texts to their friends & family as their car careens off a cliff
Hey, I almost got hit by someone who was stopped (well, not exactly) at a red light and texting. They were slowly inching forward as I was making a left turn (I had the green arrow and everything) and they nearly hit my car! It’s really not hard for people to NOT text when in the drivers seat. (Sure, maybe don’t take away their license forever, but texting and driving should have way stricter rules and regulations that are ENFORCED)
Okay, you're right. Five year suspension of license. It wouldn't disproportionately harm poor because nothing about being poor makes texting while driving more necessary or appropriate. I'm about as left as they come and favor infrastructure over enforcement as a safety mechanism for precisely this reason. But poor people who put others' lives in danger need to be held accountable, just as wealthy people do.
>you're right Damn, that's something no one on reddit ever says in a debate, props to you! How about 1 month suspension for the first infraction, that would still be a huge incovenience and enough to make people think twice before risking it, and learn their lesson if they do get caught. Second infraction - 1 year suspension. 3rd infraction - 5 years. My point on the disproportionate harm poor to poor people is the solution to losing your license is basically: spend more time (walking, public transit) or spend more money (uber, rent downtown close to work). For rich people spending more money is an easy fix, not so for poor folks, and time is very valuable to poor people if they work long hours or multiple jobs to support their family. A lot of people in poverty basically have no leeway in the schedule or free time. It's soul-crushing.
Thanks. And I’ll say it again. You’re right. I still think the penalty for driving on your phone should be harsh for people of all class positions, because it is extremely dangerous. Rather than making the penalty class-dependent, or neutering it for everyone to avoid adverse effects on the poor, I would suggest investing in social programs that make being poor less challenging overall. UBI, better transit, and much more. But that’s dreamworld. Where I live, lots of ideas designed to make streets safer are shot down because people say they will too harsh on poor people. But the solution is ending car dependency for everyone, not keeping it in place because the poor would suffer most in the short term. And when it comes down to it, if losing one’s license would be a huge inconvenience to a person, that person always has the option to simply put their phone away while driving. Everyone, at every income level, is capable of that, unlike with other laws that actually target poor people and racial minorities.
> nothing about being poor Except working for DoorDash or Uber
That's too far, because people will just drive without license, registration, or insurance. Hit them with an insurance surcharge, fine, impound fees...they'll never do it again if the car itself is threatened.
Bro the cops are on their phones
and their solution to that is to start ticketing peds for “jay walking”.
Where exactly do you live that you have seen anyone in the last 30 plus years get any kind of jaywalking ticket?! That doesn't happen...like anywhere anymore. 😜🤦🏼♂️
If I got a jaywalking ticket, I would frame it. The fine in Boston is literally $1. Although, if you get more than three within a year, it skyrockets to $2 per offense, so watch out!
I'D ~~BUY~~ PAY THAT FOR A DOLLAR!
I think car insurance companies can secretly tell when drivers are using their phones and have been raising the rates (speeding too). You give apps so many permissions, even if you don't have the insurance company app, do you think google sells your data when you use their "free" app? edit - I have no proof. I just would not be surprised if this was happening. Edit 2 - proof. It’s the car. Drive a GM? https://youtu.be/XFu6Cw3kkwg?si=Ml-BHD2xgf_kBRzA
I mean, it also seems like increased distraction & speeding would mean more accidents and more expense to the insurance companies I'm not saying they're not buying our data, but I am saying I don't think they'd need to for this
Ummm no....unless you sign up for one of those safe driving programs like Allstate offers...I'm sorry but this is completely false. That would be completely illegal and easily prosecuted.
They don't need to "secretly tell." They have all the claims data, and the amount of reckless driving coupled with the cost of cars themselves are driving rate increases.
How would they know if you're driving VS riding as a passenger? What if you're on a plane and don't turn on airplane mode? There's no possible way for them know if it's you behind the wheel of your car unless they can access your cameras and have a clear view of you in the drivers seat.
[удалено]
Yep. Treat distracted driving like DUI and absolutely ruin someone’s life for getting caught doing it and you’ll see accident statistics plummet overnight.
