Idaho has no text/drive law. Boise passed one, and it was quickly overturned in state court.

But inattentive will get you a serious ticket.

Across the river in Oregon, any use of a handheld device will cost you $300 if I remember the sign along hiway 21 correctly.

Different folks have different capabilities. Hell, my youngest daughter at 35 years can barely herd her car down the county road. Heaven forbid she try to eat a burger or change the radio station at the same time.

I can do a pretty good job of scanning the roadway at 65 mph while calling Momma to ask if I need to stop for milk and bread on the way home from work, but I would not attempt to write a text.

And cops are expected to type on the computer with one hand and watch the monitor while driving and talking on the radio.

I like the way Idaho law works. If you can do it and drive safely, go for it.

But the Oregon law sure generates a lot of revenue.

When we are not willing to let Darwin do the weeding...we get laws designed to make it safe for the dumbest citizen. Going way way back...think about it, seatbelts, anti-skid, airbags, back-up cameras, drop proof firearms, self driving cars, self braking cars ad nauseum. My father said we would regret giving women the vote.

Well, in this case, the dumbest citizen, may take out your family.

We have here in Tn since July

I've driven passed 3-4 radar traps on my phone, trooper didn't even bother any of those times.

I can handle a phone and drive.


My old man is 70, both hands on the wheel and was an army aviation officer. He scares the hell out me just on a straight stretch of highway.

Idaho has considered outlawing local and county hand held bans to get rid of confusion. A number of towns and counties have done it and it's become a mess trying to know whether they're legal or not. They've talked about just doing a statewide law but I don't know what the status is at this point.

My understanding from local TV news is that the State Supremes tossed out Boise's text/drive ordinance because of state preemption laws.

The same preemption laws which keep the libs in Boise or Ada Co from writing local gun control laws.

Oregon will do anything for money.

Yeah, those laws are to protect us from the dumbest. Check out my tag lines.

I just posted this on the DUI thread but it's appropriate here, too.

Several years ago a college girl from SW Idaho was driving home from college in UT. All across Idaho on I-84 she'd been texting with her friends. As she passed the town of Hammett, she sent a text that she shouldn't be doing that as it wasn't safe. A few minutes later, she started up a steep hill on I-84 and proceeded to rear end a slow moving truck going up the hill. At least she didn't take anyone with her.

Boise saw an 18.2% population jump from 2010 to 2018 — and it was the fastest-growing city in the country between 2017 and 2018, according to Forbes. In 2019, the Idaho capital was ranked as the best place to live for millennials, as well as the best US city to buy a house.

Won't be long and Idaho will be just like the rest....Hey Google..text or call someone is hands free all eyes forward.

Try to buy a house in Boise now. Prices have skyrocketed and the market has gone nuts. People are buying as far away as Payette because they can't afford Boise.

Alabama did a study a few years ago and found that accidents while texting and driving had passed drunk driving. So they passed a law no texting. You can still make or receive a call, but no texting. Takes too much time off the road.

Also any accident that has a death in Alabama, the driver, or drivers of vehicles involved have a blood test to determine if it is alcohol related. They found out that 80% of traffic fatalities were over the legal limit of alcohol while driving. 80% is a huge number, so now drunk driving is automatic suspension of drivers license, and alcohol and drug rehab for at least 6 months. Drunk driving dropped and fatalities went down.

Oh, most of the fatalities were on Friday and Saturday nights. 50% of those were under 21. Daytime was mostly fender benders due to texting.

You guys are right, the laws if obeyed are for our protection. In the short term. However, if you save the dumb ones for generations, what have you done for the gene pool? More dumb ones to breed prolifically and the cycle continually worsens. Example, we send food to saharan africa, they breed copiously, the land cannot support the increased population, a worse famine...that happened in just one generation. Our answer, send even more food. Druggies and homelessness, what do we do? Supply them with clean needles, food, occasionally shelter and worst of all....Narcan. I realize I'm being criminally and morally reprehensible by my viewpoint, but the very definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

I’m betting nowadays texting drivers kill almost as many people as drunk drivers.
I don’t text while driving. If I’m talking on the phone, it’s via Bluetooth.

