Cellphone use and texting while driving -- a wakeup call [Telecom]

[Thad Floryan]

One of the daughters of my best friend was recently rear-ended by a
texting driver while she was stopped at a traffic light. Though both
cars were totalled per the insurance companies, incredibly no one was
injured.

A 31-second video produced as a Public Service Announcement by the
National Highway Traffic Safety group is sobering and highlights what
frequenctly happens when using a cellphone while driving and it was
recently cited in Gary Richards' ROAD KILL, er, SHOW column in Silicon
Valley's San Jose Mercury News on April 13, 2014 in this article:

http://www.mercurynews.com/mr-roadshow/ci_25539737/

and here's the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_-6EoNhitg

While doing some sleuthing on the 'Net, I encountered this article
from the New England Journal of Medicine dated June 10, 2010:

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp0910137

which is referenced by this article:

http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/Harvard_Mental_Health_Letter/2010/September/why-cell-phone-conversations-distract-drivers

aka: http://tinyurl.com/2c4heja

which in turn is referenced by this article:

http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/why-talking-on-a-cell-phone-distracts-drivers

aka: http://tinyurl.com/7ox4xod

As a reminder of how so-called smartphones have captured and ensnared
so many people, I refer you to my December 6, 2013 comp.dcom.telecom
article entitled "12 reasons why society is crumbling -- smartphones"
to which Bill Horne commented "The language may not be fit for young
children, but the pictures *are* worth 12,000 words, so I'm allowing
this post."

I just now checked again and additional comments appear that are Not
Safe For Work, so just scroll down viewing pictures and stop after
viewing the 12th picture of the lady holding an iPad -- this photo
essay is a very sad commentary of our times:

http://dbagging.com/12-smartphone-douchebags/

Thad