Cell phones are making riding too dangerous...

[SMS]

Mark wrote:

> Add drinking coffee to the above. It's so easy to spill and burn
> yourself.

It's a bad idea to drink and drive because you might go over a bump and
spill your drink. Still, most cars have cup holders, and most drivers
are using either spill-proof mugs, or have paper cups with lids that
prevent much spillage.

Drinking coffee while cycling is no problem. Google "Bicycle Coffee" and
click on "I'm Feeling Lucky."

Steve
http://bicyclecoffeesystems.com/

 

[Crescentius Vespasianus]

>
> This hasn't worked in the UK. The government have been increasing tax
> on fuel above inflation for many years (from an already high level)
> and traffic levels are still growing rapidly. Petrol (Gas) is now
> 103p per litre which equates to over 7.5 USD per gallon.
>
> I think the trouble with using taxation to control a behaviour is that
> it only really impacts on the poorest. The majority of people just
> absorb the extra cost.
>
> M.
------------
I noticed that here also, in a previous
thread I did. As the price of goes up,
miles driven goes up. I call it "the
dog in the manger syndrome." The only
thing that would actually get driving
down is rationing.

 

[Squat'n Dive]

On Jan 5, 9:00 pm, Crescentius Vespasianus <[email protected]>
wrote:
> For the life of me, I can't figure out
> why people want to talk on phone, while
> their driving. It's 1 out of 3 cars
> here, and it's really making riding
> hell. The drivers are getting closer,
> they make poor decisions, and they do
> some pretty weird stuff. One phenom

The cagers are getting close without the phones too.
I was scared sh*ess on a way home in a rainstorm
on friday night. One f*er literally went 4 inches away
from me. There was no question in my mind that
impatient p*ck did that on purpose.
Violence is not a question: it's the answer.
Just track down and purge the gene pool of the
f*ing cagers pulling stunts like that.

 

[Squat'n Dive]

On Jan 7, 8:03 am, SMS <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> http://bicyclecoffeesystems.com/

would a sealed lead acid battery stay sealed in an event of a crash?
A Nihm battery for L&M solo weighed a ton. how much do 5AH lead acide
batteries weigh?

 

[SMS]

Squat'n Dive wrote:
> On Jan 7, 8:03 am, SMS <[email protected]> wrote:
>> http://bicyclecoffeesystems.com/
>
> would a sealed lead acid battery stay sealed in an event of a crash?
> A Nihm battery for L&M solo weighed a ton. how much do 5AH lead acide
> batteries weigh?

A 5AH battery weighs about 4 pounds.

Whether or not it remained sealed in a crash would depend on where it's
being carried, and the severity of the crash. I carry it in a rear trunk
bag, which is padded, and it would probably remain sealed just fine.

 

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per Mark:
>Add drinking coffee to the above. It's so easy to spill and burn
>yourself.

But there's a crucial diff between eating/drinking and cell phone
use.

The eating/drinking can be conducted purely at the driver's
convenience. Long straightaway.... no traffic, take a sip or a
bite...

OTOH, the person on the other end of the cell phone conversation
isn't part of that little covenant. They demand your attention
all the time, no matter what.
--
PeteCresswell

 

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per Bill Taylor:
>The only answer, as I see it, is an increase in the motor fuel tax, to
>discourage discretionary driving, and fund repair and upgrades to our
>transportation infrastrucure.

I like it in Germany around Limburg. Maybe a relic of the past
and impossible here... but somebody on a bike or a moped can put
in some *really* serious miles and get to actual useful
destinations and never be even close to moving cars - except when
they hit a city... but then they've got very wide bike lanes.
--
PeteCresswell

 

[still just me]

On Mon, 07 Jan 2008 19:52:02 -0500, "(PeteCresswell)" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>But there's a crucial diff between eating/drinking and cell phone
>use.
>
>The eating/drinking can be conducted purely at the driver's
>convenience. Long straightaway.... no traffic, take a sip or a
>bite...
>
>OTOH, the person on the other end of the cell phone conversation
>isn't part of that little covenant. They demand your attention
>all the time, no matter what.


And eating really seems to be a different part of brain function...
something that's just a mechanical action that multitasks without
difficulty. Talking on a phone distracts a vital part of you brain -
part that you need to drive.

 

[dabac]

... Talking on a phone distracts a vital part of you brain - part that you need to drive.

