We have to keep in mind that all of this came about after the big Caltrans train accident a few years ago when the engineer wasn't paying attention to signals and instead was paying attention to some teen texting him. There were then other incidents elsewhere, and then later two of which were back here in the Boston area, that occurred on the MBTA Green Line. In both of these cases, trolley cars (LRVs) collided and derailed. One of them caused something like $7-10 million in damage to the tunnel and station at Park Street or Boylston Street. The driver admitted, in this case, that he was focusing on his phone instead of driving. The other case was more serious with people burned. There was nothing released about that driver, but there were suspicions that she was texting up to the incident.
On automobiles... Unfortunately, there are those individuals who make the rest of us suffer. Mobile phone use should be banned. Period. Unlike adjusting a mirror, or talking in person with someone, studies have shown that people wander off mentally to their conversation on the phone and miss things in their surroundings. This then of course not only causes accidents, but road rage incidents, traffic tie ups, and other problems. Where I live texting is prohibited, but enforcing the rules is difficult. The only time mobile phone use or texting use laws are enforced is when there is an accident. When this happens, phone use logs are pulled, should a phone be in question, and then the police findings and judges rule through fines and insurance points. Yes, like in the UK, Massachusetts drivers are given driving points.
Having said this, I can think of more incidents where mobile phones have been the cause of truly awful road incidents with two of them occurring very recently. Up here in Haverhill, where I live, a young driver killed and injured a couple in a head-on accident. He received a 15-year driving ban, house arrest, and a year in jail for murder. He should have gone to jail for 1st degree murder, but that's another story. He sent over 80 texts in less than a minute before the accident, with the last one within seconds of impact.
Another case my brother actually witnessed. He was sitting in traffic when this young lady on a phone was totally oblivious of stopped traffic. She slammed right into the back of stopped vehicles as she was dialing her phone and not paying attention to the road.
My dad was hit by someone on a phone. This young lady then lied about it, but when it went before the magistrate, it was ruled in my dad's favor. Her phone records showed she was on the phone and not paying attention to people beside her. She pulled out from a curb without looking and hit my dad's car.
During my years of commuting, and thank god I am retired, I have seen more near misses and stupid moves by mobile device users, computer users, and other idiots. The biggest culprits are those that feel their life is more important than everyone else, and have gone as far as to stop dead on a freeway to answer a call. I had a young B***** do that to me. She was texting someone and would stop dead every time she received a message. I could tell what she was doing because I could see the phone lit up in her hand. We'd go from nearly 70 mph to less than 30 mph every time she hit her brakes. Eventually I got behind her and kept blowing the horn every time she stopped. She pulled over and the traffic moved on fine afterwards.
Another time I had a lady who was too busy doing work to drive. She had a complete office setup in her SUV. She was texting and talking on another hands free as she was driving at 40mph UNDER the speed limit. Many drivers including myself blasted the horn at her and a state police officer pulled her over. He was a couple of cars back and was watching her.
During my late night commutes, it wasn't uncommon to see Apple iPad users setup their iPads on their steering wheels to read their emails while driving. They too would slow down to about 20-30 mph under the speed limit. This is very dangerous especially on a dark stretch of highway.
I could go on. Driving and using mobile devices and or personal computer use is a no, no. If you need to talk, pull off to the side or wait a few minutes or so until you get to your destination. Not being in touch every .0005ms is the most important thing in life.
John
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