5 ms·

My mom's SUV was totaled by a woman who was on her iPad while driving. I really don't think we'll be fixing the idiots-on-the-road epidemic anytime soon.

jablan 13y ago
The solution is not only logical, but also an answer to lots of other problems: ditch the car-centric culture and move these people out from their cars to buses, trains, trams, bicycles and other forms of sustainable transport. It's not that hard, takes some time getting used to, but will do good to all of us.
- sukuriant 13y ago
  First step: better buses, oh and stop removing routes from the bus system. (I'm looking at you Seattle and your recent voting results)
  - unsignedint 13y ago
    And perhaps transit mode off the road needs to be seriously invested, too. (Trains, etc.) Even as current state, buses are far from usable, unless perhaps you are living in the heart of the city...
- zo1 13y ago
  Here's another non-obvious solution to the problem: Start making sure that insurance companies have no payouts if the driver's phone was on X amount of time before the accident. That way they pay for their own damage, and the damage done to everyone around them. Regardless if they were "at fault" using conventional reasoning. How about another one: Require all vehicles to install cell phone tethers that have the driver's registered sim card in it. Disable it during the drive. Mandate it's installation, and penalize people that break it, even more so if they were in an accident. Almost ALL problems have a technical/legislative solution for them. The only real problem is that no one has either the resolve, balls, lawyers, political backing, or money to implement/require those technical/legislative solutions. So all we get are half-asses solutions with selective (and sometimes biased) enforcement by the police/courts.
  - prawn 13y ago
    I will frequently have my wife look up something on my phone or handle the GPS on it while I'm driving or take a call. These are perfectly reasonable and go against your two suggestions. Further investment in public transport is one part of a solution (and has other benefits) but another part should be reducing the "always available" expectation. Phone calls are almost always a huge intrusion. I'd rather they act, rather than a ringing phone, as more of an "x needs to speak with you, initiate call when convenient" alert. Then if they become unavailable, they can set a time or wait until your "ready" signal is active and contact you.
    - koenigdavidmj 13y ago
      If parent commenter already wants to require tethering your phone and your car in order to disable the phone, I have little doubt they're okay with what they would likely describe as a small inconvenience to save lives.
      - georgemcbay 13y ago
        Well if that is his stance, why stop there? Let's just ban cars altogether and everyone can walk everywhere they need to go. Not only would it be much safer for everyone in the short-term but the exercise would improve long term health as well.
        TeMPOraL 13y ago
        > Let's just ban cars altogether No, let's just ban human-driven cars altogether. This is actually a good solution. Can't wait until the day it becomes reality. In the meantime, maybe the society should start approaching driving cars the way they approach flying airplanes? That is, actually train the people operating the vehicle. Current driving license exams are a joke, and people still complain they're too difficult.
        sukuriant 13y ago
        In the United States, and especially certain states. Poor driver's ed isn't a global problem.
- dlhavema 13y ago
  a major problem preventing further adoption of mass-transit usage in my city is that it is so spread out. the Phoenix Metro area is huge and not overly dense. taking a bus or the "light-rail" would take 2 or 3 times longer than driving my truck.. Carpooling is still an option though, and a big help...

jablan 13y ago

The solution is not only logical, but also an answer to lots of other problems: ditch the car-centric culture and move these people out from their cars to buses, trains, trams, bicycles and other forms of sustainable transport. It's not that hard, takes some time getting used to, but will do good to all of us.

sukuriant 13y ago
First step: better buses, oh and stop removing routes from the bus system. (I'm looking at you Seattle and your recent voting results)
- unsignedint 13y ago
  And perhaps transit mode off the road needs to be seriously invested, too. (Trains, etc.) Even as current state, buses are far from usable, unless perhaps you are living in the heart of the city...
zo1 13y ago
Here's another non-obvious solution to the problem: Start making sure that insurance companies have no payouts if the driver's phone was on X amount of time before the accident. That way they pay for their own damage, and the damage done to everyone around them. Regardless if they were "at fault" using conventional reasoning. How about another one: Require all vehicles to install cell phone tethers that have the driver's registered sim card in it. Disable it during the drive. Mandate it's installation, and penalize people that break it, even more so if they were in an accident. Almost ALL problems have a technical/legislative solution for them. The only real problem is that no one has either the resolve, balls, lawyers, political backing, or money to implement/require those technical/legislative solutions. So all we get are half-asses solutions with selective (and sometimes biased) enforcement by the police/courts.
- prawn 13y ago
  I will frequently have my wife look up something on my phone or handle the GPS on it while I'm driving or take a call. These are perfectly reasonable and go against your two suggestions. Further investment in public transport is one part of a solution (and has other benefits) but another part should be reducing the "always available" expectation. Phone calls are almost always a huge intrusion. I'd rather they act, rather than a ringing phone, as more of an "x needs to speak with you, initiate call when convenient" alert. Then if they become unavailable, they can set a time or wait until your "ready" signal is active and contact you.
  - koenigdavidmj 13y ago
    If parent commenter already wants to require tethering your phone and your car in order to disable the phone, I have little doubt they're okay with what they would likely describe as a small inconvenience to save lives.
    - georgemcbay 13y ago
      Well if that is his stance, why stop there? Let's just ban cars altogether and everyone can walk everywhere they need to go. Not only would it be much safer for everyone in the short-term but the exercise would improve long term health as well.
      - TeMPOraL 13y ago
        > Let's just ban cars altogether No, let's just ban human-driven cars altogether. This is actually a good solution. Can't wait until the day it becomes reality. In the meantime, maybe the society should start approaching driving cars the way they approach flying airplanes? That is, actually train the people operating the vehicle. Current driving license exams are a joke, and people still complain they're too difficult.
        sukuriant 13y ago
        In the United States, and especially certain states. Poor driver's ed isn't a global problem.
dlhavema 13y ago
a major problem preventing further adoption of mass-transit usage in my city is that it is so spread out. the Phoenix Metro area is huge and not overly dense. taking a bus or the "light-rail" would take 2 or 3 times longer than driving my truck.. Carpooling is still an option though, and a big help...