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We joined because of the car. We stay because of the people. We are a group of Corvette owners and enthusiasts with varying interests in restoring, showing and promoting Corvettes. Our membership is both social and show oriented with activities including dinner cruises, picnics, car shows and road tours. These activities bring our members and Corvette enthusiasts together with a common interest of having fun and driving Corvettes. More ... |
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May 18, 2010
Second Gear ---- May 2010 Russian RouletteWhen is a cell phone a weapon? Whenever you drive a car and use one. It’s that simple. And that deadly. Last year, distracted driverss caused 6,000 fatalities and over a half million injuries. In fact, texting behind the wheel is so dangerous that it can impair a driver’s response time by 18% -- or the seconds it takes to miss a stop sign, run an intersection and broadside a family. Whatever you have to say can wait, unless its goodbye. The graphic and above message are brought to you from Coyne Communications click here to visit Coyne's home page. and Auto Week. From the desk of the GMC Corvette Set President I hope that I won’t step on anyone’s toes this month, but I will be writing about cell phone use while driving. I have personal experience with cell phone drivers. Back in 2003 our then new Corvette was hit from behind by a driver on their cell phone, causing over $10,000 in damage to our car. Last week I had a near miss from a driver on a cell phone that had to jump the curb and ended up on the grass next to me, trying to avoid a collision. Just take a look around you on any day and see how many people are on the phone while driving. We have to do something to control this, and we have to do it now. Michigan has passed a law to prohibit texting while driving that goes into effect on July 1, 2010. This is just a small step in a major problem at hand. Michigan is not the first state to pass a law prohibiting texting, 25 other states have similar laws on the books. Most have a fine of $100 for a first time offense and $200 for second time, and some $500 above that. What do you think the chances are that anyone will be ticketed more than once? California passed a law against hand held cell phone use and the ticket is $20. Is this really going to deter anyone from talking on their phone? The law gives police the right to confiscate a car from a John that propositions a prostitute on the street, yet talking on your phone at 70 mph with a 2 ton vehicle is a $20 fine. Which one is more deadly? Even worse, only 2 states prohibit school bus drivers from texting and only 18 states prohibit cell phone use by school bus drivers. Accidents don’t just happen, they are caused by the driver. A meteorite through the windshield is an accident, everything else is driver error. Driving is a 100 percent full-time job. With the absence of driver training in schools, most kids learn from their parents, and they learn their parents’ faults as drivers also. Between the lack of training and ipods and cell phones, we are in for enormous problems in the next generation of drivers. If you would like to learn more about cell phone laws, just type in “cell phone laws” on google and read as much as you want. Autoweek is running a campaign called “Cars and Cell Phones: A Lethal Mix”. You can learn more on their website and also sign a petition to make people aware of cell phone use while driving. I encourage you to take a stand and a step forward to help solve this problem. This is not going to be easy! Drive Safe, Russ Miller |
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