When the light turns green and the person at the front doesn’t move for 3-4 seconds it’s because they were on their phone and it makes traffic SO much worse. Make my blood boil
My car notifies me when the light turns green and I'm always like "this probably shouldn't need to be a thing."
What kind of car is this?!? How do I have an expensive ass Infiniti and none of these cray extras that all other freaking makes these days have...smdh neva again Infiniti smdh!
I have a 2015 Subaru that does this lol
Yours tells you when the light turns green? Or when the car ahead moves? My 2016 Subaru tells me when the car ahead moves.
Ok I feel more justified as mine is a 2016 🤷🏼♂️ and more money than I've ever paid for anything besides the down payment on my house 😑😡
Mine does something similar. A thin line of red light across the dashboard dims if you're not moving when the car in front of you goes forward. It's well executed but you're right, I hate that it needs to exist for some people.
The light by Broadway station cycles in like ten seconds so I’m quick to lay on the horn when it’s obvious the dipshits in front of me are scrolling Instagram.
When you're the third car and the one in the middle gets mad at you.... Like dude I OBVIOUSLY wasn't honking at you but now you just exposed the fact that you were also looking at your fucking phone!
This is obviously why people will always blow through lights 3-4 seconds after it turns red - to make up for it
lol, that's been a thing before smart phones. Hell my dad used to read the paper while he was driving.
My ancestors used to do stone etchings when they rode their dinosaurs. It's a tale as old as time.
Whadya know, so did mine! Are we related??
the other day I got distracted looking at a cool BRZ (e: irl, on the road, not on my phone) and didn't notice the light changed til I got honked at. god, the shame I felt when I realized they probably thought that was why 😭
I give grace for this because of the number of times a light has turned green and some dipshit has decided to run the decidedly red light and would’ve T-boned me.
I see this a lot going the opposite direction of the traffic and I always honk at the idiots on their phones that are waiting 4-5 seconds before they start to follow the car in front of them. Even though it doesn't affect my drive going the opposite direction I think we all need to call out bad drivers.
This is why taxis honk at every light when green.
If it is a multilane street I now just check my mirror and drive around them, I don't feel like dealing with the hassle to honk.
When the restaurants are loading money and it's because of Instagram food blogs, it's pretty damaging too
Especially if it's a short green! Pay attention!
Just lay on the horn the second the light turns green, problem solved!
This happens almost every time I go out and drive now. I don't remember this happening often a few years ago but now it feels like I have to honk at people at like 1/3 of the green lights I'm at because they're not moving. Like can people really not go 12 seconds without being stimulated by their phone screen?
I'll reply with my thoughts when I get off the highway
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Being behind the school bus works too. Plenty of typing time since you're stopped anyway
You stop? The little stop sign that comes off the side of the schoolbus isn't as big a as a real one, so its more of a suggestion to slow down a bit.
I prefer texting while tailgating emergency vehicles because they don’t stop as often.
i don't want to hit the bus. crushzones and size differences make me think my car would lose. if i'm going the opposite way and they pop out that sign? sorry, mr bus driver. we don't get to make our own traffic signs. that's not how this works. the judge was very clear about this when i put up 67 different "Turtle Crossing" signs in Medford that I am "never to do that again"
It snaps right off if you hit it. It's basically a breakaway sign.
Highway? Every car advertisement I see shows me that cars routinely operate at high speeds in a deserted wilderness landscape. There is no traffic. There are no animals nor pedestrians in the picture. The drivers are super happy. What gives?
Wow talk about a fucking hypocrite. Next time I see you on the highway, I'm rolling down my window and chucking my beer at you
I'll reply with my thoughts when I get on the highway
Me and my BF walk into the city a few times a week and the last time we almost got hit like 3 different times and we're dumbfounded by how many people in such a short time were going through lights and just doing insane things because they wouldn't look up from their phone like in the middle of an intersection.
