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As others have said, as a motorcyclist, my number one concern on the road is a person using their mobile device while driving. I am less worried about road rage

As others have said, as a motorcyclist, my number one concern on the road is a person using their mobile device while driving. I am less worried about road rage (which is still a top concern for me) than distracted drivers. I see it literally hundreds of times a day. People are driving their cars at over 70mph while texting. They use instagram and facebook at stoplights. They text or call while driving too fast down residential roads. They cause traffic delays because they don't accelerate at a green light for many seconds after the car in front of them has. I have seen them hit other cars and narrowly miss pedestrians in crosswalks, completely oblivious half the time that they nearly murdered someone. If I pull up next to them and tell them to put their phone down by pantomime, half the time they flip me off, laugh, or lay on their horn. They do not think they are doing anything wrong and that I am the asshole for telling them to put the phone down. Distracted drivers are murderers. Distracted drivers are guilty of reckless endangerment. Distracted drivers need to be punished with prejudice. It is statistically more dangerous than driving intoxicated.

i_am_proteus 8y ago
Amen, brother. I used to be on a white R1200RS and I'd get mistaken for CHP in California. It was amusing to see them try to hide their phones when I'd honk at them. A lot less amusing when they'd wander into my lane, oblivious. Every single close call I've had in the last year of riding has been from a motorist operating a cell phone. I'm nearly of a mind to roll a helmet cam and start a Twitter account with footage of these people, along with their plates and a CHP tag. I haven't done it yet because that would take my riding focus away from steering the safest path. But it seems like it's gotten worse lately, and there doesn't seem to be much enforcement.
- btrettel 8y ago
  I ride a bicycle with a helmet cam and I don't think the helmet cam has made me ride any less safe. It's quite rare that I'll look somewhere for the specific purpose of recording something. I'd fully recommend it to motorcyclists and bicyclists. The helmet cam also has been quite useful for "post-mortems" of close calls. I can replay the video and think about what I should have done differently.
- nradov 8y ago
  Do it. If you mount an action camera on your bike it has a wide enough field of view that you can record the idiots while still steering a safe path.
- wcarron 8y ago
  Ha! I just saw a guy wearing a cop-like getup on a white R1200RS and let off the throttle immediately (because Vance and Hines pipes + cop + overpass == possible $1k ticket). Totally thought he was a cop until I passed him. I would love it if you started that account, but safety first. I'm about to splurge on a helmet cam, myself. It __does__ seem to have gotten worse lately. The only cops I've ever seen enforce it are... you guessed it, motorcycle cops. Cops in cruisers don't do shit in my area.
duncan-donuts 8y ago
What makes it statistically more dangerous? The volume of drivers doing it? The likelihood of an accident?
- geddy 8y ago
  Statistically because drunk drivers are looking at the road and aren’t seeing everything correctly (or quickly enough), distracted drivers aren’t even looking at the road. Even if you’re hammered enough to have 5% of your normal driving ability, not looking at the road at all is a straight 0% driving ability. It’s essentially driving with your eyes closed every time you look down.
  - webninja 8y ago
    Also specifically when drinking, your frontal cortex of your brain becomes impaired. This is a region associated with reasoning and judgement. Your ability to reason and judge yellow & red lights is noticeably reduced and you become more likely to think you can make it through a light in time. This is why so many of the people T-Boned at intersections were so frequently hit by drunk drivers.
MuffinFlavored 8y ago
> It is statistically more dangerous than driving intoxicated. It might cause more deaths/accidents, but how many more people are driving distracted compared to driving intoxicated?
- wcarron 8y ago
  If I had to guess, probably 100-1000x more people are driving distracted than driving intoxicated.
alexktz 8y ago
I emigrated from the UK to USA last September and the number of people I see on the freeway here with their phone in their hands is a constant source of amazement for me. As a keen road cyclist in the UK I actually have bought an off-road bike because I simply don't trust US drivers. In fact, the standard of driving here is frankly appalling. Tailgating and speeding is rampant. Lane surfing is rife. Couple that with just generally less safety street furniture at intersections and the laughably easy driving tests it's frightening really. People say self driving cars are a danger, frequently the media report every Autopilot crash but what about the hundreds every day caused by some idiot texting? IMHO the sooner we take the distracted meatbag out of the driving equation, the better. I'm a car guy who just did a 2000 mile roadtrip to the Tail of the Dragon but this has to stop. More enforcement and stricter penalties. Social stigma might be more powerful than this though.
- nojvek 8y ago
  I am guilty of this. What I wish to see is a better device that doesn’t distract the attention from the road. A better voice input so I don’t have to type. The biggest distraction is a notification comes and you want to see what it is. But you are right. The best soln is not to use your phone.
  - Phillipharryt 8y ago
    Honest question. Why do you feel you need any device when driving? Other than for navigation I suppose. As a confessed user do you actually feel it's important to have access to a device while you drive?
    - deleted 8y ago
      [deleted]
    - nojvek 8y ago
      I like to be connected I guess. Waiting in traffic sucks, it’s boring as hell. My commute is 1.5 hours each way. To be honest, I want a self lane following car. Reliably keep distance from car in front, keep the current lane, don’t exceed speed limit. Don’t bumps into objects, stop on traffic lights 5 simple things. I feel like this should be doable reliably in the next decade. I don’t want to drive. I don’t have another more convenient option.
coleifer 8y ago
Motorcyclist as well, and yes, I watch for the characteristic head-bob and try to take extra care around people on their phone. I've once or twice made a "hang-up" gesture but who am I kidding, it doesn't make a difference. Now, the worst part: about a month ago I got pulled over for texting and driving. I wasn't even thinking about it. The cop said, "were you texting?" And I said, "I don't think so, let me check"... pulled up my phone.. yeah a half-written text to a friend. I got a ticket and have kept my phone in my pocket since then. Something funny happens. I would think, "ah I'll just check that message, maybe it's important?" Or, "I've got to tell someone something" and out comes the phone. Mindless. Or maybe I think I can drive and text, it's those other clowns that are the dangerous ones. I'm glad I got the ticket. I deserved it. I think it helped me connect my actions to real life consequences. Glad it was just a ticket and not a wreck.
- wcarron 8y ago
  Good on you for admitting your mistakes and making a change to avoid making the same one again. Sometimes I'll get so fed up with people that, at a stoplight, I'll actually get off my bike and knock on their windows and tell them to put the phone down. All black visor and gear makes one intimidating enough for them to stop for a few hundred yards. Better than nothing, I suppose.
  - coleifer 8y ago
    You do what you want, but I don't think that's a helpful way to act. It might give you a rush, a little feeling of control, but if you come at someone aggressively like that and they think theyre just minding their own business, now you've just riled them up for no reason. Just adding more anger into the world.
bradgessler 8y ago
PSA: iOS has a feature that puts your phone into DND while you’re driving. Turn it on if you haven’t and you find yourself tempted to use your device while driving. Maybe it will save a life. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208090 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208090
Schwolop 8y ago
I'm a motorcyclist as well, and I've often wondered about trying to pitch a vigilante hardware product to our police force. I'd build a product around a button that when pressed marks the previous 15s plus the next 15s of helmet-cam footage as a candidate, then uploads that somewhere when the camera is next being charged. If the police would accept a clear camera recording of a numberplate plus a person using their phone, they could make back the cost of supplying the hardware to any motorcyclist who offers to be a vigilante in a matter of days.
- plmpsu 8y ago
  Israel has this kind of pilot governmental program in place: https://www.rsa.org.il https://www.rsa.org.il (Hebrew)
  - Schwolop 8y ago
    Thank you, that was very interesting to read through and is a possible avenue to pitch this idea too. Cheers!
- guitarbill 8y ago
  In Seattle, the police literally couldn't care less. They've even stopped enforcing penalties for people blocking crossings/the box. When the police decide not to enforce laws, in any other country that is called corruption. I now have a helmet-cam for walking into work. Even with clear footage of people running red lights and almost mowing over pedestrians, the police won't do shit. It'll take a wave of pedestrian deaths for anything to change.

