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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 amazeme

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.
    - piva00 8y ago
      So you want better public transportation.
    - alexktz 8y ago
      I have all these features in a 2016 Golf GTI (except traffic light one). The future isn't that far away for the masses.
  - austhrow743 8y ago
    Navigation and spotify. I wish there was a way to skip tracks using the volume buttons on the side or something like that to get rid of the need to look at the screen while doing it. Presumably that would drop the dangerous level down to that of fiddling with a radio.
- bradgessler 8y ago
  Please turn this on if you have an iPhone: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208090 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208090
- rapind 8y ago
  I admire the bravery it takes to admit it, and so I'll abstain from judgement. To help you put it in perspective though, simply ask yourself if you'll stop caring about the notifications the day after running into a pedestrian or a cyclist.
cylinder 8y ago
I just came back to the US for a visit and was absolutely gobsmacked at the wide level of texting/phone usage while driving. People weren't even making an effort to hide it or using hands-free cradles. Just full on swiping and looking down while driving on freeways and at traffic lights. It felt like a surreal dystopian nightmare.
- webninja 8y ago
  Well, it becomes more unsafe if you hide it from cops. It’s much safer to hold your phone up so that your peripherals can still see the road lines instead of looking down where you can’t see anything. Yes it’s pretty common, I see phones in driver’s hands about 25-40% in my local area.
dasKrokodil 8y ago
What is lane surfing?
- aicioara 8y ago
  I assume continuously changing lanes on a 4+ lane road, such that you don't rear bump fellow drivers. This must be done if you're driving at 130 mph, while the rest go at 70. At those relative speed differences, the rest of the cars look stationary. (note the sarcasm)
  - dangravell 8y ago
    I'm not sure what lane surfing is. But aside from the 130mph remark - changing lane to maintain speed is how you're supposed to drive on a motorway/freeway. So long as you're within the speed limit, of course. Braking is a freeway anti-pattern.
    - alexktz 8y ago
      In the UK passing on the right (well left for us of course) is illegal and called undertaking. I know it's not illegal here but it still winds me up! I think it's actually really quite dangerous to have cars passing you on both sides when you're already going 5 over to "fit in". It'd be much better if like in Europe people pulled out to overtake and back in when done and that lane surfers had a little a patience now and again. A few seconds really does not matter. Especially when you overtake them 5 mins later as they're texting anyway!!
      - arprocter 8y ago
        >undertaking. I know it's not illegal here I believe it varies state to state. Agree that the US test is laughably easy to pass compared to the UK, though. It wouldn't be possible to undertake if folks had proper lane discipline in the first place, although the UK also has it's fair share of Middle Lane Morons I've heard speak of 'the orbit game' - legally pass the MLM on the left, then pull across into the right lane, slow down so they pass you, then pull into the right lane and pass them again, see how many times you can 'orbit' them
wcarron 8y ago
Agreed on every count. In LA, where I am, drivers leave only 2-3 car lengths following distance even when traveling over 100/120kmh. It's incredibly dangerous, and one can't really even try to leave proper following distance because someone will just think "that's an open space" and merge in, putting everyone in danger. It's the __default__ behavior and it enrages me. Social stigma is great; but I write to my state and federal representatives every quarter of the year about this specific issue. I want distracted driving to be treated as an equal offense to driving drunk. At the very least, real enforcement and stiffer fines need to happen in order for any changes to take place.
webninja 8y ago
I think the real danger isn’t so much the user’s sending a text. It’s the engaged user’s watching news streams, Facebook video’s, Tiktok video’s, YouTube, Snapchat Stories, or playing video games and such while driving.

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.
  - piva00 8y ago
    So you want better public transportation.
  - alexktz 8y ago
    I have all these features in a 2016 Golf GTI (except traffic light one). The future isn't that far away for the masses.
- austhrow743 8y ago
  Navigation and spotify. I wish there was a way to skip tracks using the volume buttons on the side or something like that to get rid of the need to look at the screen while doing it. Presumably that would drop the dangerous level down to that of fiddling with a radio.
bradgessler 8y ago
Please turn this on if you have an iPhone: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208090 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT208090
rapind 8y ago
I admire the bravery it takes to admit it, and so I'll abstain from judgement. To help you put it in perspective though, simply ask yourself if you'll stop caring about the notifications the day after running into a pedestrian or a cyclist.

cylinder 8y ago

I just came back to the US for a visit and was absolutely gobsmacked at the wide level of texting/phone usage while driving. People weren't even making an effort to hide it or using hands-free cradles. Just full on swiping and looking down while driving on freeways and at traffic lights. It felt like a surreal dystopian nightmare.

webninja 8y ago
Well, it becomes more unsafe if you hide it from cops. It’s much safer to hold your phone up so that your peripherals can still see the road lines instead of looking down where you can’t see anything. Yes it’s pretty common, I see phones in driver’s hands about 25-40% in my local area.

dasKrokodil 8y ago

What is lane surfing?

aicioara 8y ago
I assume continuously changing lanes on a 4+ lane road, such that you don't rear bump fellow drivers. This must be done if you're driving at 130 mph, while the rest go at 70. At those relative speed differences, the rest of the cars look stationary. (note the sarcasm)
- dangravell 8y ago
  I'm not sure what lane surfing is. But aside from the 130mph remark - changing lane to maintain speed is how you're supposed to drive on a motorway/freeway. So long as you're within the speed limit, of course. Braking is a freeway anti-pattern.
  - alexktz 8y ago
    In the UK passing on the right (well left for us of course) is illegal and called undertaking. I know it's not illegal here but it still winds me up! I think it's actually really quite dangerous to have cars passing you on both sides when you're already going 5 over to "fit in". It'd be much better if like in Europe people pulled out to overtake and back in when done and that lane surfers had a little a patience now and again. A few seconds really does not matter. Especially when you overtake them 5 mins later as they're texting anyway!!
    - arprocter 8y ago
      >undertaking. I know it's not illegal here I believe it varies state to state. Agree that the US test is laughably easy to pass compared to the UK, though. It wouldn't be possible to undertake if folks had proper lane discipline in the first place, although the UK also has it's fair share of Middle Lane Morons I've heard speak of 'the orbit game' - legally pass the MLM on the left, then pull across into the right lane, slow down so they pass you, then pull into the right lane and pass them again, see how many times you can 'orbit' them

wcarron 8y ago

Agreed on every count. In LA, where I am, drivers leave only 2-3 car lengths following distance even when traveling over 100/120kmh. It's incredibly dangerous, and one can't really even try to leave proper following distance because someone will just think "that's an open space" and merge in, putting everyone in danger. It's the __default__ behavior and it enrages me. Social stigma is great; but I write to my state and federal representatives every quarter of the year about this specific issue. I want distracted driving to be treated as an equal offense to driving drunk. At the very least, real enforcement and stiffer fines need to happen in order for any changes to take place.

webninja 8y ago

I think the real danger isn’t so much the user’s sending a text. It’s the engaged user’s watching news streams, Facebook video’s, Tiktok video’s, YouTube, Snapchat Stories, or playing video games and such while driving.