Quote Originally Posted by RedHedd
I'm sorry, but this is a peeve of mine. on a cell phone while backing out? Hello? I even see people on cell phones while triyng to parallel park in rush hour traffic ...

See? Even when I explain it fully, it still isn't understood- I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG! EVEN WITH THE CELL PHONE! Uh, hello, MCFLY? The adult lady RUNNING through the parking lot was/is and forever will be, the idiot here...NOT me with a cell phone.

It is called cause and effect, proximate cause, in the legal field. My actions must be the proximate cause of the 'injury'. My actions (being on the cell phone while backing up) must be the CAUSE of the (here, potential)injury- her getting ran over by my vehicle. My being on the cell phone was NOT the proximate cause- but her (and apparently, yours, too) knee jerk reaction. Oh, the driver was on the cell phone, THAT must be the problem. Not. The problem was her running through the parking lot without looking. I, the driver, saw her (yes, even while on the cell phone, as I was looking carefully while backing). I was the one that slammed on my brakes.

Radios used to cause that same amount of flutter that cell phones do today. I see plenty of bad driving every day that is unrelated to cell phone use. People just can't grasp that there are people that can do two things at once.

Whether my call is 'important' or not is not the point. Fine if someone wants to maintain their cell phone for 'emergency use only'. Great. Or, pull over every time it rings, Great! And, maybe that person is not the type of person that can handle multi-tasking. Maybe that person is not a confident driver. Not me. I use it for every use...on my way to and from work. As it allows me 45 minutes of extra work time both ways.

As for keeping two hands on the wheel? LOL. I drive a stick. More often than not, my right hand is on the gear shift, not the wheel.

As for statistics? LOL. You know what they say about statistics...98% of them are wrong, or made up on the spot.