i_am_proteus 8y ago

Amen, brother. I used to be on a white R1200RS and I'd get mistaken for CHP in California. It was amusing to see them try to hide their phones when I'd honk at them. A lot less amusing when they'd wander into my lane, oblivious. Every single close call I've had in the last year of riding has been from a motorist operating a cell phone. I'm nearly of a mind to roll a helmet cam and start a Twitter account with footage of these people, along with their plates and a CHP tag. I haven't done it yet because that would take my riding focus away from steering the safest path. But it seems like it's gotten worse lately, and there doesn't seem to be much enforcement.

btrettel 8y ago
I ride a bicycle with a helmet cam and I don't think the helmet cam has made me ride any less safe. It's quite rare that I'll look somewhere for the specific purpose of recording something. I'd fully recommend it to motorcyclists and bicyclists. The helmet cam also has been quite useful for "post-mortems" of close calls. I can replay the video and think about what I should have done differently.
nradov 8y ago
Do it. If you mount an action camera on your bike it has a wide enough field of view that you can record the idiots while still steering a safe path.
wcarron 8y ago
Ha! I just saw a guy wearing a cop-like getup on a white R1200RS and let off the throttle immediately (because Vance and Hines pipes + cop + overpass == possible $1k ticket). Totally thought he was a cop until I passed him. I would love it if you started that account, but safety first. I'm about to splurge on a helmet cam, myself. It __does__ seem to have gotten worse lately. The only cops I've ever seen enforce it are... you guessed it, motorcycle cops. Cops in cruisers don't do shit in my area.

duncan-donuts 8y ago

What makes it statistically more dangerous? The volume of drivers doing it? The likelihood of an accident?

geddy 8y ago
Statistically because drunk drivers are looking at the road and aren’t seeing everything correctly (or quickly enough), distracted drivers aren’t even looking at the road. Even if you’re hammered enough to have 5% of your normal driving ability, not looking at the road at all is a straight 0% driving ability. It’s essentially driving with your eyes closed every time you look down.
- webninja 8y ago
  Also specifically when drinking, your frontal cortex of your brain becomes impaired. This is a region associated with reasoning and judgement. Your ability to reason and judge yellow & red lights is noticeably reduced and you become more likely to think you can make it through a light in time. This is why so many of the people T-Boned at intersections were so frequently hit by drunk drivers.

