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Should you be able to sue someone for texting someone who is driving?
What if you know they are driving and you continue to text?
This article popped up for me today.. and it has me thinking.
I think my answer would be no. The driver should have just left the phone alone no matter how many times it went off.
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Very scary territory if you can actually do that. The guy had a choice to not answer the texts. If I get a phone call while driving, choose to answer it, and crash my car during the process, it is my fault and nobody else's.
I agree, very scary and slippery slope to go down. In the end, regardless if she knew he was driving or not, it was his choice to respond. He's the one behind the wheel and responsible for his actions. Another person who is not physically around should not be held responsible for his poor decision to text and drive.
I can't help but think what if the text was an emergency text? Should the person who was telling the driver about an emergency be held responsible if the person receiving the text was too stupid to not pull over and check their phone. Sounds like an over zealous lawyer who decided to become sue happy and convinced his clients that more than one person was responsible.
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Should you be able to sue someone for texting someone who is driving?
What if you know they are driving and you continue to text?
This article popped up for me today.. and it has me thinking.
I think my answer would be no. The driver should have just left the phone alone no matter how many times it went off.
Actually depends. If you text someone and you know they're driving, then I guess you could. Would you win? IDK. I think the drivers are responsible for their own control at the wheel
Now personally, I believe the driver could say that "Hmmm. my texts are going off...I'm driving, I'll get back w/ (whoever) later..." and not allow himself/herself to be distracted. Even in an emergency situation, the person can always pull over. Say if they have to call 911 for a person.
__________________ Lynn
Mom to many
2nd time surrogate & pregnant
I think its rare for someone to actually know EXACTLY what the person they are texting is doing.
My phone has rang and beeped while I have been driving, I make one of two decisions:
1. Ignore it
2. Pull over and attend to it
People who are texting me rarely know that I am driving, I dont make a public announcement, "ATTENTION WORLD, I AM GETTING INTO MY CAR, I WILL BE DRIVING IT FOR THE NEXT HALF AN HOUR" therefore, its completely unfair to put the ownus on the person sending the text.
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Cybele, wife to Ash and mummy to 5, Anindita (18), Azriel (15), Sundance (12), Lux (10), Sasha (4)
Mummy to 4 feline furbabies, Clio, Kitra, Rupert and Tess
If I am driving, and I receive a text, and read it and crash it is the fault of the third guy in line at Quiznos who orders a plain turkey sub and an extra large coke.
That is absolutely stupid and another one of the reasons that I am wary of even letting my kids get a cell phone (to share) when they start getting a license.
I agree with Liz that its a slippery slope but I do feel bad for the couple who lost their legs. My gut reaction is that I do not feel they should sue her but I'm still doing some more reading before deciding exactly how I feel on it.
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Tammy, Mom to
Abby (19), Kacie (13), Chase (11), & Jacob (7)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "...They're supposed to make you miserable! That's why they're family!" ~ Bobby ~ Supernatural
A judge in New Jersey says a woman who texted her boyfriend while he was driving
can't held liable for a car crash he caused while responding to her, seriously
injuring a couple on a motorcycle.
As for the driver....
Quote:
Best was ordered to speak to 14 high schools about the dangers of texting and
driving and had to pay about $775 in fines, but his driver's license was not
suspended.
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Tammy, Mom to
Abby (19), Kacie (13), Chase (11), & Jacob (7)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "...They're supposed to make you miserable! That's why they're family!" ~ Bobby ~ Supernatural
I agree with Liz that its a slippery slope but I do feel bad for the couple who lost their legs. My gut reaction is that I do not feel they should sue her but I'm still doing some more reading before deciding exactly how I feel on it.
I feel bad too....but that doesn't negate the fact that the person in the drivers' seat is SOLELY responsible for the operation of a dangerous, moving vehicle. People aren't mind readers. I have seen friends of mine (whom I NO LONGER allow to drive with me in the car) who actually post facebook things on their phone. RIDICULOUS. It's all about self-control, which people seem to lack these days due to texting/social media addictions. In fact, there is going to be a special on our NBC local news about whether or not texting/social media can be considered addictions...
ETA: I'm glad the texter not behind the wheel, was found not responsible. As tragic as some things are, fault can't always be assigned to someone else. People really have to be accountable for THEMSELVES.
__________________ Lynn
Mom to many
2nd time surrogate & pregnant
Last edited by GSLynn; May 25th, 2012 at 03:20 PM.
I feel bad too....but that doesn't negate the fact that the person in the drivers' seat is SOLELY responsible for the operation of a dangerous, moving vehicle. People aren't mind readers.
ETA: I'm glad the texter not behind the wheel, was found not responsible. As tragic as some things are, fault can't always be assigned to someone else. People really have to be accountable for THEMSELVES.
Ummmm....I don't believe I stated that I felt the driver wasn't solely responsible.
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Tammy, Mom to
Abby (19), Kacie (13), Chase (11), & Jacob (7)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "...They're supposed to make you miserable! That's why they're family!" ~ Bobby ~ Supernatural
Ummmm....I don't believe I stated that I felt the driver wasn't solely responsible.
You said your gut feeling was that they shouldn't sue her, but that you didn't know how you felt. I was simply posting MY feelings. Perhaps I misread what you meant by that.
__________________ Lynn
Mom to many
2nd time surrogate & pregnant
You said your gut feeling was that they shouldn't sue her, but that you didn't know how you felt. I was simply posting MY feelings. Perhaps I misread what you meant by that.
I said that I agreed with Liz in that its a slippery slope. Meaning that if this girl were to be charged, it would be a dangerous precedent to set. Feeling bad for the couple does not mean I wanted the girl charged. It just means that I feel bad for them and to an extent can see their reasoning. Not that I agree with them.
In saying I was reading a bit more before making up my mind completely was just to see if there was more to the story that was not presented in the article in the OP.
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Tammy, Mom to
Abby (19), Kacie (13), Chase (11), & Jacob (7)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "...They're supposed to make you miserable! That's why they're family!" ~ Bobby ~ Supernatural
I agree with pretty much everything already said. It's a very slippery slope.
However I have to say I am more than disgusted at the penalty for the driver of that truck. That's a slap on the dang wrist.
But then I feel quite strongly that the penalties for most crimes committed while behind the wheel are a slap on the wrist. I'm in the minority on that one I guess. Probably because I'll never get to know what it's like to have the privilege (not a right as most see it) to actually be able to drive. If I did, I'd sure as hell be a lot more careful than many are, and take it far more seriously than a lot do too.
It's kind of sad people don't realize they're behind the wheel of something pretty powerful, and they take that for granted.
Off my soapbox now. This kind of stuff just makes my blood boil.
It think it's absolutely ridiculous! How am I to know who's driving & when???? If I were a psychic, I'd win the lottery & not be working for a living!
I'm so tired of people not putting the responsibility where it belongs --- on the person who did it. But then I think it's not a bartenders responsibility to know when you're drunk or not. It's YOUR responsibility.
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