http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/techn … xting.html

sad case, but being stupid is not an excuse. Especially in England apparently. 21 months doesn't seem nearly long enough in my opinion, but then again, here in the US people get less time for killing people while drunk! All these cases should be murder in my opinion...

ah well... learn by others mistakes...

drive safely,

-avatar!

Tell it like it is, bro. This is what these things usually boil down to.

Sad thing is the girl lost her life because of something seemingly innocuous as someone else texting. I don't care what anyone says, I think the use of phones in cars should be banned unless one uses one of those goofy looking handsets (and even then, at least place some kind of restrictions). You're in control of a giant mass of metal, plastic and glass, you damn well better be focused on what you're doing behind the wheel.

Not to make this sound like a kneejerk reaction to a tragedy or nothing. I've felt for the longest time that the priority for talking to friends when in control of a vehicle should definitely be ancillary.

As for people being stupid? Common sense isn't nearly as common as people suspect, is it?

I once tried to drive while talking on a cell phone. I promised myself never again. I can't even imagine trying to text while driving.

I think it has more to do with the rapid acceptance of new technologies rather than the slow cognition manifest in many brains. Where did cell phones come from? It's as if we all suddenly woke up with a new appendage (that makes some sense, since cell phones seem to be glued to los manos). What are you going to do with a new limb? Well, you're going to make some mistakes, a few of which might even be life threatening.

I once heard a guy say he 'felt naked' without his pager. Keep in mind that was just a pager, a device far less useful than a cell phone. People were really attached to their pagers. I can't imagine how some people feel about their cell phones, but I can provide an example. A 20 year old girl (I'd be very hesitant to call her a 'woman') I work with told me just recently that she realized it's hard to drive while texting. It was the way she said it. It had simply never occurred to her that texting could cause any conceivable inconvenience while driving. This sort of thinking can be extended to many people.

I work with lots of girls, aged 16-22. I tell them, repeatedly, they are changing human evolution. One of them is going to produce a child with a cell phone already built into one of the hands. Because of their immediate acceptance of technology they do not understand in the least, there are going to be problems. Remember, humans are still the same. This fancy technology does not somehow make humans more advanced.

I would not be surprised if people start implanting chips into children. First to monitor them, but over time computer chips will also monitor bodily functions, and perhaps provide various other "attributes". Despite all this, it's very true that humans are "still the same". In fact, people have not evolved for thousands of years. People have so messed-up evolution... Typically, the "stronger" (not necessarily physically) survive, but we've set-up a world where idiots can rule vast empires, and dispose of intellectuals who would move humanity forward (see Stalin, Mao, Hitler, or other such dictator/mass murderer). All in all, there's no doubt that technology is evolving far faster than people understand, and as it becomes more readily available, you have more fools with technology. Kinda reminds me of Bioshock I must say

cheers,

-avatar!

I'll agree that there are too many accidents involving people not paying attention due to the use of cell phones (they're illegal in NJ and I see it all the time).  That being said I find myself doing it.  Stop and go bumper to bumper traffic, stop signs / red lights, etc.  is it right (or legal)? no.  However, it's just as dangerous as having anything else in your vehicle and those aren't banned.  Changing your radio station, spinning your ipod, adjusting your seat, turning around to yell at your kids in the back seat, reaching for that cd in the back seat or back floor, fixing your gps, taking a drink, eating, etc etc.  The list goes on.  Any number of those things can take your eyes off the road enough to cause an accident or hurt yourself/someone else.  None of those are illegal.  The core problem is inexperienced and reckless drivers doing these things while driving.  When you get an 18 year old brand new driver going 80mph down the highway texting on their cell phone not paying attention is where the problem lies.  The police also have a relatively easy way of coming up with a chain of evidence to prove you were in the wrong.  They can't audit your mp3 player or cd player or radio station to find out that you just recently adjusted them.  They can (and easily do) subpoena your phone company for your call and text logs and can easily track it down to the times you were driving, whether or not it was the cause or not.

my .02c

<3

I once saw a lady who was talking on her cell phone while driving and not paying attention to the road.  The irony of this particular situation was that she had a "Baby on Board" sign on her window.  She wanted other people to drive safely around her to protect her child, but she didn't see the need to drive safely herself.