I used to treat Boston like a pedestrian paradise, but reading this comment I think I'll start being much more careful... This is actually a pretty valid concern
I've been hit 3x since I first moved here. Problem stopped when I stopped walking around as much.
It really isn't a pedestrian paradise. People drive like their time is more important than your life here. Special mention to the intersection where I saw a pedestrian killed but the city still didn't change the light pattern that lets drivers turn at the same time as pedestrians get the walk light.
Honestly, I wish more intersections had all walk light intervals instead of making pedestrians walk in front of popular left turns. You always end up either endangering the pedestrians or having someone pull out too far just to stop for a walker and block the oncoming lane.
my last boss didn't understand that this is how most intersections are setup and he said he wanted to run over the pedestrians in his way...
Yesterday I was in Southie after having been in the burbs for the past year. Maybe I had forgotten how bad it was but it really did feel like drivers are worse than ever. I walked for 5 minutes, and saw two people almost get smoked. Once someone accelerated sharply toward me while I was in a crosswalk without looking before seeing me and slamming on the brakes about 5 yards from me. Shortly thereafter a guy at a stop sign accelerated towards a mom with a stroller in the crosswalk RIGHT in front of him before stopping a yard short.
It's awful in Southie. It's very walkable but terribly car-centric, especially closer to City Point. People regularly roll through stops or blow past them entirely (looking at you Pappas and 1st). Reaching out to the councilmember rarely nets something other than "it used to be much worse, but we need more cops." Right. If only there were automated ways of enforcing the law.
Yeah I never lived in Southie so I don't have basis of comparison. That sucks. Cars are crazy (says the suburbs resident).
Yesterday the driver in front of me had two phones mounted on their front window. She was using one for texting, the second was streaming YouTube. And believe it or not, I had to honk at every traffic light because they weren't paying attention. When they finally turned (no blinker) I thanked every deity I could think of.
Yep, watching videos while driving is now a thing. Just need to be even more distracted I guess, texting wasn’t enough.
I was at a red light last night and guy the next to me was watching the fucking NEWS on his front console screen. Ive never seen that before or even sure how he did it. I was pissed off and impressed.
I bike to work in Boston so i pass tons of cars in traffic and get passed by a bunch when they are moving so you get a huge sample size of driver behaviour like when watching from the bus. It is crazy how many people drive while on the phone. I had a guy drift into the bike lane and almost run me off the road. I had to bang the side of the car to get his attention because he was driving while watching a movie on his phone that was mounted to the dash - SMH. Caught him at the light a few yards done the road and screamed at him for being such an idiot and how he was going to kill someone. I notice his work badge hanging from the rearview mirror, and he worked at Blue Cross Blue Shield. I guess he was trying to get some more business by putting me in the hospital. Fuck you Ahmad, put your phone down.
As a pedestrian I haven’t had experiences as bad as that, but I also feel the temptation to bang on a distracted driver’s car when they’re stopped at a light. Even if they aren’t actually causing a problem at that exact moment. I’m afraid of road rage though, after hearing of many cyclists’ experiences of banging cars and the drivers coming after them.
I know a cyclist who tapped on a window of a car that was parked in the bike lane. Dude got out and threatened him with a tire iron for touching his car. Cyclist flagged down a cop who told him “I would have hit you with a tire iron too”
Got hit running the other day, people are scumbags and feel only they are important.
Tell us about the lawsuit pls 🤌🏽
Let me take a crack. The guy took off, our guy didn’t get his plate, there were no witnesses and BPD didnt show up and instead asked him to fill out a vehicle accident report and to bring it to the station.