Anybody realize the left is making an effort to take over another state by packing Boise with liberals and immigrants? Soros money.

I bet the majority of the folks that say " I never ever text and drive!" are the same folks that constantly drive 5mph under the speed limit. The safe drivers we all see. They are the same kids growing up, never rode their bikes with both hands in the air!
Now do I text and drive currently? Heck no, neither do I drink and drive`, but to say I have never done either one a time or two in me youth, now that would be a stretch to say the least. Does not make me a bad person, Now just an educated person.
I am curious as to how many of us go out to eat at the neighborhood bar/restaurant and have a beer or two <gasp> With their meal, then drive home? Impaired? Maybe/ Maybe not. Ticketed if stoped by police? Probably! Do you still chance it and drive home via the side/back roads home? How many of you hear your phone buzz while your driving and glance at it quickly to acknowledge who it is calling? Might even text a quick "driving" text back. Just wondering, would that be like having a beer with my meal?

if either aint bad enough, don't forget those that text while drunk driving.

I’ve had some close calls fooling with my phone. It’s best to leave it alone!

My 1996 C1500 pick-up was totaled from someone talking on the cell phone, not paying attention to the road and rear-ended me on the highway. I wound up with 2 slipped discs in my neck. The force on the truck hitting mine drove the bed into the cab, bent the truck frame and pushed me into the car in front that was also stopped. For those who say it's OK and you can handle talking on a phone and drive at the same time: think again!

A topic near and not so dear to my heart. Sitting at a light with my brother and his wife we out riding 2 years ago. He was in the lane next to us, all I saw was movement coming over my shoulder.
They were hit at 35 MPH we learned later. The bumper of the car matched up to the rear tire of his bike perfectly. Shot the bike out from under them and they and the tourpack hit the hood of the car.
Sister in law died instantly (her neck was broken), my brother both hips, and tail bone shattered along with multiple internal injuries. He spent 19 days in the ICU unit.
He had gone through 7 different surgeries, was still having a rough time, doing anything related to everyday life. They went to do one more surgery he did not come out the other side, died in the OR. Buried him this spring.
That accident is one of the many they used for their case for hand free here. There were so many cases introduced as evidence it was just stunning.
When someone is texting they are not focused on driving PERIOD THE END OF STORY.

Well, you might very well be the only one who can...






Exactly... If people would just get OFF their 'electronic heroin' and PAY ATTENTION when driving there's be a helluva lot less hospital (or morgue) visits by innocent citizens...

When I'm on the bike you can bet yer sweet bippy I'm watching my mirrors at any stop sign/light to see if any vehicle coming up behind me is gonna stop in time.. If I have ANY doubt, I'm makin' a beeline outta that spot and moving away from potential damage/injury... Good friend of ours was hit at a stop light in AZ.. Good thing the only damage was the bike.... He was hit by some babe yakin' on her damned phone...

MN just went to 'hands-free only' a few months ago and already the cops there have issued well over 5,000 citations for people with their damned phone stuck in their ear... Dumbasses..

If I’m driving, my phones in the console. I can check messages/texts at my next stop OR pull over if it’s urgent. I don’t care how good of a driver you are, NONE of us can use a phone/text and give the operation of a motor vehicle the attention it deserves. That said, I see idiots EVERY DAY, in the road, swerving out of their lane, and they’re usually paying attention to their electronics, NOT the road.

Next time you hang up your phone in the car...immediately think back the previous 10 to 15 seconds. How many people did you see on the side walk? Was there a sidewalk there? How many cars were beside or behind you? What kind of car was in front of you? I'm betting you can't remember anything like that like you would if you'd been paying attention.

My company has put together a $750,000 travelling driving safety program I attended a few weeks ago. They said statistics said that since the car was invented speed was the #1 killer in car accidents. In less than 10 years cell phones have doubled the numbers of speed.

