Michigan's ban on texting while driving went into affect at 12:01 this morning. It's a primary offense, meaning they don't need any other reason to pull you over and ticket you, $100 first offense, $200 for second. I could not be happier!!! Unfortunately, I think it will be a long time before they ban phone calls. Can't come soon enough!

oh yeah!!! I saw this when it first came out months ago. It persuaded me to stop texting while driving! its so disturbing

Hate texting and driving! If you do this, stop, it is stupid, and looks stupid too! Good darn post...best of the day!

edited word.

While I strongly agree that texting while driving is about as stupid as you can get, I see nothing wrong with driving and talking on the phone if you are on a hands free device.

What do you want to do next? Make it illegal to have a conversation with a person sitting with you in the car? I think that's more dangerous then talking on the phone. How often do you turn your head to talk to someone? Don't play the radio?

Somethings people just take too far.

LOL at Michigan...they just passed this law and Cali has had it for how long now?

Unfortunately, Hook, there is a mountain of research that indicates a hands free phone is no safer than carrying on a conversation with a phone in the hand. And each is far more dangerous than talking to someone else in your car.

The reason for this counter-intuitive result appears to be that when you are talking to someone else in your car that person is experiencing the same environment you are. The conversation pauses naturally as each participant observes the traffic conditions and adjusts almost subconsciously to those stimuli.

When you are speaking to someone over a phone, whether held or hands-free, the other person does not adjust to those conditions and encourages you to ignore them as well while you try to put your mind into the conversation.

There are, of course, other ways to distract yourself while driving. Turning to speak to someone in your car is obviously dangerous; dancing to the music on the radio is not advised; and texting is ridiculously risky. But no one should fool themselves into believing that a hands free phone is less dangerous than holding a phone and driving. It isn't.

100% and yes, that was a uninformed choice of words, but I think the gravity of the situation calls for it. Thanks for the edit

Ijsh1120, your research and explanation is dead on (no pun intended) there are also mountains of studies that show both fatal and non-fatal accidents have increased exponentially right in line with cell phone popularity over the last 15 years. The increased numbers of drivers and cars has been factored into these equations, so that fact is a not an issue when analyzing the data. I know of no study that has shown talking on a phone, hands free or not, has little or no impact on the frequency of automobile accidents. With the massive amount of data that is available on this subject, a person would have to be in complete denial to think that talking on cellphones does not dramatically increase the chances of you getting into an accident... or just plain stupid! There was not one single cellphone related accident nationwide for the first 15 years I drove, that oughta tell you something!

I can't agree with you guys more, I get absolutely infuriated when i see
Someone texting while driving. I just don't understand why people do it. So sad to hear stories about deaths from something so stupid as texting and driving.

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I am truly sorry. I think of those humans as special, and the word I used is reserved for *&^%$#'s. PS, we can learn allot form your nephew and those of his nature. God bless.

They need laws for this, especially because of stupid ass teenagers who think the world can't hurt them. They're the worst offenders of stuff like. I lost track of how many times I had to swerve to avoid getting hit by some idiot trying to text while doing 75 miles an hour on a crowded highway, and every time I flip out on them (although the guy who almost hit me because he was reading a book wins).

But truthfully, I've been more distracted by my stereo or my i-pod than my phone. And I don't necessarily agree with the fact that talking a bluetooth set is more dangerous than talking in the car, especially in case where you have people in the front seat, the back seat, the radio's going. I've been way more distracted in those cases than talking on my hands-free.

lol - germans fell for propaganda in the 1930's too.... "protect us big governement from ourselves, we are unable to do it on our own."

[mod delete - no politics]

Texting while driving and laws like this are why I have limo tint on my vehicle bwahahaha....



I think the biggest issue in that video wasn't texting, it was driving while being a teenager.

there was also research that said windsheild wipers should be banned because they distracted drivers back in the early 1900's.....there was research that said the Jews were to blame for Germany's problems post WWI.... there was plenty of research that said smoking cigs isn't dangerous, there's plenty of research that says Global warming is real....

Research is not always right.


All this law is going to do is make people text with their phones down in their laps as opposed to up above the dash.... which is more dangerous.... I argue, looking down as opposed to having it in the line of sight of the road. but whatever, your nanny state doesn't affect me...

I saw this video a while ago. Good message. Made this thread a sticky as anyone driving should see it. If you are a passenger and the driver is texting tell them it ain't cool and to stop. If you are the driver...it still isn't cool. Stop. It isn't worth it.

WOW,,, Horrible video,,, but great message. EVERY driver in the world should watch it.

Here is the crazy thing,, in many areas it is illegal to talk on cell phone,,, unless you are a cop,,, tell me this,, what makes a cop so special? They are human,, and many have MUCH less driving experience than a lot of other people. I have been driving for about 30 years, over a million miles under my belt. Zero accidents that were my fault. One ticket, (very early in my driving life). I used to run a sand drag Jeep,, in mud and sand, (less than ideal conditions) why is a twenty one year old cop a better driver than me, and folks like me?

I see cops talking and texting, or typing on their Tough book while weaving all over the place.

Being that i am only 19 i definitely approve of this, yes im a teenager, and yes i have been tempted to text and drive, but its just way too dangerous and the last thing i wanna do is put my life or another persons life at risk.

bravo Michigan