I can't keep up with all the posts today, so I have consolidated them in a theme.
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Originally Posted by m5james
(Post 668648)
LMAO at all these guys getting on their soapbox about driving and watching TV. Ever speed or talked on your phone driving? Studies have shown that talking and/or texting while driving is as bad, if not worse than driving drunk.
I've watched TV plenty of times over the years in M5 and F350.
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Personally, at the same time, no. Yes, I have talked on my phone driving. I choose not to now. I think we are generally moving in that direction as the risks are better understood. Yes, I sometimes speed. Yes, I agree that talking and texting while driving is like driving drunk.
You bought an M5 so you could watch TV in it? Didn't that come up in another thread? It was just a hunch.
Quote:
Originally Posted by m5james
How is this any worse than iDrive to adjust the heater, shock setting, M power mode, GPS or the radio?
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It is the same. Said another way, both scenarios are wrong. Not much worried about the heater settings or radio, but I have never felt the need to adjust shocks while cornering. GPS should be disabled while you are in motion anyway, IMO. I think it comes down to the duration of the distraction, but I would err on the side of safety, personally.
Quote:
Originally Posted by m5james
BMW doesn't want to give me the option in the U.S. to roll my windows up remotely via my key either. Just because BMW doesn't want us to, doesn't mean it shouldn't be a choice.
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Rolling your windows up remotely won't potentially kill another driver due to your inattention. I think you should go for it, it is a personal choice. If BMW won't sell you a purple car, it doesn't mean you can't paint your own car purple. The remote windows up is the same, it is simply an option that is not offered. Not the same as potentially killing someone through inattention while driving, IMO.
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Trust me, after purchasing my first motorcylce, I'm the first one to experience distracted drivers. Here in Idaho we have the option of wearing or not wearing helmets...I like having the option.
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Didn't you post a picture of you on a crotch rocket with no helmet? I had trouble noticing the bike, as I was trying to figure out where the helmets were. I guess I don't have a big issue with motorcyclists not wearing helmets, as it is essentially a Darwinian approach, natural selection at work.
Quote:
Originally Posted by m5james
Can't you just....ignore it (the cell phone)? What happens if you get into a wreck and can't get to your phone for some reason?
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If I am driving through a dangerous area, or in very poor winter conditions, I will put it in the glovebox. My point was that it isn't kept within easy reach. Never had a problem driving into a lake (except in an Amphicar, which is a whole different story). That may be because I wasn't following a NAV system, though. The example given sort of proves the point about the dangers of NAV working while the vehicle is in motion, doesn't it?
Quote:
Originally Posted by m5james
Doesn't (not having NAV work while driving) defy the whole point of it? I'm more comfortable doing 80 driving down the highway looking at my screen nowadays than when I was in my 20's w/ a foldout map (remember the days of that being our only option) the same size as my interior and trying to remember which turn to take while flopping this huge sheet of paper around.
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I thought the story about driving into the lake because the NAV said to do so, sort of made the whole point. I fully understand that a NAV system is likely safer than holding an unfolded map in front of you while driving. What I don't understand is the logic that somehow makes either one safe. Put another way, purely as an example, if one is deemed very dangerous, and the other one is deemed very very dangerous, should be first one be deemed 'safe' because it isn't very very dangerous? This is the logical fallacy I referenced very early in this thread.
Quote:
Originally Posted by m5james
As I said, at some point, common sense and differences of drivers security come into play. I'm absolutely comfortable with watching TV on roadtrips or doing 140mph at the track, so please don't impose your driving insecurities on others. Let the mature individuals decide, not you or BMW.
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By security, do you mean self-confidence? I am comfortable with my common sense, and that of most other drivers. It is the drivers who comprise the lowest common denominator that worry me. If I or my family wasn't on the same road at the same time, they wouldn't worry me at all, they would just be risking their own lives. If you wanted to watch TV while doing 140 on the track I would be fully supportive of your right to do so, since you would likely be the only one on the track at that time. Perfectly reasonable from a public safety standpoint, but perhaps just a little dangerous from an overall risk standpoint.
You pointed out above that these distractions are the same as being drunk. Probably true. The trouble with possibly mature individuals who choose to drink and drive while speeding (insert other distraction here in place of DWI) is that they are risking the lives of others. I don't think of that as imposing my insecurities, but rather as evaluating the relative weight of personal choice vs good to society. Sometimes one has to give to promote the other.
Anyway, enough debate for tonight. Drive safe.