I read a test some time ago that, strangely enough, stated that talking on the phone, was more distracting than talking to a passenger.
I had no trouble believing that carrying on a conversation while driving would prove to be distracting, but I was quite amazed that the medium for the conversation was so influential.

 

[dabac]

..If you think the talkers are dangerous, wait until you've seen a few doing text messaging and/or email.... -)

Let's not forget the Ipods. I passed (with difficulty and trepidation) a very wobbly cyclist the other day. Turned out that she'd put her Ipod(or other slim mp3 player) on the handlebar, put her hand on it and was navigating through playlists or something with her thumb while riding through city traffic. Gve me a strong feeling of the ghost of Darwin hovering nearby...

 

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per dabac:
>I read a test some time ago that, strangely enough, stated that talking
>on the phone, was more distracting than talking to a passenger.
>I had no trouble believing that carrying on a conversation while
>driving would prove to be distracting, but I was quite amazed that the
>medium for the conversation was so influential.

Makes sense to me. With the passenger, there's an unspoken
covenant that when the driving situation demands more attention,
the conversation will lapse until things get better. Not so with
the person on the other end of a phone conversation.
--
PeteCresswell

 

[[email protected]]

On Tue, 8 Jan 2008 21:35:23 +1100, dabac
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>(PeteCresswell) Wrote:
>> ..If you think the talkers are dangerous, wait until you've seen a few
>> doing text messaging and/or email.... -)
>
>Let's not forget the Ipods. I passed (with difficulty and trepidation)
>a very wobbly cyclist the other day. Turned out that she'd put her
>Ipod(or other slim mp3 player) on the handlebar, put her hand on it and
>was navigating through playlists or something with her thumb while
>riding through city traffic. Gve me a strong feeling of the ghost of
>Darwin hovering nearby...

Dear D,

Last summer, I shouted at an idiot riding head-on at me on the wrong
side of a prairie bike path in the middle of nowhere.

Luckily, my shriek woke him up and he swerved back onto his side of
the path.

For a few moments, I wondered why the hell the jackass had been
looking down at the garage door opener that he was pointing at me.

Then I realized that it wasn't a garage door opener. He had been
looking down at a cell phone in his outstretched hand and pressing its
buttons.

Cheers,

Carl Fogel

 

[Mike]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> On Mon, 07 Jan 2008 19:52:02 -0500, "(PeteCresswell)" <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
> >But there's a crucial diff between eating/drinking and cell phone
> >use.
> >
> >The eating/drinking can be conducted purely at the driver's
> >convenience. Long straightaway.... no traffic, take a sip or a
> >bite...
> >
> >OTOH, the person on the other end of the cell phone conversation
> >isn't part of that little covenant. They demand your attention
> >all the time, no matter what.
>
>
> And eating really seems to be a different part of brain function...
> something that's just a mechanical action that multitasks without
> difficulty. Talking on a phone distracts a vital part of you brain -
> part that you need to drive.
>
Yeah - true. Of course buttering a slice of toast or stir-frying while driving would be another matter entirely.
Mike

 

[still just me]

On Wed, 9 Jan 2008 11:12:12 +1300, Mike <[email protected]>
wrote:


>> And eating really seems to be a different part of brain function...
>> something that's just a mechanical action that multitasks without
>> difficulty. Talking on a phone distracts a vital part of you brain -
>> part that you need to drive.
>>
>Yeah - true. Of course buttering a slice of toast or stir-frying while driving would be another matter entirely.
>Mike

I think that steps into "cooking while driving" - a known danger.

 

[still just me]

On Tue, 08 Jan 2008 08:37:42 -0500, "(PeteCresswell)" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Makes sense to me. With the passenger, there's an unspoken
>covenant that when the driving situation demands more attention,
>the conversation will lapse until things get better. Not so with
>the person on the other end of a phone conversation.

Testing has definitely proved that it's more distracting. My own
theory is that with a phone you are using part of you brain to
"imagine" the other persons's appearance, facial expressions,
demeanor, etc and that part of the brain in somehow linked to driving
attention.

I'm not sure how it works. But, different areas of the brain are
linked in odd and unexpected ways.

 

[(PeteCresswell)]

Per Mike:
>Yeah - true. Of course buttering a slice of toast or stir-frying while driving would be another matter entirely.