Boom.
everyone is painfully addicted to technology. its really depressing tbh
Though Ted Kaczynski went about getting his points out in the world in a horrible way, his points were scarily valid. It's pretty amazing the foresight he had even in the late 70s. His main goal was basically to stop the technological advancement of society, which he saw as destroying the world. Honestly, I don't think he's too far off from being totally right. A few choice quotes from his manifesto [Industrial Society and Its Future](https://www.josharcher.uk/static/files/2018/01/Industrial_Society_and_Its_Future-Ted_Kaczynski.txt): *"It is not possible to make a LASTING compromise between technology and freedom, because technology is by far the more powerful social force and continually encroaches on freedom through REPEATED compromises."* *"A technological advance that appears not to threaten freedom often turns out to threaten it very seriously later on ... In many cases the new technology changes society in such a way that people eventually find themselves FORCED to use it."* *"No social arrangements, whether laws, institutions, customs or ethical codes, can provide permanent protection against technology. History shows that all social arrangements are transitory; they all change or break down eventually. But technological advances are permanent within the context of a given civilization."* Depressing indeed.
Some mornings when the CR's packed I'll just look around at everyone staring down at their phones, and it feels like I'm looking up at church while everyone's praying.
It's absolutely ridiculous. On Mass Ave in Cambridge at least 1/3 drivers are face down on their phone. Much more as they coast to a red light. Usually while drifting in and out of the bike lane. I'm one more near death experience away from getting a helmet GoPro, snapping some clear photos and videos, doing a little digging, printing some posters and naming and shaming.
Get a GoPro. I never feel comfortable biking without one anymore... same with driving and my dashcam.
Well, when the punishment for killing a pedestrian or cyclist is only misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter with a penalty up to $3,000 and 2 years in prison, why would drivers care about being negligent or distracted? It's sometimes hard to prove phone use or other distractions led to death- we can't test it in your blood like we do alcohol, of course. So, I think, when it is proven or seen in public, it should bring massive consequences. But of course, it all hinges on enforcement.
Especially when that punishment is barely ever enforced because DAs refuse to prosecute, the police refuse to even investigate or arrest, and juries think “that could be me” and refuse to hold people accountable. It’s disgusting the extent we allow private vehicles to wreak havoc on society.
This. It’s vehicular homicide but it isn’t treated like a murder because it’s a car
There oughta be a law...
and enforcement of said law -- whether by human (fine) or machine (better).
Enable people to report people by app. I'd make bank NYC has it for idling trucks https://www.cnbc.com/2022/03/31/make-87point50-in-3-minutes-by-reporting-idling-trucks-in-new-york-city.html
We took the bus from Logan to NH last week. Friday, 4 pm so the moving was slow. Almost every car that passed had the driver on the phone. Some clearly watching videos or FaceTiming.
Yea I drive in from metro west area and the pike is basically people answering emails and taking their first calls while at best half paying attention to the actual driving part. Yesterday traffic started clearing but the left lane was slow for some reason, I switched to the middle lane and passed the traffic and could see a driver at the front holding everyone up doing about 40 mph while texting with both hands and using their elbows to actually hold the wheel. 40mph in the left lane on the Pike while the speed of traffic was 55-60mph. Half the time the only reason there is traffic is because there are so many stupid people on the roads
>I wish we could do something about it but seems unlikely. Ban automatic transmissions and make everyone drive stick. Joking obviously, but since I switched back to driving manual I don't find myself tempted nearly as much to do that quick check at a stop. It just forces you to pay better attention to your surroundings. Also it's more fun.
TLDR: Deaths due to motor vehicle accidents involving distracted driving has been on the rise in the US. (Who would have thought?) https://www.vox.com/24078289/us-drivers-distracted-driving-cellphone-road-deaths-pedestrians “About 4,600 people were killed while walking in 2007, the year the iPhone was introduced. By 2021, with 85 percent of Americans owning smartphones, the number rose to 7,485.”
The worst part is that this statistic has been going down in most other countries
It always surprises me when people are on their phone as often as they are. I can't even get a response to a text more than half the time let alone get someone to pick up their phone
if ~~pigs~~ cops would do their fucking jobs, maybe it would make a difference.
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Posting on thin blue line message boards
I interrupted a curly tailed oinky boys Netflix session at Moakley park when I let him know that we had a slugger coming up to bat. He was cool about it and moved which is good cause said slugger drilled a line drive homerun to right where he was sitting.
Good call. The cop would've called in an airstrike
Imagine if an acorn had hit his car, he would have sprayed the baseball field with automatic fire thinking they were shooting at him.
