Do You Talk or Text or Do Other Things While Driving?

Maybe they were lost and trying to call 9-1-1 b/c a 'crazy driver' was honking at them and flipping them off?

Seems to me she might have just been doing it to be a Douche bag because you beeped and flipped her the bird?? !!

*TwinMama ~ You know I adore you...... just pointing something out :-)

** Oh I totally would have done the "beep & flip" LOL I'm not afraid to whip that out whenever necessary ;-)

I talk while driving.
And the woman in question was likely behaving this way because you flipped her off and were honking at her. Some people will do this.
I HATE it when my husband flips people off, it does nothing but make people mad and want to piss you off even more.

oh no I'd honk at her if she was just sitting at a green light but I wouldn't flip her the bird, like I said previously it helps nothing , it only causes more anger. And causes the sitting at the light without moving just to piss you off.

Err they sound like they was lost. Give them a break, they may have been scared and your behavior didn't help.

Perhaps flipping though a map?

I am not lost very often but when it happens it is pretty darn scary especially when you are in a new area. Granted I pull over but I am not sure what I would do if I had four other people in the car who may or may not have been barking orders as well.

No I do not. But then I LOVE to drive. I see it as a sport, an art, not just as a manner of getting from one place to another.

So while I understand your frustration that many (maybe even MOST) other 'drivers' are doing everything but DRIVING the car, I also understand that retaliation WILL NOT MAKE THEM DRIVE BETTER.

:(

Well I hope never to make a mistake on the road near you!!! Take a chill pill woman and calm down! As a transport operator with many drivers out there on the roads I have looked into the research surrounding talk and texting. It is dangerous. you cannot safely drive and talk at the same time. It is distracting. It is surprisingly the same for Bluetooth. I was going to equip all of my drivers with Bluetooth until the research showed that it was just as bad as talking on a hand-held. It is also distracting and the difference between talking to someone who is sitting beside you in the car, compared to someone on the end of the phone is that the person sitting beside you is relatively aware of what is going on on the road and will react accordingly, by, for example, shutting up. The person on the end of the phone will not know what is going on, and will cause more of a distraction by not shutting up. It is human instinct to respond when questioned, so we may be tempted to respond to the person on the phone and put our mind elsewhere instead of on the road.

I talk only if I have to, but people hate talking to me on the phone when I drive because I don't really pay attention to what they are saying because I am focused on driving. :) My husband was driving one day and I looked over and he was sending a text. I yelled, "ARE YOU SERIOUSLY TEXTING AND DRIVING?" He said it was only an ok response. But I saw a video once that had people on there that had killed others while texting and made him watch it. One particular one stuck out and that was a young mad saying, "I sent a one word text and killed a man." Then he held up and phone and it said ok. and the guy says "For an OK answer, a man lost his life." My husband has never done it again.

Nope. I pull over if I need to do anything.

I never text while driving! I honestly don't even get how people manage to do it, I mean it takes both my hands and my full attention to send the simplest text :(
I am guilty of talking on my phone sometimes, but since I don't have a blue tooth I've started to use my speakerphone.
I have GPS but will program it before I leave. Occasionally I will look at the map, but usually while I'm waiting at a light. If I need to look something up I will pull over.

I don't, and my bluetooth isn't working so if I get a call they just have to wait for me to call back.

One time I was falling a driver who was weaving around and I thought, "They are either drunk or on the phone". We pulled up at the light next to each other. Being sarcastic all the time, and not really thinking she could see me I said to myself (but outloud), "Are you talking on the phone" (I put my hand to my ear like a phone) "Or are you drinkin'?" (threw my head back and emptied my invisible shot glass) She could see me! Her expression was so funny! My husband pointed out she probably thought I said, "Call me lets go get a drink." Ugh, it is a problem and I admit sometimes it makes me mad, especially if someone makes a dangerous move while on the phone but I try not to because it only adds to the problem. Safe driving everyone!

Added: I didn't mean to imply I've never used my horn. In my experience in cases like this it has little or the opposite affect of what you want and what is safe. So now I lightly tap it if we've been sitting at a light forever and after it changes its obvious the person in front of me didn't notice but that is about it.

I use my bluetooth if I'm going to talk on the phone - but overall, no, I don't. There's nothing so important that cannot wait until I get where I am going...I do NOT keep my phone out of reach. I have it in the cell holder so in case of an emergency - I have access to it..

Darwin might work for her one day - who knows. Maybe she was doing it to piss you off - there are people like that in this world - people who do things to create drama or problems...it makes them feel better about themselves...she had your undivided attention - didn't she? She didn't care that it was negative - she got YOUR attention....

I'm sorry there are people like this...I really am...If someone doesn't know where they are going and have GPS - they should familiarize themselves with the GPS and the route BEFORE they go....