On a near daily basis I am endangered or delayed by some schidtstain ffuukking with a phone. The law ought to be simple. A violation of the law (swerving out of lane, no turn signal, slow in the left lane, not going when the light turns green) coupled with the officer witnessing you dicking with your phone gets you a distracted driving ticket.

Treat these offenses seriously. For example the second one nets you a suspension and forces you into the high risk insurance pool.

Anyone who says he can text while driving safely is either a fool or a liar. Reminds me of those guys I used to know who claimed they did better work when stoned.

I am all for pulling phone records after every accident or incident, if that's what it takes to enforce even the distracted driving law.

I'm one of those troglodytes who won't own a smart phone. I also drive at the speed limit, in the right lane. One reason for both is the things I see while driving. The stupid stuff I see people doing while driving - or the way they drive - scares the flying fudge out of me. I have been in danger in my life, but never more so than when I'm on the highway.

In general, I hate laws designed to control my life and the way I lead it. But I'm a rational and safe man. Others out there are stupid enough that society has to be protected from them. They're also too damn stupid to obey those laws, unfortunately. That goes for all you "I drive over the limit because I'm good at it" types. Substitute "I can text, eat, read, masturbate while driving" for speeding and see that you NASCAR wannabes are no different.

I S

We have similar laws in Ark and they're getting more serious.

I use a Bluetooth when driving. If someone texts me, I call them if it's important. IF I must respond by text I STOP and then text.

Actually I use a Bluetooth most of the time anyway. I don't often HOLD the phone in my hand. I use power equipment,
lawn mower, weed eater, chain saw & tractor A LOT so I'm used to wearing the B t.
Phone on vibrate doesn't work for me with power equipment. The B t rings IN my ear.

I'm on the road often and I see drivers -- men & women -- texting or something on their phones and looking AT their laps or
down & right PLUS they CAN'T drive straight. It's more like a snake's track. OBVIOUS. Oh to be a Cop.

The laws are all made for different people...…..LEO's and everyone else.
Case in point, when we lived in Alaska the Chief of Police rear ended the car in front of him that was stopped at a traffic light. Seems the Chief was texting while driving. But he said it was a mission essential text so it was OK.
Law should apply equally, no keyboard playing by anyone while driving, period.

Our freeway speed limit is 80, 70 for trucks. So, we have cars going 80, trucks going 70, plus many drivers who don't want to go 80. It's a constant mess of playing bumper cars. It's safer if trucks have the same limit as cars to reduce passing although many large trucks can't go 80. They can barely top 70 as seen when they pass each other. Add in a bunch of drivers playing with their phones and it's a very dangerous game.

Absolutely ! I'm all for that.

I am in favor of the no hand held cell phone laws. Driving over the road in the 18 wheeler, every day I see somebody getting stupid. Like driving 50 mph in the left lane in a 70 mph zone. Swerving.
About a dozen times a day I see this, and 98 percent of the time it is somebody texting on a cell phone.

I oppose seat belt laws. If you don't wear a seat belt it has no bearing on how you drive.
But hand holding a cell phone uses a good chunk of your brain, and it makes you a worse driver. It makes you a menace to other drivers.

I have had two friends killed by texting drivers in two separate incidents. Of all the laws concerning driving behaviour, the laws covering cell phones while driving have the most support from me. GD

My Niece was killed by some brain dead bitch who ran a red light and t boned her while texting.Anyone who has to be continuously texting or using the phone while driving is already brain dead.I have to do all I can to restrain my self from running brain dead idiots off the road when I see them texting or calling while driving.

This is a fact!




July 4th weekend 2016 I was hit head on by a driver who was texting. I was out of work for 4 months recovering from surgeries. It was pure luck no one was killed. I'll feel the effects of the accident the rest of my life. Studies have shown texting is as bad or worse than drunk driving.

Look Ma. No hands!

Just thankful we are the least regulated state in the nation,
Big brother and his 3 grade keep us all safe mentality hall monitor tattle tales DO NOT make the world a better place

They always get the horn from me.