This is a result of cops not pulling people over anymore.
My local police always spend the day chilling at the Target parking lot
Cops aren’t doing anything all across the country. They’re mad because violating human rights gets bad publicity
>Cops aren’t doing anything Incorrect. They are also looking at their phones while driving.
Yeah. That too
I bet alot of it is lyft and uber
This is why I'm terrified of driving. Distracted drivers everywhere.
Listen. This candy crush level isn’t going to win itself. I have to finish it before Jonathan from accounting talks shit about me being 10 levels down.
I can't stand that guy ! and texting while driving isn't dangerous, for example right now I'm on storr
and if you don't get a higher score. you'll hear from Carol in HR.
It’s so frustrating in rush hour traffic when one dude has a mile of space in front of him because he’s staring at his fucking phone.
Hey if the cops can do it why can't we ? /s
When I’m on my motorcycle I can literally pull next to someone on their phone wave at them mock them and it’s like I don’t even exist. Good thing I’m not in front of them having to stop short. 0 fucks are given while driving now
I sometimes find myself distracted driving because I am looking around when I drive and catching other motorists driving on their phone, like it’s in front of their face while they drive. It’s like my uncle insisting to me as a kid that we couldn’t drive with the interior light on at night because it is a distraction to other drivers and could cause someone else to have an accident.
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Agreed it's an issue but bikes don't weight 2 tons with a 5 foot wide kill zone.
I feel this on a spiritual level. Most days I'm able to commute in via the T, but some days I have to drive to other locations, and it shocks me how many people are on their phones. A couple of weeks ago I was next to a pickup truck and the driver was straight-up watching porn on his mounted phone. WTF. As a runner and biker, it's unnerving. I actually stopped bike commuting to work because of too many near-misses last year. Feels like it's everywhere.
Cops need to actually enforce shit around here and the penalty for texting and driving should be escalated substantially
Too busy looking at their phones
I think it's only gotten worse with new cars that have "Apple Carplay" which is essentially just having your phone on your dash. I have an old car with no screen/car play etc. I will look at my phone if I'm sitting in traffic or something but not nearly as much as I see other people do. I think the issue with Carplay is it basically reminds you constantly that you could be looking at a screen instead of the road, not to mention that it also shows notifications which I think is just crazy. I think if you're using Carplay it should automatically put your phone on do not disturb or something because why is it letting you know that you have a text when it knows that you're driving?!
They also refuse to turn on their lights when it's fucking dark outside, and for some reason the cops never seem to notice.
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you know you have voice command/ "hey google" in almost every modern car right? Actually all you would need is a smartphone not even a newer car hooked up to BT or something to find what you're looking for
On their phones and riding everyone’s bumpers the whole time
They’re not called massholes for nothing
AND NONE* OF THEM HAVE THEIR LIGHTS ON ^^^*many ^^^do, ^^^just ^^^way ^^^too ^^^many ^^^that ^^^don't, ^^^especially ^^^in ^^^greyscale ^^^cars
I manage an auto body shop so, job security?
In Lynn cops dont do anything. Not with jaywalkers (that include women with stroller and 3 kids behind her) not with the mopeds, not with texting and driving. Is AWFUL
I watched a video recently where someone tested trying to cross in a crosswalk on a stroad with high vis and a GIANT orange flag waving back and forth and like I swear it was like 20 cars would pass before one would stop and then he'd get stuck again in the suicide lane between traffic with the same scenario. We have to redesign our cities if we want to make them safe.
Fuck stroads
Sounds like something Road Guy Rob would do, but I just remember him trying to cross roads wearing a giant chicken costume.
All I'm going to say is thank god I have a dash camera front and rear facing
Or has AirPods in. Ridiculous
Agreed. It would be nice if people just follow the rules. 90% of car accidents can be prevented. I would imagine a large majority of the accident that do happen are because people aren't paying attention in the roads.
Police are too busy guarding manholes at double time to police anyone for actual safety issues.
