I should apologise (a serious post)

[piskieinboots]

..for posting something so 'hard hitting' - this will make you cry - but I won't, please stick with it, it is 4 minutes long.

I would like as many people as possible to see it, show it to people who you think already do this!

[lottie dolly]

unfortunatly it's not just texting,every time you are on the roads in any vehicle,you can spot people of all ages with a mobile glued the hand,trouble is they think they are imune to any coniquences,it only happens to other people,when in reality......well we know it does not.

[Capsid]

Driving a car is one of the riskiest activities you can do; 1500 people die each year. That's 4 a day. I don't think people appreciate just how dangerous it can be. Mix it with a mobile phone and it amplifies the possibility of an accident.

ETA: I've also seen figures for deaths in the UK that are twice that (3500 per annum; 8 a day)

[Sprocket*]

I was once the first person on the scene of a collision where the four occupants of the vehicle were dead, the thing that I will always remember was that the drivers mobile phone was found on his lap and he had been texting at the time. This is something I would never want anyone to see but I am sure that if they did they would think twice about using the phone whilst driving. But then again some people think that they are invincible!

[allotmentlady]

wow......we all sat here in silence...

[Glutton4...]

That happened to an 18 year old driver near here just over a month ago, She was killed, but her friends survived. I'm told she was bending down to pick up her phone from the floor and drove straight into the oncoming traffic.

[jackie j]

I dont think you should be allowed to smoke let alone use a phone whilst driving, why do people do all manner of things when behind the wheel of a car, a car is for driving between A & B not using your hands for anything else. Its always the innocent party that gets hurt, or worse killed. Its time these things were stopped and the only way is to make sure those that are caught are punished very heavily, that might just make people stop and think.

[dexterdoglancashire]

Think it should be shown on TV as an advert. Too shocked to say owt else. Certainly brings home the message. (no pun intended).

[petal]

Very effective, i suppose the problem with youngsters is that they presume they are invincible. We nearly (just a few feet away)were involved in an incident (we had our kids in the back)where the lady in front(in her 40s) was on her mobile and must of snatched at her wheel and just spun in front of us onto the roof of her car, how we missed crashing into her, and how she walked away without a scratch, I will never know. I told the police she was on her mobile, I bet she doesn't do that again, anyway.

[maytreefrannie]

No need to apologise, Piskie. So sad and shocking.

[piskieinboots]

if it reaches one texter and stops them then it will be worth it

[Dottie]

About 15 years ago I was sat at some traffic lights in a company car, I looked in my mirror and saw a woman coming up behind me with a map across her steering wheel.

Yep she went straight into the back of me, not much damage as she'd slowed down as the lights were on red. But she'd failed to actually keep an eye on the road.

So unfortunately there is always something that seems more important than just driving the car, today it's mobile phones and maybe Sat Nav.

[beefy]

As someone who spends quite a bit of time on the road I'm shocked on a daily basis by the amount of people who still are holding mobile phones and attempting to take / make calls/texts.
The only reason they do it is because they think that they will never be caught. The police need to make this a priority and people need to be caught and made an example of. Penalties need to be increased as well -first offence you should lose your licence for 6 months / 1 year, second offence 2 years in jail.
There is no excuse for this behaviour it should be thought of in the same way as drunk / drug driving.

[Two_Sheds]

I am a passenger in a car whose driver regularly "fiddles" ... with mobile, Sat Nav, radio, air con.
He doesn't pay full attention, and it terrifies me, but he won't be told.

[piskieinboots]

tell him you will report him and if he won't stop - do so