I hope the driver had the insurance to cover you. Somehow I doubt it.

I am thankful for that. But that doesn't mean we have to be stupid about it.Don't need another law - just need to have a system that holds the irresponsible people accountable when they screw up. Get in a wreck or get caught swerving....pull the records and see if you're on the phone. If so, distracted driving citation. I don't know what the fine is for DD, but it should be stiff and include notification to one's insurance provider. Should go double for commercial drivers, who are supposed to be professionals.

Absolutely. "Mission critical" is a lame excuse for endangering others. Someone forgot that the overall mission is "protect and serve".

Wai, wai, wait a dog-gone minute! Slooooooooooooooooowwwwwwww down!




You mean we can't masturbate while driving now?

Works for me

Do you expect anything more ? Who you Baby Daddy ?

No hand held or texting over in Arkansas, no texting or hand held here in Oklahoma in school zones, the hypocrisy of the law is stupid funny.

She thinks she has a flat face now, best grip those damn bars mom.

I think this is somewhere in Asia.

Big fat black chick in a Lincoln Aviator rear ends a Ram 1500 into me in a Toyota Camry and I went into a brand new Audi. Of course she was under insured. We had a good witnessed that said all she did was swerve, no brake lights. The cops assumed she was on her phone. Nobody was hurt but the impact teepeed the bed of the Ram. I suppose that absorbed a lot of the energy of the impact.

I used to tap the air horn on the fire engine in traffic when I would see people texting. I quit because I thought if one of those idiots crashed it would somehow be my fault. But in stop and go traffic here it is amazing what distracts drivers. People with magazines or book or newspapers on their steering wheel. a PLATE full of food, women putting makeup, hand held video games. It is no surprise at the amount of rear enders in slow traffic.

The people who claim to be able to drive safely while texting remind me of the people who claim to be a safer driver after a few drinks. Idiots. How many times have I had to dodge one of them, or swerve over, or slam on my brakes . Trouble is, they think they are doing just fine, but fail to see the other drivers and pedestrians they are endangering with their antics.

No [bleep]!, A Suzuki Smash.................

I text and drive while drinking. That's why they make seat belts, airbags, and cupholders. Duh.

<Montana font off>

So what are we gonna do? Make it illegal to punch up another radio station while driving? Adjust the temp on the heater/AC? Change the defrost to floor heat?

Each of those actions take your attention away from the road longer than swiping the answer button on your phone.

Now admittedly, there are a lot of people out there without the mental acuity to multitask even such mundane items as turning off the heater while driving. And each individual should be responsible for his abilities and actions. Just like with gun ownership.

But there are folks out there with the ability to fly fighter jets and simultaneously operate weapons systems/avoid enemy fire while talking on the radio. Truckers have been using the CB for 60 years while driving, and no one has been worried about that.

I do not understand why we have to dumb down the laws for the most limited in society, and force the most gifted to abide by them.

The laws are always written for the lowest common denominator these days. We live in a society where no matter what bad thing happens, there must be a law passed after it happens in a feel good effort to legislate it never happening again. .

Do I have to explain why that's a really bad analogy?



You gotta be kidding me. Besides the further bad analogy (push button - talk vs spelling out words (badly) while looking at tiny screen), a lot of us have seen truckers all over the road with mic in hand.


Distracted driving is what distracted driving does. It doesn't get enforced (if at all) unless it shows itself by action.

Yep, the laws only exist to make money, period.

I you want to have a law that states 'Mandatory 5 years prison sentence if you kill some one while texting and driving', fine. Otherwise it's a not about safety and all about money.

Again, people are being ticketed for something that MIGHT happen. Just like a guy drinking a beer and driving. Though I know lots of 'CONSERVATIVES' on the 'Fire agree with it.

I am not talking about texting. I am talking about the simple act of swiping the button to answer a call and talking on the phone, which is illegal in many states including Oregon.

If a cop passes you on the road, and you have a phone to your ear, it is an instant $300 ticket, as advertised by signs along the hiway in Oregon.

