Distracted drivers are a serious problem in more ways than one. A couple weeks ago I was 2nd in line at a red light, only us 2 in that lane and several more in the other. An ambulance drove up behind us flashing and it was immediately clear the shortest path through the intersection was for our 2 cars to clear out. I put on my hazards and starting alternating lights and horn, while the person ahead sat blithely scrolling through their phone while the ambulance and I were both laying on the horn and didn’t move until the light turned green. Even then, didn’t pull aside so the bus had to weave around him. The lack of situational awareness and empathy on the road is sadly lacking.
Yeah, smartphones are a menace as well in traffic, especially when combined with someone as oblivious as in your example :). The government(s) in my country has had several police + information campaigns against smartphone use since a few years. There’s now also a fine of 175 euro + loss of driver’s license for 15 days for using the smartphone while driving in traffic. And waiting in traffic, still counts as driving. If used for navigation, then the destination has to be put in before starting to drive & the smartphone has to be in a holder or connected to the infotainment system.
This heavier punishment is pretty recent and the chance of being caught seems low, so there’s still often people using smartphones inappropriately. Last one I saw this week was an oblivious teenager on a bicycle. It’ll be interesting to see if there’s been a noticable change in a few years.
Distracted drivers are a serious problem in more ways than one. A couple weeks ago I was 2nd in line at a red light, only us 2 in that lane and several more in the other. An ambulance drove up behind us flashing and it was immediately clear the shortest path through the intersection was for our 2 cars to clear out. I put on my hazards and starting alternating lights and horn, while the person ahead sat blithely scrolling through their phone while the ambulance and I were both laying on the horn and didn’t move until the light turned green. Even then, didn’t pull aside so the bus had to weave around him. The lack of situational awareness and empathy on the road is sadly lacking.
Yeah, smartphones are a menace as well in traffic, especially when combined with someone as oblivious as in your example :). The government(s) in my country has had several police + information campaigns against smartphone use since a few years. There’s now also a fine of 175 euro + loss of driver’s license for 15 days for using the smartphone while driving in traffic. And waiting in traffic, still counts as driving. If used for navigation, then the destination has to be put in before starting to drive & the smartphone has to be in a holder or connected to the infotainment system.
This heavier punishment is pretty recent and the chance of being caught seems low, so there’s still often people using smartphones inappropriately. Last one I saw this week was an oblivious teenager on a bicycle. It’ll be interesting to see if there’s been a noticable change in a few years.