And eating spaghetti... don't forget eating spaghetti...
--
PeteCresswell

 

[SMS]

still just me wrote:
> On Wed, 9 Jan 2008 11:12:12 +1300, Mike <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>
>>> And eating really seems to be a different part of brain function...
>>> something that's just a mechanical action that multitasks without
>>> difficulty. Talking on a phone distracts a vital part of you brain -
>>> part that you need to drive.
>>>
>> Yeah - true. Of course buttering a slice of toast or stir-frying while driving would be another matter entirely.
>> Mike
>
> I think that steps into "cooking while driving" - a known danger.

I use this, "http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/12volporfryi.html", to save
time in the morning. I can fry an egg while waiting in traffic. For
toast, I use "http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/12volporovan.html".

The problem with these appliances is that they are very slow because
they can only draw 120 watts or so from the lighter socket. So you need
to have a long commute in order to cook a full meal while driving.

 

[vey]

[email protected] wrote:
> On Tue, 8 Jan 2008 21:35:23 +1100, dabac
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> (PeteCresswell) Wrote:
>>> ..If you think the talkers are dangerous, wait until you've seen a few
>>> doing text messaging and/or email.... -)
>> Let's not forget the Ipods. I passed (with difficulty and trepidation)
>> a very wobbly cyclist the other day. Turned out that she'd put her
>> Ipod(or other slim mp3 player) on the handlebar, put her hand on it and
>> was navigating through playlists or something with her thumb while
>> riding through city traffic. Gve me a strong feeling of the ghost of
>> Darwin hovering nearby...
>
> Dear D,
>
> Last summer, I shouted at an idiot riding head-on at me on the wrong
> side of a prairie bike path in the middle of nowhere.
>
> Luckily, my shriek woke him up and he swerved back onto his side of
> the path.
>
> For a few moments, I wondered why the hell the jackass had been
> looking down at the garage door opener that he was pointing at me.
>
> Then I realized that it wasn't a garage door opener. He had been
> looking down at a cell phone in his outstretched hand and pressing its
> buttons.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Carl Fogel

Shouting doesn't work here. Windows rolled up, air conditioner on,
stereo boomin'. Best thing is to bail and get out of the way.

Just about every time I see a car acting oddly or being driven
erratically, the driver is on a cell phone. Last week I saw one drive
fully 5 feet onto the shoulder of a street that didn't have a curb and
it took him 100 feet to regain control. If I had been in his way, he
would have creamed me and I would have never seen a thing.

 

[John Forrest Tomlinson]

On Tue, 08 Jan 2008 08:37:42 -0500, "(PeteCresswell)" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>Per dabac:
>>I read a test some time ago that, strangely enough, stated that talking
>>on the phone, was more distracting than talking to a passenger.
>>I had no trouble believing that carrying on a conversation while
>>driving would prove to be distracting, but I was quite amazed that the
>>medium for the conversation was so influential.
>
>Makes sense to me. With the passenger, there's an unspoken
>covenant that when the driving situation demands more attention,
>the conversation will lapse until things get better. Not so with
>the person on the other end of a phone conversation.

That's an insightful comment.

 

[John Forrest Tomlinson]

On Tue, 08 Jan 2008 15:30:24 -0800, SMS <[email protected]>
wrote:

>still just me wrote:
>> On Wed, 9 Jan 2008 11:12:12 +1300, Mike <[email protected]>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>>> And eating really seems to be a different part of brain function...
>>>> something that's just a mechanical action that multitasks without
>>>> difficulty. Talking on a phone distracts a vital part of you brain -
>>>> part that you need to drive.
>>>>
>>> Yeah - true. Of course buttering a slice of toast or stir-frying while driving would be another matter entirely.
>>> Mike
>>
>> I think that steps into "cooking while driving" - a known danger.
>
>I use this, "http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/12volporfryi.html", to save
>time in the morning. I can fry an egg while waiting in traffic. For
>toast, I use "http://www.sportsimportsltd.com/12volporovan.html".
>
>The problem with these appliances is that they are very slow because
>they can only draw 120 watts or so from the lighter socket. So you need
>to have a long commute in order to cook a full meal while driving.

I was riding down a long hill in New Jersey a few years ago during
rush hour at just slightly slower than a line of cars was passing me.
And I noticed that the person driving next to me had a magazine or
catalog in his lap open, and it was very scantily clad men in it.
Hmmm.