And tell me how my analogies are wrong when used to demonstrate that different folks have differing abilities. Do you think a fighter pilot is incapable of answering a phone call while cruising down the interstate at 70 mph in his automobile?

Should be NO laws against it, period. [bleep] the [bleep] nanny SOB's and so called 'conservatives' that are for it.


They need to stick the distracted driving law straight up asses of MADD moms

Even ex-fighter pilots know better than to try.

Back in the Myth Busters era, even hands off phone conversations were worse that DUI. Their challenges were a bit tougher than mindless conversations like "oh nothing," as drivers had to repeat phrases, solve math problems, and do other reasoning tasks.

Been center punched head on once by a texting lady driving a van. Her rig did not fare well going up against a long bed F350 crew cab with a serious roo guard up front. Absolutely totaled her rig, never touched the grill on ours, and she had a death grip on her phone as they hauled her off in an ambulance.

The only gripe I have against these phone regulations, is they exclude law enforcement. They are no more talented than the rest of the population.

Likely, none of this phone business will ever apply to me. One can easily reach me in my office or at home. If elsewhere, I am out of touch and do not want to be bothered. I was recently on a 12-13 day elk hunt, and although there was coverage, there was never a need to touch bases with Cookie. Our guide, however, went to his screen about every 10 to 15 minutes.

I do have a flip phone, but it lives on top of our microwave in the kitchen and I do not answer it.

Would built in Farraday cages prevent cell phone communications in vehicles?

Might be a solution.

Then again, there'd be folks sticking their left arms out the window, trying to text with one thumb, while looking out the window trying to read the text about what kind of bowel movement their buddy had this morning. At 70 mph on a morning commute.

I shouldn't have to check every car coming toward me to see if the driver's eyes are looking at their phone, so I can be prepared to swerve when they cross the center line. But I do most times. I've become much more aware of oncoming traffic in recent years. And I've always left a cushion between me and the driver ahead at stops and keep eyes on the mirror, and preferably an "out" if there's any way to do that too.

Geno

Shouldn't have to worry if every gun sold will be used to murder a family member. Sound familiar?

The screen on my slide-open phone is 1 1\4in by 5\8in.

Have you spent much time driving between Mt. Home and Boise? I get the impression that some fighter pilots think the same as you. I witnessed a rear end collision where the driver had the phone to her ear. I saw the whole thing. Fighter pilots don't have to worry about the guy ahead of them slamming on the brakes or spinning out on ice, multiplied by however many cars are on the road. So yeah, it's a bad analogy.

I can agree that Oregon's law may go too far, but we have the technology to work around it so it doesn't bother me. Heck - I see people just talking to each other in person in the car that can't drive a straight line or negotiate a curve. We should all be scared to hold that phone while driving.

Train operators can't even have the phone turned on while moving,and they're on rails. Trust me when I tell you that you should be happy about that.

And, BTW - you realize how few of us could qualify to be a fighter pilot, based on awareness and response times alone, right?

Well, crap. I was thinking Payette would be a fine place to buy if I ever left Alaska. Guess it's Yellow Pine now.... It's closer to the trail head anyway...

I fully agree. I am one of those people who needs NO distractions in heavy traffic. Especially in unfamiliar places such as on vacation. I even turn the radio off, and do not want anyone talking to me except for advisory directions for navigation, even in Anchorage or Fairbanks, both of which I drive in regularly.

In unfamiliar cars (rentals) I pull over to adjust anything, radio, etc before I drive. I do not take calls or text messages at all while in motion, anywhere. I can turn on/off the radio or hit scan in both our personal vehicles, or set cruise control, all of which is memorized as to location where I don't need to take my eyes off the road, or put part of my brain elsewhere in conversation, tc for more than a brief moment, but that's the extent of which I am willing to do while in motion.

And I'm certainly not the only one on the road that needs to do so. ANY distraction is dangerous, I don't care how good you THINK you are at handling it - it IS a distraction. And you better be prepared for people like me, who think they can handle such distraction, and can't, and so engage.