Oh hell no. I just responded on the road rage question. I'm an insurance agent in AZ and all of these issues are a hot topic for me. I used to talk on the phone while in the car when it dawned on me that I drove into my own driveway...I was supposed to go to the office. It really freaked me out that I was so busy talking that I didn't even REALIZE where I was driving!!! So now my cell is in my purse and my purse is behind my seat. I do make gestures, yell, honk at drivers when I see them without seat belts and talking/texting on the phone. It isn't illegal here but if they are floating all over the lanes and not paying attention I figure its my duty to make them aware of what they are doing. And I'm not a little petite thing and would not have a problem getting physical if need be!!! I really just don't get people. What could possibly be more important than your life, your passengers or the other drivers on the road? Its just not worth the risk.

I am just going to answer your question. I do talk on my hands free while driving, (it is against the law here to talk on the cell phone while driving unless you have hands free). If I am going to text I pull over or do it while at a stop light. If the light turns green, I put the phone down and drive, there is no text so important that I need to jeopardize my life, the life of my kids or the life of those in vehicles around me. JMO

I would honk, TwinMama. You are not alone. : )

I will only text if I am stopped at a red light.

I am very good about it too. I will not check it unless my foot is applied to the break and the light is red. And as soon as the light is Green I throw it down into my lap or center thing up front.

If I am on the free way I wont touch it.

We have very strict talking/texting/driving laws.

It always makes me laugh though...You see the cops talking on them ALL the time...and they dont seem to be work related calls. It makes me want to honk on my horn really loudly so they get that they are no better then us. If there is an emergency please dont send me the cop that is getting their information via Cell phone. I dont want him on the phone speeding to my house...the potential for error with information or driving could cause a maybe dangerous situation...Sorry off the soap box now:)

If I have my GPS that needs to be programmed I will pull off to the side. It takes way to much time to get my dinosaur GPS moving.....so much time(I am asking santa for a Garmin this year:)).

I dont think I remember how to talk on the phone.....Can you do that? I am connected with everyone that needs to connect with me via FB...I am talking my dentist reminds about appointments that way...My sons Therapist and I communicate about appt's and things going on that way...so like important things I do that way.

My cell phone has been removed as a big ''Importance'' in my life. I hardly even use it for picture's anymore.

I would have honked!!! She was probably just trying to make you crazy because you flipped her off.

I do talk on the phone but just for short amounts of time if the kids are with me. I never text. In fact, I hate it when I see people texting, reading their books, putting on makeup, eating a hamburger with two hands!, etc., etc. One time I saw a lady driving down the highway talking on the phone with one hand, had her coffee in the other and she passed me! When I see people doing stuff like that I want to drive up beside them and honk and scream but I am afraid I will scare them and they will swerve and hit me. So I just gripe and complain and move on.

I do not text while I drive. Period. I think its' ridiculous when people say that they are quite good at it, or only do it if they are stopped in traffic. Hello! Seriously! It takes a millisecond for an accident to occur, regardless of what you are doing. Pay attention to the road! When you see an accident, like I have, that has been caused by a person texting and not paying attention, you will think twice before you pick up that phone to text.

I don't talk on the phone , unless for hands free. Otherwise, I wait to answer until I am pulled over , or parked somewhere.

Now the Florida driver, obviously did not know where she was going. She probably was freaked out enough having to find her way in a different state, and had many people with her, who probably weren't helping. It probably is frustrating, but if it were me, I would have asked her what the deal was, and help her find her way( especially so she won't cause an accident) .

Where I come from (UK) it has been illegal to text, or talk on the phone unless you are using handsfree for around 8 years - I don't feel comfortable doing it. It seems like every other person (usually women) have a phone permanently glued to their hand/ear. It should be made illegal straight away, as a priority. I do talk on the phone sometimes, but not very often, never ever do I test, or read email.

i don't use a gps unless my husband is driving :). i never go anywhere i need it. i do talk on the phone when it rings in. but typically only on speaker. or if i am stopped somewhere. hardly anyone has my # so that isn't an issue. if i'm with my kids, i am teaching them to dial the # i need and to talk to the person for me while i am driving. i only text while at red lights. if it turns green or i'm driving then no, i don't

I would have done the same as you. If she was lost and a honking horn flustered her...she should have pulled over and figured it out. Being lost does not excuse putting other people in danger!!!
I do not text while driving but will sometimes talk (I try to only talk when it is important). I got an email with very VIVID pictures of a man who was kiilled while texting and driving. Scared the daylights out of me and I will NOT do it.

I don't text while driving. I don't have a GPS. I do talk, but it's with my blue tooth. But, I don't dial anyone. It's just if someone calls me!
L.
(and I am sure all your honking and flipping off did make her drive slower. She probably was TOTALLY aware of you behind her, she was just faking that she wasn't.)

I would have memorized her plate, pulled over (or go into a parking lot) and called the cops. Some that distracted should NOT be driving.