MuffinFlavored 8y ago

> It is statistically more dangerous than driving intoxicated. It might cause more deaths/accidents, but how many more people are driving distracted compared to driving intoxicated?

wcarron 8y ago
If I had to guess, probably 100-1000x more people are driving distracted than driving intoxicated.

alexktz 8y ago

I emigrated from the UK to USA last September and the number of people I see on the freeway here with their phone in their hands is a constant source of amazement for me. As a keen road cyclist in the UK I actually have bought an off-road bike because I simply don't trust US drivers. In fact, the standard of driving here is frankly appalling. Tailgating and speeding is rampant. Lane surfing is rife. Couple that with just generally less safety street furniture at intersections and the laughably easy driving tests it's frightening really. People say self driving cars are a danger, frequently the media report every Autopilot crash but what about the hundreds every day caused by some idiot texting? IMHO the sooner we take the distracted meatbag out of the driving equation, the better. I'm a car guy who just did a 2000 mile roadtrip to the Tail of the Dragon but this has to stop. More enforcement and stricter penalties. Social stigma might be more powerful than this though.

nojvek 8y ago
I am guilty of this. What I wish to see is a better device that doesn’t distract the attention from the road. A better voice input so I don’t have to type. The biggest distraction is a notification comes and you want to see what it is. But you are right. The best soln is not to use your phone.
- Phillipharryt 8y ago
  Honest question. Why do you feel you need any device when driving? Other than for navigation I suppose. As a confessed user do you actually feel it's important to have access to a device while you drive?
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - nojvek 8y ago
    I like to be connected I guess. Waiting in traffic sucks, it’s boring as hell. My commute is 1.5 hours each way. To be honest, I want a self lane following car. Reliably keep distance from car in front, keep the current lane, don’t exceed speed limit. Don’t bumps into objects, stop on traffic lights 5 simple things. I feel like this should be doable reliably in the next decade. I don’t want to drive. I don’t have another more convenient option.

coleifer 8y ago

Motorcyclist as well, and yes, I watch for the characteristic head-bob and try to take extra care around people on their phone. I've once or twice made a "hang-up" gesture but who am I kidding, it doesn't make a difference. Now, the worst part: about a month ago I got pulled over for texting and driving. I wasn't even thinking about it. The cop said, "were you texting?" And I said, "I don't think so, let me check"... pulled up my phone.. yeah a half-written text to a friend. I got a ticket and have kept my phone in my pocket since then. Something funny happens. I would think, "ah I'll just check that message, maybe it's important?" Or, "I've got to tell someone something" and out comes the phone. Mindless. Or maybe I think I can drive and text, it's those other clowns that are the dangerous ones. I'm glad I got the ticket. I deserved it. I think it helped me connect my actions to real life consequences. Glad it was just a ticket and not a wreck.

wcarron 8y ago
Good on you for admitting your mistakes and making a change to avoid making the same one again. Sometimes I'll get so fed up with people that, at a stoplight, I'll actually get off my bike and knock on their windows and tell them to put the phone down. All black visor and gear makes one intimidating enough for them to stop for a few hundred yards. Better than nothing, I suppose.
- coleifer 8y ago
  You do what you want, but I don't think that's a helpful way to act. It might give you a rush, a little feeling of control, but if you come at someone aggressively like that and they think theyre just minding their own business, now you've just riled them up for no reason. Just adding more anger into the world.

bradgessler 8y ago

PSA: iOS has a feature that puts your phone into DND while you’re driving. Turn it on if you haven’t and you find yourself tempted to use your device while driving. Maybe it will save a life. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208090 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208090

Schwolop 8y ago

I'm a motorcyclist as well, and I've often wondered about trying to pitch a vigilante hardware product to our police force. I'd build a product around a button that when pressed marks the previous 15s plus the next 15s of helmet-cam footage as a candidate, then uploads that somewhere when the camera is next being charged. If the police would accept a clear camera recording of a numberplate plus a person using their phone, they could make back the cost of supplying the hardware to any motorcyclist who offers to be a vigilante in a matter of days.

plmpsu 8y ago
Israel has this kind of pilot governmental program in place: https://www.rsa.org.il https://www.rsa.org.il (Hebrew)
- Schwolop 8y ago
  Thank you, that was very interesting to read through and is a possible avenue to pitch this idea too. Cheers!
guitarbill 8y ago
In Seattle, the police literally couldn't care less. They've even stopped enforcing penalties for people blocking crossings/the box. When the police decide not to enforce laws, in any other country that is called corruption. I now have a helmet-cam for walking into work. Even with clear footage of people running red lights and almost mowing over pedestrians, the police won't do shit. It'll take a wave of pedestrian deaths for anything to change.