Personally, I think all "civilian" cars should be manufactured to disable all cell phone use from the interior. Many times i see people- especially women, talking hands free with a blank look on their faces- you know where their mind /attention is- and it isn't on their driving.

People just don't take driving seriously enough. We all think that if we're in an accident, it's going to be the other guy's fault. Truth of the matter is, although the law may not see it that way, unless a meteor falls out of the sky from your blind side to hit you, any accident you have is at least partially your fault. Used to be a campaign back int he seventies for people to drive defensively. For some reason, we've lost sight of that. You can't drive defensively with a phone in your hands.

You can touch or swipe your phone in Oregon to answer it.

https://www.oregon.gov/ODOT/Safety/Pages/Distracted.aspx

"Oregon’s basic law says it is illegal to drive while holding or using an electronic device (e.g. cell phone, tablet, GPS, laptop). As of January 1, 2018, courts have the ability to waive the fine for first-time offenders who attend an approved Distracted Driving Avoidance course. There are some exceptions, but for the most part, it’s best to just turn off your device when you are driving.

Here are a few cases where the new law does not apply:

When using hands-free or built-in devices, if you are 18 years of age or older.
Use of a single touch or swipe to activate or deactivate the device.
When parked safely, i.e., stopped in a designated parking spot. It is NOT legal to use the device when stopped at a stop light, stop sign, in traffic, etc.
While providing or summoning medical help and no one else is available to make the call.
Tow truck or bus drivers following the federal rules for CDL holders.
When using a two-way radio if you are a CB user, school bus driver, utility truck driver in scope of employment.
If you are a HAM radio operator age 18 years or older.

"

I never text and driven
Unless I have had a few shots. To steady my hands.

Sober, I'm too shaky, I screw the texts up.

I like that. If I had a dollar for every time I sat at a green light behind some dickweasel on their phone, I could buy me a truckload of ammo to calm my road rage.

Can't tell you how many times when I did valve work in Anchorage on a busy roadside in the winter I would look up and see someone driving there ear glued to there phone, make eye contact and the steering hand would follow steering towards me or my coworkers.

You need all your facilities on our winter roads. And if you get hit little or no consequence.

That being said I think the Oregon law is a bad one. For instance, what is a single touch or swipe. For the entire driving session? Every ten minutes. Ten seconds? Why is a school bus driver exempt?

Been pulled over for drunk driving, have we?

So having someone on his phone and then causing this damage (not to mention screwing my neck up) is good?

What the heck. Let's start a conversation defending mixing booze & guns now. It would fit right in here with some.

Seriously though, back to masturbating while driving....

It’s not the act of holding the phone that’s the problem; it’s that your brain is engaged in what you’re talking about.

How many times have you been at a light, waiting to go straight through an intersection and the light turns green for you, but the oncoming folks continue turning left in front of you? First car, she’s on her phone. Second car, he’s on his phone. Third car, she’s on her phone. Their eyes are wide open but they ain’t seeing schiff.

I see the same kind of thing every day when a flight student starts doing his landing checklist. They’ll lose 100’of altitude and wonder how it happened. The way I put it to them is this; your eyeballs and your brain and hands can do some amazing things; they can even get you aboard the boat at night if you just let them do their thing but once you start talking your mouth gets in the way of the data transfer between your eyeballs, your brain and your hands.

Foolish analogy. Texting while driving is like firing guns up in the air out the window. Only a small chance that someone might get killed, you probably think. Is that OK with you?

If I made the laws, texting while driving would get you one year in prison.

Somewhere I read that, since Columbine, 200 kids have been killed by mass school shootings but 13,000, IIRC, have been killed by texting while driving.

Sounds like Darwin uses modern tools too.

then there's texting while shooting, how well would they fair in their marksmanship?.. :grin;

My Friend,,

It is my observation that law enforcement people are not any more capable of multitasking while driving than anyone else. The years I worked patrol I would pull over to read my MDT (computer). Handling the radio is one thing, but attempting to read call notes while dodging extremely unpredictable cars/drivers who tend to do virtually anything when the overhead lights come on, is exceedingly dangerous.