It's because of this bizarre notion that 'all men are created equal'. Another bizarre one is 'equal opportunity'. I suppose that I'm equal to a guy that drinks a case of beer every night and we should both have the same opportunities? Am I also equal to a fat person (through excessive gorging) that is unable to ambulate? Why do all people have the same rights (in the U.S.)? The first thing I'd do to improve this country is eliminate food stamps and unemployment payments. It's always fat stupid lazy bastards with food stamps that make me wait at the grocery. I'd next eliminate all casinos and lotteries (all gambling); don't even put the notion out there that money is freely available. People should understand that they must work if they want money. I'd next change the voting system so that some people have more votes than others. For example, why does my vote carry the same weight as a person that has a DWI? People are not equal, yet we are treated as if we are. Dumbass fucked up idiots should be penalized for being that way.

I once saw someone driving on the highway while reading at a book on the steering wheel. One of my friends joked that the book was probably How to Drive.

It's people who constantly text like this with impunity and reckless abandon makes me lose fate in humanity, especially who causes an accident like in the UK and possibly other accidents and deaths.

I hate to break it to you but if this was the straw that broke you on humanity I don't know where you've been all your life

Well, I think the idea is that all people are "created equally" but that doesn't mean you "stay equal". So, if you work much harder and contribute more than someone else, then you're entitled to greater 'rewards', which is how capitalism is supposed to work. Furthermore, we do know that not everyone is created equally, since some people have mental problems etc which they have no control over. I think such people do deserve "protection" from society. That is, it is our responsibility to watch and protect these people. So, although there are many problems with food stamps and unemployment payments, it's not true that all such money is "wasted". As a simple example, if someone has been working on a farm for 40 years, and in an accident loses his arms, I think that person is very entitled to disability benefits. That being said, I do agree that idiots should be penalized, and most get off WAY too easy!

My solution to many problems: castration. (same idea for women, but... whatever that word is...)
So yes, I think people who commit heinous acts should not be allowed to reproduce, ever. I am certain such acts would in the long run be FAR FAR FAR more beneficial than the death penalty, or really most anything else. Frankly, how else are you supposed to deal with say really young kids that kill a parent because they got mad??

http://www.koat.com/cnn-news/21527318/detail.html

I doubt anything like that would get passed the courts though. Oh no, they would call it cruel and unusual punishment. Bleh... I so disagree.

I don't think that creating eunuchs is any more beneficial than removing certain parts of the basal nucleus, such as the amygdala. While modifying the bodies of humans does solve some problems, it leaves others open. A man that has been castrated can still rob banks or deal drugs, so it's not a complete fix. I know that other people share my viewpoint of 'licensed reproduction' or 'proof of financial responsibility'. Right now we have too much reproductive freedom, which is something we definitely do not need. This is not to be confused with sexual freedom. The human race does not consist of 65 members, so we don't need to be reproducing like rabbits. I think we're ok on numbers. Now it's time to regulate.

I would use that case as an example for other parents. Don't have guns if you have kids. As for the 10 year old, I see no reason for punishment. All blame should be on the father for being stupid enough to have a gun in the house. Having a gun in the house is like having a pet crocodile. You're just asking for trouble.

Watch it, people.

Soon we'll be EXECUTING people just for carrying cell phones with them in their car, even if they're not using them...

But, yeah, I still get the point.

I don't text AT ALL (it's just much easier to speak than type), and I don't use my cell phone when I'm driving.

At one point, though, I'm sure technology will evolve to the point at which cars pilot themselves...much like in I, Robot; then we won't need to worry about human error when it comes to piloting heavy machinery.

I mean, think about it...driving a car is essentially like riding a bomb with wheels...that'd make for a great PSA ad: "Don't f--- up while driving...you're riding a bomb strapped to your ass!"

Some mix of making sure people are aware of consequences, and traumatizing the shite out of them ought to make them learn.

Y'know, I often blow my car horn at people who are on the phone when they're driving, but they don't even react - they don't even brake in front of me just to spite me, let alone brake because they just heard the horn.

Actually, as much as I wouldn't want our population to be as high as say China, there is a valid example that a little more reproduction would have been a good idea. The Baby Boomers didn't have enough children, which means there isn't enough people paying into Social Security today. The Boomers have and continue to drive the economy forward in a variety of ways - seriously, you wouldn't believe some of the business that have been born of out the aging demographic - but the fact is being a little more busy in the bedroom w/o the aid of contraception may have been a little more beneficial than polishing that new Harley.

Well, that's really more of a design flaw of Social Security.  It was implemented as a pay-as-you-go system, which can be cheaper than a funded system, but it only if the labor force grows at a certain rate forever (I think it's 2.5% per year).  Once you deviate from those assumptions, that can change significantly.