I never txt on my phone while driving. I never call anyone while driving. If my phone does ring it is usually my husband and I will tell him I am driving I can not talk or I wait until I get where I am going and call him back. I don't understand why people think they can drive while chatting or txting. Around here people have a hard enough time staying in their own lane when they are just driving. If they are doing anything else look out!

If I'm going to program the GPS I do it before we leave the driveway. My phone is hands-free, so if it rings, I hear it through the speakers in the truck. It's the same with my texts. My car reads them to me, so I don't have to touch it.

I'm sorry you're dealing with idiots on the road. And I'm sure she deserved the "thumbs up" you gave her. ;)

Yes, I would have honked my horn and pulled around her. If she hadn't moved at the green light I would have driven around her, not waiting for her to see if the liked the color of the next green light.

I very seldom pull up so close behind a car that I can't drive around them. Its a safety issue for me. I don't want to be boxed in between two sets of muggers.

Good luck to you and yours.

I am like you...my phone goes in my purse and my purse goes in the back seat on the floor. I can't stand being on the phone in my car. I'm like a monkey who sees something shiny...I'm too easily distracted in the first place!

You sound just like me! Maybe it is us Albuquerque drivers ;) I would have done the same thing and have. I know if I ever get honked at then I think I must not have been paying attention and I need to focus, so I hope this works for other drivers. I guess maybe it did not work in this case. And since I do get so frustrated with other drivers I know not to do those things myself (that and them being so dangerous)

Holy cow!! This woman was a disaster!

My guess is that she may have been lost or looking for her destination, but the responsible thing to do would have been to pull over and not attempt to give so many things attention all at once. Yikes.

If I talk on the phone, it is on speaker away from me. I never text. If I am using the GPS, I pull over. If I have to consult directions, I have them in the hand that is on the wheel so I don't have to take my eyes off the road entirely.

I try to remember that my son watches me constantly when we're on the road. One day, I'll be praying that he drives responsibly, so I'm trying to model that now.

We're such a generation of multi-taskers that this is a tough habit to break, but it's well worth it.

Sounds like she was obviously lost. I think that she was flustered and trying her best to get where she was going. I prefer people to give my instructions that I can follow like...there's this big ol' tree that is leaning over a white wood fence, turn right when you see it, then look for a tall building that looks like....etc....

How annoying lol. That would've triggered road rage for sure, the whole scenario. Maybe she is a vengeance person and was doing it b/c you flipped her off. Some people are crazy, I had a chick trying to fight me in the parking lot until she saw my USMC tattoo and was like how old are you? You're a Marine? lmao (apparently she thought she was about to try to fight a 17 yr old, which is pathetic in itself), there are some unstable people. I can't STAND when people are literally passing by the turn or are in the far right 3rd lane then all of a sudden want to stop traffic to turn or go to the far left 3rd lane. It's like, were you never taught a U-turn or what?

I have an Ipod touch and I change music every once in a while. I grew up when texting was huge and those laws weren't in force. I can talk on the phone OR change music without affecting my driving. With my ipod, I don't look at my ipod, I know where the little controls are. I have never been affected in my driving when I do it and pay extra active attention to the road when I do it just to be sure. I have a friend that I tell not to do it b/c he can't do that without gradually going into the median or something. If you can't do it, don't do it lol. I do that hang up your phone with my hand to people when they seriously shouldn't be on the phone (b/c they can't drive).

You probably should have just gone around her at the very beginning of this whole thing. If you get this wound up from @ssholes like that woman then you're going to give yourself an ulcer. Too many crazies out there.

If I am talking on the phone, 90% of the time it is thru my bluetooth which is integrated into my car's sound system.

I do text, but not when the car is moving. I save it for long red lights.

My car won't let me program the navigation when the car is moving, otherwise I probably would.

Never, safety first. It's scary to see everyone else is doing it. I wouldn't put my phone or purse in the back seat. In emergency situations, you want to have right away access ( god forbid in a crash you can't open your door etc.) I wouldn't honk, even though I'm from Ny you never know who is heavy medicated without taking their pill or under the influence. They can hurt you or shoot you. Few times at the red light, I have taken a picture of the plates of a dangerous driver and then reported it. Be safe!!!!

So, are you any happier for all the drama you created? Did you feel calm and in control of your own car? All that anger surely doesn't improve driving. It's just as distracting as talking on the phone. And you're still steaming. Was it worth it?

I suggest a little compassion for out of towners trying to find their way would've been much more satisfying, used less energy and.....you'd be over it by now.

Often people get angry about this sort of thing because they're not happy about something in their lives. Perhaps you'd have more peace if you could figure out where the anger really belongs and focus on resolving that/those issues.

That sounds like something I would do. (Your reaction, not the other driver!)
I use my horn a lot. That's what it's there for!
I will talk on the phone, but I will NOT text while I am driving. I will text at red lights, but that is all. Getting into an accident is not worth it to me. Especially if my kids are in the car.
I don't think you over-reacted. I think you were annoyed that the other driving was being an arse hole!! :D