The dispatchers used to get extremely irritated with me when I was running code, as I would ask for info over the radio.

Their reply was "check your call notes"

My typical reply would be: "I am running code, I am not going to take my eyes off the road".

It made them mad and a few times they complained to my bosses.

Zero fuggs given was pretty much my answer. I am not going to wrap up a car, injure myself, someone else, and/or not make it to the call, all because I was distracted.

If it was something that was sensitive and could not be broadcast, then you simply pulled over and read it.

The punchline is that LE people crash frequently due to being distracted due to cell phone, MDTs, etc. A lot of guys earn days off without pay, letters of reprimand, etc, all due to these things.

Humans are humans, no matter their job, or to paraphrase "I am the only one profeshunal enough to handle dis Glock Fortay"...

Merry Christmas!

The only time I shot out the window of a moving vehicle with a handgun while driving drunk, I lost the handgun. It's a Jennings .22 in case anyone found one.

Mackey.

Darn shame more of your brothers don't have your humility.


That topic has often been on my mind regarding hands free laws.
If I was king,
Any device moving 10 mph would go into sleep mode.

Travis ( Dave ) izatyou ( is that you ) ?

Thanks Mackay. Well thought and well written.

April 2013
NTSB: Pilot's texting contributed to medevac crash,( incident date August 26, 2011, concerning AS350 B2, N352LN )
NTSB issued a safety alert after accident investigators ruled that texting by the pilot of an air medical helicopter
contributed to a crash that killed all four people on board.

The five-member board that looked into the cause of the August 2011 crash unanimously agreed that it was caused by
a distracted and tired pilot who skipped preflight safety checks, which would have revealed his helicopter was low on fuel.

Investigators believe Freudenberg engaged in an extensive text conversation with a colleague about dinner plans while
he was conducting mandatory pre-flight checks of his helicopter.

Because of those distractions, Freudenberg missed two opportunities to detect that his helicopter did not have sufficient fuel
for his mission, investigators said.
When Freudenberg finally noticed his fuel was low, he was half-way through the first leg of his flight.
He arrived at the hospital, picked up the patient, and looked for an alternate, closer destination to refuel.
But his 13-minute stop was again disrupted by a private text conversation, and he took off after miscalculating
that he could reach his destination.

The pilot, James Freudenberg, 34, of Rapid City, S.D., sent 25 text messages and received 60 more during the course
of his 12-hour shift, including 20 messages exchanged during the hour and 41 minutes before the crash.
As a former Army helicopter pilot who served in Iraq, had worked for the company just under a year.

He misled his company's communications center that he had adequate fuel for the mission, radioing from the hospital
that he had 45 minutes of fuel when he had only 30 minutes.

The NTSB said other factors leading to the crash included the pilot's inability to perform a crucial flight maneuver
[transition to autorotation in prescribed time] after he ran out of fuel.

Pilot likely was fatigued, having failed to take advantage of his adequate off-duty hours to get sleep.


from NTSB;
Distraction due to non-operational use of personal electronic devices during flight and ground operations:

The pilot’s texting, which occurred while flying, while the helicopter was being prepared for return to service,
and during his telephone call to the communication specialist when making his decision to continue the mission,
was a self-induced distraction that took his attention away from his primary responsibility to ensure safe flight
operations.


NTSB Safey Alert 025 , May 2013.
https://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-alerts/Documents/SA_025.pdf

Well Girlhunter, how about it ? Are you Travis ( Dave ) in disguise ? Write like he does.

Thanks for that relevant post. Pretty sad news, and not an isolated case. Anyone interested can also google Chatsworth commuter collision.

Laws like those banning hand held devices are more about enhancing the revenue stream than they are about promoting public safety

I could believe that, if they were actually enforceable. Actual citations with any real cost seem to be rare.

Yep!!!

