cell phone drivers, the modern bike ride outlook?

I was blessed,
When i was 19 and riding my first Z-1 , there were no cell phones really.
Thinking back i can remember surviving the average way too fast rides on nothing more than youths cat like reflexes and dumb luck .Even though I can remember folks swerving in cars and old folks exercising their rights to roads .I even remember having cars bolt out of driveways in reverse ,when it seemed they were looking over their shoulders right at me,to my young mind they were aiming at me .
More often i was the most dangerous vehicle in a 100 mile radius and it was Me and my Z-1 that were scaring and startling folks and not all of this was on accident.
Now I'm getting old and hopefully like an old buck after a few hunting seasons,I too have become a tad wiser and a lot more cautious.I for sure have lost my reflex time and can feel when a sudden bird that is aimed for my faceshield takes longer to recognize and react to.
Today though is a whole new ball game for weird roads,I notice the cell phone driver daily,more so when in a car and unable to weave and pass and dominate traffic,I sit stuck behind some driver who misses cars by inches and nearly kills us all.This seems to happen a lot too..Either I am being more sensitive or the cell phone while driving thing is getting worse where i live.
The law in Ca is maybe calming down on pulling folks over for using one while driving,and that may be the reason I see more and more cars running lights--going into the bike lane---jerking the wheel all of sudden--and putting a wheel into the oncoming traffic on and off for miles.......
Working at the loading ramp to a local E.R room for the witching hours also has made me ultra sensitive to driving dangers and now,I'm sure to mention to Amy to drive safe whenever we part.
I am guilty of using my phone while in the car,Does this change back to safer days start with me.Of course like a drunk driver will tell you,i think I'm driving okay.
What do folks think?Is the situation getting worse or am i just getting older and grumpier.I wrote this to start a chat about the dangers and ,and maybe to hear some stories that will help me to keep those around me and myself safer.

1st off your blessed cause you dont live in Ohio. We are a bit slow maybe waiting for a few more innocent people to die. I almost didnt get back into motorcycling cause of the crazy drivers out there. it was time for a riding jacket and gloves. Of course after seeing this shiny example of a 83 csr 650, I just had to have her. Its like clock work while riding in a car, and watching others swerve in and out of the lane and bingo they on the phone. I wont drive at night cause of it. Ride safe, thanks for your thoughts.

I hear ya, there is way to many people on the road who really don't belong there. I've seen a woman with the phone to her ear, coffee cup in the 1 hand that's sorta on the wheel, and 2 kids in the back that she is trying to give some attention to as see pulls out into traffic leaving the drive through! F***! I thought see was going to kill everyone, she just speed out there with everyone else squealing and swerving to miss her! She was absolutely Clueless to it all and just drove off around the corner.
There has always been the drunks, and the really old, the really bad, and the super I'm the best driver in the world get out of my way people who you had to look out for. But now its everyone pretty much, and a lot of states are changing their laws for the phone use, but it is way to little and way to late, these new drivers look at the stupid phone more than the road!
Its no wonder that Insurance is mandatory and that the rates just keep going up no mater how good your individual record is.

Texting scares me more than talking on a cellphone, they got to keep looking at the damn phone while they are weaving worse that a drunk.

Hell when younger I did things that would scare me today, like buying a motorcycle toker pipe, I could smoke a joint while riding at 55 (speed limit back then) and it wouldn't go out or run from the wind. Nice little contraption I had, but damn what was I thinking back then.

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I'm officially old and grumpy on this subject.
I think they need to dump these stupid little fines they've created and make it a criminal offence with the same licence suspensions as are applied to drinking and driving. It is an activity that is just as dangerous to the public safety on our streets and highways imo. I wonder, no actually I'd be terrified to see, what the actual statistics are on "people dead due to dumbass flapping or texting."

Let's face it most people operating vehicles can't competently drive to begin with, hence the endless stream of daily avoidable accidents. If the licence bureau wasn't a cash cow turnstile operation, I doubt that many who are, would actually be allowed to drive if given proper testing.

For years now drivers have been becoming less and less attentive to their driving, while the car companies just keep adding more gadgets and gizmos inside for them to be distracted by.

Once many moons ago, I was taken down on my ride by people looking for flower beds to look at! I barely contained my rage to stomp them where they stood. (the cops took their info and sent them packing for my mental benefit I believe).

