While neither is a good idea, it seems to me texting while driving would be more dangerous. Talking on the phone takes away some concentration and maybe 1 hand. While texting would also take away some concentration, at least 1 hand if not 2, and takes the drivers' eyes off the road.

 

A good texter, like a good typist, often texts without looking. Talking takes up a godawful amount of time and conversations get more heated when talking than when texting (which takes less time). You can text at a red light and stop if needed. You can't really stop your conversation mid-word while speaking.

 

But remember, not everybody is like that. The average person who texts often is one of the airheads who don't pay attention to the road.

Though really, it's just a simple fact: the only thing ANYONE should be doing while their driving is driving.

But that's not quite the point of this thread. Though I have never sent a phone text in my life.

 

Where did I say I hate people texting in public? I said I hate when people treat texting/chatting as their priority, not that they actually do it at all. Read the frickin' post.

And the fact that you're defending cell-phone use while driving is scary. Especially texting. Driving and being aware of your surroundings is brutally important. You're putting your own life and the life of other people on the line because you're letting yourself be distracted by things that aren't important. And if you're texting, then you also have to read it, which means you're taking your eyes off the road. If even for a split second, those split seconds are crucial. Those split seconds are the key difference between living healthy and happy and a 10-car pileup with 3 people dead and another 5 in critical condition.

If you're a passenger, that's another matter entirely, and I have no problem with it. Put you in the driver seat, though, you'd best put the damned phone away before I throw it onto the highway. There's no way I'd trust my life in your hands.

 

To answer the question of the thread maybe 4 texts but I have a crack berry so I use BBM,Pin and email more often.
If you count those it would be well over 2000

 

I dont like phones to begin with, but if it werent for all the button smashing, I might consider texting. I try not to, but you know, the wife.

 

So your point does not apply to people who can't text without looking?

You're picking and choosing worst case scenarios for talking and best case scenarious for texting, not a very fair comparison. Your agruments completely flip if you compare someone who's not such an expert texter and someone making a short, non-heated conversation.

"Talking takes up a godawful amount of time"... No, talking can take up a good deal of time, but it does not necessarily do so.

If a short back and forth communication is needed that could likely be done more quickly and safely by calling on the phone at a red light and finishing the conversation than texting at a red light, receiving a response text down the the road, and having to send another text back when you're not at the red light anymore.

 

Over 9000!

 

Only once last month and that was to a friend who I was playing phone tag with. I don't mind texting, but that's only if I can't get ahold of the other person.

 

What's texting? And more importantly, what's a cell phone? Don't need that. If you want to reach me, call me home. If I'm not there, leave a message, I will call you back.

 

Actually I never defended it while driving. I said you MIGHT be able to get away with a text while stopped and that I felt that while moving text would be less dangerous than a phone conversation. Less dangerous is not analogous to completely safe and I feel everyone should do it. You're one to talk about reading comprehension.

My point was Drivers should be driving but I would trust a texter driving anyday over a phone talker.

 

Why would you have to text while driving anyway? There are better and safer moments to do that.

 

The same could be said for a phone call. They are exactly equal in that respect.

 

That too.

 

Since November I think I've done 3, maybe 4. I kinda hate texting. It costs more than talking and makes the phone companies tons of cash for using less.

 

While my texting has gone up since I got a phone w/qwerty keyboard I still do fewer that 40 a month. My texting usualy consists of friends inviting me places or seeing if I am at home so they can come over.

 

Sorry, that part kinda got lost in the shuffle when you (at least partly) defended texting while driving.

Quite frankly, though, I have many more issues with texting while driving. Sure, if you get emotional/heated while talking, then that's a major distraction. But if you're texting, no matter what's going on, you've got at least one hand off the wheel, and your eyes are going to be off the road for whatever split seconds it takes to read your replies. Even if you only text at stops, you're probably going to at least piss off a bunch of other drivers as you absentmindedly miss that the light turned green.

At least if you've got a headset, theoretically both hands are on the wheel and eyes are on the road at all times.

Either way, both methods are liabilities, and I wouldn't trust either.

 

Not necessarily. Unlimited texts are cheaper than unlimited minutes. Anyone who pays "per" on either is a fool and yes "per" text is more than "per" minute.

 

0 texts. Yeah. Really.

 

I text all the time. I sent maybe... 150-200 last month, and I usually average around there.

Also, I will not let ANYBODY text or talk on the phone when I am in the car with them. If I can't take the call or text, the driver can pull over. I don't care how experienced of a texter you are, you can't concentrate while typing or talking, end of story.