PREZACTLY

Couldn’t be. He didn’t mention TX sucks. 😜

for the record, in my area, cyclists running red lights are [by far] more common than people texting while driving.
in fact such type cyclists are a daily occurrence plague...one can see individuals, or various size groups of them
running the red as a staggered or strung out pack, on their commute to work.

1999

5-speed Blazer , hamburger in my right hand, kyocera phone on my shoulder, 20oz mt dew in my lap. Right light to red light

Grover-IV aka silent Bob...packin the bowl. I told him it's your turn bitch.

I had cognivities to spare.

Seen some chicks do some great juggling acts with steering wheel, phone and lipstick-
..all while looking in rear view mirror to apply such, ..

The irony of a poster who defends pedal bikes on highways complaining about someone delaying his commute. TFF

What pray tell would be the appropriate charge for the arrogant homo coasting along in his spandex on a bicycle delaying traffic and endangering everyone else on the blind turns etc?

Followup - Idaho will most likely soon have a handheld law. It just passed the senate 30-5 and it's highly likely it will soon pass the house, too. It not only prohibits hand held phones but also prohibits driving with with headphones or while watching a video.

It was earlier commented that Idaho had nullified a hand held law in Boise. They nullified all local laws to avoid a patchwork of laws that confused drivers. They're going for a single state-wide law.

I cant honestly say that we have seen an increase is MVA's since the proliferation of cell phones.

We predicted that the roads would turn red. Has not happened here.

The Idaho bill outlaws headphones. I wonder if that includes the goofy looking bluetooth gizmos that I see sticking out of people's ears.

I drive about sixty miles (one way) to work. EVERY DAY, some moron tries to kill me whilst texting or driving at or below the speed limit in the left lane and "formation flying" with the other moron in the right lane. In the flying business we have something called Single Frequency Approach (SFA), meaning you stay on the same radio freq when descending below 2500' AGL. There's a reason for that and aviators are a bit better trained than today's drivers. I'd make it an automatic one year/1K dollar fine for texting and driving.

Idaho Shooter: Your topic reminds me of the absolutely tragic death of the teenage honor student from Idaho that was cruising down the freeway "texting" when she hit the rear end of a semi-truck that was going the same direction as she and the semi was doing 60 M.P.H. at the time it was hit in the rear!
The resulting collision caused the death of that precious teenage girl.
Distracted driving is dangerous driving - no matter what the distraction is!
I have investigated way more than my share of fatal vehicular accidents and it sorrows me to the core to see a human life ended over such simple human errors!
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I have a Pixel phone with two front facing stereo speakers,no earbuds or bluetooth needed..The google assistant (Hey google) will send text or read them back to you without touching your phone in any way..I only use it when traveling to let our son know where we are etc..Works great without any attachments or bluetooth..

Is that the one that happened on the steep hill on I-84 just west of Hammett? If so, just a very short time before the wreck, she'd texted a friend that she really shouldn't be texting as it was dangerous.

The problem is, in a fighter, you are not in traffic and not trying to hold yourself in an 8 ft lane. If my altitude varies by a hundred feet, or my track varies by a hundred feet, I am not going to run into anyone. In a pattern where precision counts, radio traffic is absolutely limited and done with a mic button on the throttle and a headset.

Oh yippy skippy just what we need more gooberment control

I get the intention... However, you can still mess with the radio, you can still eat, read a newspaper, etc while driving... In TN here it is so bad, you cannot even touch your phone while driving or face a hefty fine... They did the laws wrong... they targeted the phones... not the distraction part...

Idaho considered a bill that would have prohibited a driver from eating or drinking. It didn't get very far.

Laws such as this have two goals. First is to make the rubes think government is out to make them safe. The second is to enhance the revenue stream.

Touche.......

Or to try and keep old [bleep] that can barely operate their vehicle or phone, let alone both at the same time, from killing a young person that hasn't yet wasted their life yet.

This chart seems to indicated that cell phone use while driving is more prevalent with young adults. I think it's from 2016. However, it is too vague on exactly what they're testing. I don't know if it indicates an accident rate or if's just the number of drivers using phones.