Knowing my own nature, I'm thinking if movement is still possible to me if a texter/flapper ever takes me down. I'll still be beating their head in with their I-phone when the cops pull me off. I'll be sure to be screaming "CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW!" "CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW!!"

I pray daily for the final advent of auto drive cars or transports for the cattle. :blink:

I'm convinced that, in addition to the lack of attention caused by cell phones, drivers (and I use the term loosely)are so confident in the newer cars safety systems that they just don't worry about getting into accidents. They're surrounded by air bags, insured up the ying yang so, why worry about holding their lane or some piddly little motorcycle that would hardly cause a scratch on the plastic of their behemouth SUV.

When I grew up driving a "real" car with a metal dash, un-padded steering wheel, drum brakes all around, lap belts (or none at all), you knew you would pay a price in case of a fender bender so courtesy and vigilance played a big part in how you drove.

Sonny (<---old fart)

I had a Woman blow a Stop sign and turn right in front of me going the same way I was going, right in front of our County Court House and guess what she was doing!!! On the Cell Phone!!! If i was in a car I would have plowed her for not being able to stop. Thank goodness for a light bike with good brakes! You really have to play babysitter for everyone elses driving while riding a bike.

The accident wasn't funny, but the little kid was...

Driving in San Diego rush hour traffic, I pulled into the left hand turn lane only to get T-boned from the right side moments later. This driver was coming out of an apartment complex near the intersection, drove through the stop sign, drove through the parking lane, and drove through two lanes of moving traffic to hit my brand new 1993 Pontiac Grand Am. I didn't even have the plates yet. He had the nerve to tell his insurance agent I was going south in a northbound lane (in San Diego rush hour traffic). When I showed the agent the intersection where it happened, he dropped the 50/50 he was trying to get, paid for my car, and dropped me a nice pain and suffering check.

But, the funny part...

He had a little kid in the car who came up to me after the accident and said "we got no radio, we got no heater, and now we got no headlights!" Thank goodness he said that because his daddy and I were about to finish the deed.

First, let me say thanks to Trianglelaguna for posting this. I feel it's important to remind ourselves of the dangers while riding. We all know that ultimately it's our responsibility to ensure our safety and that of our passenger when out riding, but I find that it's human nature to become complacent if we are not constantly reminded of situations that can arise as the result of another's actions. I personally believe that, in general, the ubiquitous cell phone has resulted in a population that is distracted in all aspects of life. It has the most serious of consequences while driving. I'll give two personal examples.

About a month ago whilst driving home from work, I get behind a guy who appears to be about 55 yrs old driving a little Subaru wagon. I was driving my pickup and could see down into his car to tell that he is in the process of texting back and forth. When the light changes and we get rolling, he continues to text and swerve to the oncoming lane and then over-corrects to hanging his wheels off the right side of the road. Now this is a two lane with no shoulders at all, and I have about 9 miles to cover on this road going home. So I decided to honk every time he put his head down, and eventually I got him to stop. Am I wrong to think that a man who is 20yrs my senior, should know not to text and drive?

Second example is fresh in my mind because it happened last night coming back from my Sister-in-law's house. It's about 11:00pm and I am traveling north on a very busy city street with three lanes in either direction plus a center turn lane. A Harris County Precinct 4 Sheriff's deputy comes up from behind moving 10mph faster than the traffic. When he passes me he abruptly slows to my speed, hangs there for a few seconds, and then swerves halfway into my lane barely one car length ahead of me. This got my attention, and I noticed that he had his dome light on with, you guessed it, cell phone in hand. I pulled along side and stared into his window and couldn't get him to look up for probably 10 seconds. When he finally realizes that I'm watching him, he speeds away, still dialing, still swerving, and now exceeding the speed limit by 20mph. I follow, since I know he's not paying attention. When we stop at the next light, I pull along side and stare into his passenger window again until I do get his eye contact, but at this point, he is on his phone call and won't even roll down his window. I didn't take it any further since Brandy and the kids were in the car with me. I don't want to risk getting taken to jail in front of my kids. I just wonder what he would have done if we had flipped the script. I bet I'm getting a reckless driving citation at least if I'm the one using two lanes for my car.