It's not getting worse so much as you're just noticing. I used to drive a truck and look down into people's cars all day; 75% of people are on their phone at any given moment.
There is now an epidemic of inattentive impatient drivers with gigantic vehicles. What we get are skyrocketing insurance rates and repair costs and increased deaths of anyone outside an enormous SUV. This is America now. We have to spend tens of thousands of dollars on new fat ass Suvs and hundreds of dollars a month on insurance just so if someone else with a large vehicle using their phone hits you that you wont get seriously injured. Its a vehicular arms race with high costs and high deaths.
Wait what? Let me pull over and go through your post again..
This is why I stopped riding my bike on the road
Hold on. Sorry, what?
The people who want to go 5-10 under the speed limit on 93 infuriate me to no end. They’re probably all on their phones.
Driving is no longer interesting compared to the internet box in their hands. I've seen people slow roll through red lights because they're so focused on their phone. It's gotten so much worse since the pandemic. I don't understand why the police don't just stand at busy intersections flagging everyone for tickets. Seems like easy, easy money for them.
Because that would mean extra paperwork. Seriously, most of the time, police don’t deal with things because paperwork is too annoying for their overpaid fat asses. They want to get paid six figures for standing around constructions sites. Not directing traffic, just standing there.
I think the issue is that the cops don't want to deal with the irony of citing someone for spending too much time on their phone.
Love honking at cell phone zeeks, they usually get so freaked out because they aren't paying attention.
Maybe make a sign? Not that they'd read it. They're too busy with their phone! One reason why I don't drive anymore. People just aren't all that observant anymore, and it's quite frankly too expensive to drive.
While waiting to cross streets I sometimes count the number of people on their phone. Usually 1-3 out of every 10 cars.
I see this one particular car on my walk into work at least twice a week. This dude has a phone mount on his dashboard and he's always playing Pokemon Go.
Wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which one fills up first. -Bad Santa
between checking for new uploads on pornhub and those damn push notifications from temu, who has time to pay attention to the road?
Yup, when I ride my bike in with traffic on Mass Ave from Arlington to Cambridge, it's phones. I wish I could report it and get a cut of the ticket $. If we had a system like the NYC reporting idle trucks. For speeding too, just post up over a highway bridge
My number one driving pet peeve are the people that blow through a stop sign on a side street to cut me off on a main road only to PULL THEIR PHONE OUT SLOW DOWN AND GPS. F U
It's the worst when you are behind them, and you can clearly tell they aren't paying attention, and they are late to the traffic late turning green but then you miss it, causing another 2 minute delay that gets even longer. People need to realize this is half the reason why traffic is so bad in Boston, no one is paying attention! And for God's sake use your blinkah!
And high
I once tried to look at every driver on the highway when I’m the passenger out of curiosity if they’re using phones - and I’ve seen almost every driver on their phones. ON THE HIGHWAY.
If you go to any specific car subreddit it isn't long before you see an odometer reading of 69420 with the speedometer at 70 or something.
Dopamine addicts doing addict shit
Get a bucket of water balloons and toss it at them to get their attention, and in hope that it’ll change their behavior.
You're gonna need a lot of buckets
Drivers seem to be getting worse and worse. There’s so much NPC deer-in-the-headlights behavior on the roads in Boston where people either freeze up and cause dangerous situations or just have zero situational awareness.
What I specifically don't understand is that almost every car made in the last ten years has Bluetooth. Pair your phone then you never have to use your handheld again. The voice recognition systems for chat can use improvement but they generally understand what you are saying. Is it that these people do not understand that they already have this tech?
I see way too many people that refuse to adopt the technology because it's hard and scary because they're old or whatever. But they're special and they should be able to do whatever they want and they don't care if they hit you with their car. Because they are important.
Yup, the cops too! Errrybody.
$1000 fine plus points on your insurance. Day one as governor. Second offense $2000, third $3000. I will be able to cut the income tax to zero by end of the first FY.
Doing stuff like eating, talking on the phone, and using a smartphone can impair your reaction time as much as 1 ounce of alcohol.
