[Shotimes] Almost lost it, aka death by phone

[Ron Nottingham]

Naw, morons on cell phones while driving cars ain't dangerous.  And
certainly, morons on cell phones driving SUV's going 90mph ain't dangerous.
I'm not going to say anything more about cell phones and driving.  You
guys/gals all know my position on this...

Ron N. - Dalton, GA
90 SHO

----- Original Message -----
From: "D Potter" <jpotter8@bellsouth.net>


> By an absolute margin of utter luck I am still here tonight. I was at my
> inlaw's this evening to help my aged father-in-law who is suffering from
> Alzheimer's. The time came to leave, and I and my wife left in our
respective
> cars since we drove there separately. My boy begged to ride with mom when
we
> left, and I relented, even though I wanted to take him with me to the
corner
> store on the way home. Had he been with me, I'd have been a touch
distracted,
> and this may have been the end of both of us.
>
> The inlaw's neighborhood has a dedicated light that changes right away to
let
> them onto the main 5-lane drag. The light changes a bit quickly, so I tend
to
> look before pulling out in case someone has not noticed the light turning
red.
> As usual, I pulled up to the light and the other immediately turned to
yellow
> for the cross traffic. I noticed vehicles in both directions moving
quickly
> towards the intersection, and decided to wait not for the light, but for
all
> cars to come to a stop before proceeding. I can do this as the light stays
> green until you exit the street, and I have seen a few cars on several
> occasions not make the stop due to excessive speed, so I felt it prudent
that
> I wait a second.
>
> A few seconds passed, and two lines of cars proceeding in opposite
directions
> came to a stop before me. I let out the clutch and the SHO starts moving
> towards the intersection. I hit the bump that's right before the end of
the
> street and know the nose of my car is just starting into the first lane of
> cross-traffic, when I see a flash of white out of my left peripheral
vision,
> then a white, black and red blur in front of me. I didn't have enough time
to
> react to the vision for it was gone before I had even yanked my foot off
the
> gas, let alone snap in the clutch. It took me a full two seconds, with my
car
> still rolling slowly into the cross-traffic lanes to snap myself out of
the
> sudden shock and confirm what had happened. A large SUV, specifically a
black
> Navigator, had blown the light. What was even more frightening was the
fact
> that the driver didn't even hit the brakes as he sped off down the road in
> this congested area of the city.
>
> I wasn't going to be able to get out of the car for at least ten minutes
for
> fear of wetting my pants, so I made a quick right turn and took off after
the
> SUV after partially clearing my head. A few red lights down the road I
quickly
> caught the vehicle, and took down the plate number. Gee, the driver was on
a
> cell-phone. I was mad and wanted to get out and yell at the moron and
maybe
> hit him, but I kept reminding myself that a day in court will be more of
an
> inconvienence. I turned back, called the police, and filed a wreckless
driving
> report with them. A summons will be sent.
>
> While giving my account of the incident to the officer, a few things were
> noted. The entrance to my inlaw's neighborhood has a typical set of walls
on
> either side of the road. The walls are set beyond the minimum distance
from
> the crossing road to allow for good vision, per law. I had looked to the
left
> and right before pulling out, and didn't see the vehicle because it was so
far
> down the road that it was obstructed by the wall to my left. The cop had
me
> put my car where it had been as I was waiting for the light, and sat in it
to
> determine how far down the road the SUV had been when I looked to the
left.
> Based upon my recollection of how much time elapsed before I began to pull
> away, he estimated that the SUV was moving at least 70mph but not more
than
> 100 mph on this 45mph street. Not nice words flowed through my head upon
> hearing this. I was comforted only in the fact that 25+ over can = loss of
> license.
>
> Even though I thoroughly believe that cell phones are a distraction and
should
> not be allowed for use by persons in control of moving cars, I am not
relating
> this to inflame this old debate. I will, however, throw this in the face
of
> this driver. If my son had not insisted on riding with mom, both him and I
> would surely be at the morgue this evening due to this idiot's bad
judgement
> call. I'm sure his lawyer will say he was in a heated conversation, or had
> just received really bad news, to attempt to justify his lack of attention
to
> the road, but this is exactly why cell phones should not be used by people
> operating vehicles. I look forward to grilling this idiot over the coals.
This
> is about more than my own anger. It's about the safety of my family. I
plan on
> setting precedent in this county where driving problems are seen as a way
to
> make revenue for the courthouse and nothing more. I plan on holding the
courts
> accountable for their inactions. I see unsafe vehicles and inattentive
drivers
> all the time, yet the vast majoritiy of the cars that get pulled over are
> those that exceed the speed limit.
>
> As a teenager, during the 80's, I used to cycle down these roads to this
same
> neighborhood to see what was, at the time, my girlfriend (now wife). When
I
> returned to the area in '93 after exiting the military, I noted that,
while
> the traffic had increased by maybe 10%, it was almost twice as difficult
to
> navigate the roads safely by bike. Why? Because I had to keep a constant
> vigilance with my rear view mirror for passing cars. What was I looking
for?
> People with their arms angled up towards their head...
>
> OK, so maybe I  DID bring the issue up a little bit. Sorry, I guess I'm
still
> a little wired nearly 11 hours later. I'm having difficulty weighing the
1% of
> people that can drive while on the phone against the 99% that can't. I'm
for
> freedom as much as possible, but only within reason. There are other
things
> that bother me, like the fact that anyone with a driver's license and
enough
> cash can walk away from a dealer with a 6400lb vehicle. No one ever
mentions
> how much distance is required to achieve a complete stop from 60mph when
> selling an SUV, nor do they talk about blind spots. I guess they actually
want
> to sell these things, because if they took the time to explain to a
> prospective buyer how easy it is for their SUV to tear through the average
> mid-size sedan and smear the occupants all over the road, they might be
less
> inclined to buy one if not at least encouraged to not drive them at 55mph
> through 35mph zones. I remember the old days of SUV's, when the only name
in
> the game was the Suburban, and it typically was seen moving at least 10mph
> slower than any other vehicle. 10 car lengths gap from one behind you was
not
> uncommon. Now, they are on your bumper, and your interior is lit like
daytime
> while driving at night. I see them fly down my street, going 45 ina 25, so
> they can make it to church on time across the street. They hit the corner
and
> gun it, often leaving a small squeel of rubber in the process. I can't let
my
> boy play in the side yard on Sundays due to these people. Mass must be
damn
> good there, more important than life itself.
>
> Enough of my ramblings (did anyone really make it this far?), they are
just my
> opinions, take them for what they are worth. I'm going to bed now if I can
> sleep.