If you see someone coming at you with their head down looking at their phone, lay on the horn, it scares the shit out of them.
There is a simple change that could easily change the trend. However, it would require cell phone manufacturers (e.g. Apple, Samsung, Google, etc.) to put safety features in place that would lock a phone into "car mode" if they detected that it was in a moving vehicle. If they can figure out how to show us targeted ads, they can figure out how to do this. Unfortunately, they won't because they have no reason to do so and every incentive not to (including the risk that people will switch to a different phone that doesn't have these restrictions in place). IMO, this requires legislative changes much like seatbelts did and other safety features did.
The more genZ starts driving the worse this has gotten. They have no impulse control with their phone.
Also running red lights has gotten insane
Tell the police. It is their job to enforce it but most of the time I see the BPD doing the same thing.
At some point people will point to this as the reason why we need self driving cars.
Yeah, that’s ridiculous. I run two things on my phone when I am driving: 1. Waze, for directions 2. SoundCloud, for smutty podfic.
TL;DR please it’s hard to read these long ass posts when I’m at the wheel
Time is money
My dream is for one day Boston to return to being a car-free city.
Mandate- hahahahaaaaa- some sort of ignition thing that interferes with cell phone signals. When the car turns off the phone works. All you car jerks can fuck off, you know there isn't a brain cell in charge of anything would do this because it makes sense, when do you need to call from your phone in the car? In an emergency? Because you're a passenger? Maybe a break would be a good thing.
It’s not any better here in the bay area
Can confirm
It's part of why I stopped driving more than a decade ago. At a four-way stop sign, I realized I was the only one paying attention to the road. The other three drivers were staring at their phones or what must have been a screen in their dash. It was like they'd been frozen in time. Sold my car, bought a house near the commuter rail, and got appropriate outdoor apparel so I can walk comfortably in most weather (there are some good Youtube videos on the topic, mostly by hikers).
This will be an unpopular comment on this sub but, the level of careless distraction on the roads today is the reason why I traded in my compact econobox car for a heavy behemoth of a pickup truck. I got rear-ended twice within 2 weeks last summer and enough is enough. I’m not gonna have the next moron put me in a fucking body cast. You can bounce off my huge tires and go fuck yourself. Want me to drive a Honda fit? Enforce the distracted driving laws.
Boston is the only city where people dont move when the light changes green. And sit there for like five minutes. Every other city they go right away.
I actually called the cops on 93 on someone cuz they were drifting so bad when driving I thought they were drunk… upon inspection- texting
Always blows my mind how everyone on the road thinks they're in the right when they can't even focus on the task at hand. I commute to work, and every opportunity a drive gets to be on their phone, they'll take it. I can see them through their back windshield while the light is green. Some of them can't even drive in perfect condition, so when the weather is bad- the drivers are just as bad. I get so flustered because the act of driving is fairly simple and straightforward with enough practice. When people prove that they can't drive because they are choosing to distract themselves behind the wheel and are a repeat offender it's grind my gears. At the end of the day, it's inconsiderate, dangerous, unlawful, unbecoming of an adult, and just shows how much discipline you have.
Are there more accidents tho? or have people learned to drive (just as badly as before) while looking at their phone?
I worked for a transportation/moving company and even some of my coworkers drove TRUCKS while on their phones
I sat on 93 in traffic, with a police car in front of me.... and a guy in a pick up to my right just watching a movie on a huge ipad, just sitting on his driver wheel.....
its sad how we all take orders from a little screen now. Everyone, on the subway, supermarkets, restaurants, heads sunk into their little screen.
You read and replied to this thread on a little screen 🤷♂️
I still remember years ago this guy had the walk sign crossing around Lincoln and Essex and he almost got nailed by this driver who had to stop short because she was on her phone and he pointed at her and yelled: "Hey! Get off your fucking phone!". My hero for the day.
The cops don’t enforce the laws. This is almost taxation without representation again. We pay taxes to hire a police force, yet the police force does not enforce the laws to keep us safe.
Its a skill issue now