Minivan Crashes Into Local Laundromat

[Isolder74]

Link to video. (http://news.mydaily.com/2010/06/21/dirty-clothes/?icid=main|aim|dl7|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fnews.mydaily .com%2F2010%2F06%2F21%2Fdirty-clothes%2F)


Monday June 21, 2010
Dirty Clothes - ‘Morning Express’

A New Hampshire man was almost run over by a minivan while washing his clothes -- in a laundromat! HLN's 'Morning Express' follows the bizarre story of the unfortunate patron who was standing at the wrong place at the wrong time when a distracted driver plowed through the front wall of the nearly empty laundromat.

Surveillance camera footage shows the man getting hit in the leg as the vehicle crashes into the structure, pushing with it rows of machines and chairs. As 'Morning Express' explains, "Police say the driver was on a cell phone. So she mistakenly hit the gas instead of the brakes." Miraculously, no one was injured in the accident and police say that no charges will be filed.
HLN Weekdays, 6AM


The main gist of the story is a cell phone using moron ran into a store front almost killing someone.

Considering the number of times I've had to jump out of the way of similar people walking on the street, I'm really not surprised. Time and time again we see it. Cell Phone use is as dangerous as driving intoxicated.

[arguskos]

While this event itself is very sad, I actually lold at first. Imagine the scene. There you are, washing your clothing, having a nice relaxing morning, and suddenly, VANSEVERYWHEREOMG! :smallbiggrin:

Hope the driver pays for the guys medical care though, that'd be nice of them.

[Isolder74]

Keep something in mind, if there was someone walking past the laundromat they would have been killed. There really isn't any excuse for this happening.

[Haruki-kun]

Considering the number of times I've had to jump out of the way of similar people walking on the street, I'm really not surprised. Time and time again we see it. Cell Phone use is as dangerous as driving intoxicated.

Depending on the level of intoxication, I'd say Cell Phones are even worse. And Texting? Over the top.

[Supagoof]

Take the Oprah pledge. If your cell phone rings while driving, let it go to the voicemail that all cell phone plans have.

Aside from that, you can only hope that local law in your area improves to ban cell phone use while in operation of a motorized vehicle.

I'm shocked the driver got away with no charges. "In-attentive driving" or "Careless or Reckless driving" are two that certainly would qualify in my oninion. As for medical costs - the insurance will figure that out. I just hope that the guy who got hit gets enough money, and also sues the snot out of the bad driver.

[arguskos]

Like I said, it's quite the bad event, but the title has humor potential. I can see a comedy routine here.

Also, no charges? That's basically textbook "Reckless Endangerment" right there. Stupid legal system. Dude should go after them for hitting him and the laudromat should go after them for hitting the building. :smallamused:

[Isolder74]

Depending on the level of intoxication, I'd say Cell Phones are even worse. And Texting? Over the top.

I fully agree with you.

The biggest reason I take this and other stories like this so seriously is I get around every day using the bus(I don't need to drive to get to work so why should I) and walking. There has been multiple times that I've been nearly hit by people turning onto the street I'm crossing because they are too busy talking on their damn phones to actually look where they are going.

There is really no excuse for this sort of behavior. There is no cell phone conversation that is so important that it can't wait until you reach where ever it is that you are driving. Why is it that people can't give up a small part of their lives for the 10 - 15 that they spend driving somewhere? What in life is so important that you can't put it on hold for a short amount of time?

It's not safe to drive and talk on the phone and no one should do it, ever.

[Ilena]

Well, here in BC cell phones are actually banned and illegal now, to talk on one while driving. Has to be hands free to do it. I now see more people talking on cell phones then i did before. Yay for no cellphones while driving!

Also, i would sue them for everything i could, but im vindictive of law breakers that way.

[Mystic Muse]

There is no cell phone conversation that is so important that it can't wait until you reach where ever it is that you are driving.


Actually, this is wrong. There aren't very many conversations this important but there are a few.

[Jokasti]

I personally lol'd at the reporter...
"And in this video, a man narrowly avoided being hit by a car... He was hit in the leg by the car."

[Eurus]

Actually, this is wrong. There aren't very many conversations this important but there are a few.

Generally speaking, a conversation that important is worth pulling over for.

[Isolder74]

Generally speaking, a conversation that important is worth pulling over for.

Exactly! There is no phone conversation that is worth killing someone or dying over, ever!


I personally lol'd at the reporter...
"And in this video, a man narrowly avoided being Killed by a car... He was hit in the leg by the car."

Fixed what the reporter said to what she should have said.

[Fifty-Eyed Fred]

Using a mobile phone whilst driving a car has been banned in Britain for a while now, and it seems to be a wise decision, although you are allowed to use hands-free devices, and there are always fools who flout these rules and die because of it. If I believed in Social Darwinism, I'd nominate such people for a Darwin Award.

[imperialspectre]

I'm shocked the driver got away with no charges. "In-attentive driving" or "Careless or Reckless driving" are two that certainly would qualify in my oninion. As for medical costs - the insurance will figure that out. I just hope that the guy who got hit gets enough money, and also sues the snot out of the bad driver.

You basically hit it on the nose. Even if, for some reason, the driver isn't criminally liable, the driver is almost certainly civilly liable for any damages caused, and that liability is good for a fair amount of financial mayhem.

[Isolder74]

Using a mobile phone whilst driving a car has been banned in Britain for a while now, and it seems to be a wise decision, although you are allowed to use hands-free devices, and there are always fools who flout these rules and die because of it. If I believed in Social Darwinism, I'd nominate such people for a Darwin Award.

The big problem is that these people tend to not kill themselves but someone else instead. They run over a pedestrian in a crosswalk or standing at a bus stop or t-boning another car.

[Keld Denar]

Just a couple days ago here in Seattle, they bumped talking on your cell phone from a secondary infraction to a primary infraction. When it was a secondary infraction, they could ticket you, but they couldn't pull you over unless you were doing something else wrong (speeding, driving recklessly, no seat belt, etc). Now that its a primary infraction, they can hit the o' blue lights any time they see you looking at your lap or holding your hand to your head.

Good show, I say.

[toasty]

While they may not be the best authority,the Myth Busters did prove that talking on the cell-phone (not to mention texting!) is just as bad, if not worse than a DUI.

[Jack Squat]

To everyone saying that the guy hit should sue:


Miraculously, no one was injured in the accident

What's the point in suing? I mean, if he was carted off to the ER and checked out there, then by all means get the driver's insurance to pay for it. If he was only checked out on scene by EMTs, then there's no charge. But there's no damage to him that justifies grabbing a lawyer. The driver and their insurance will take care of the front of the building, so IMO, there's no real need for further action.

[Thajocoth]

That's quite stupid. (Crashing due to paying attention to something other than driving.) Around here, everyone uses hands-free stuff. My mom's car connects to her phone via bluetooth and replaces the radio with the call... So she never has to take her eyes off the road. Neat feature. The car will also refuse to let her do certain things while it's in motion, like select a GPS destination, which is a nice safety feature.

I once saw an article where a teenage girl was texting while walking, and fell into an open manhole. It had orange cones and signs saying people were working and everything. I wish I had a link to the original article. She was embarrassed and thanked the workers for helping her, meanwhile her mother was preparing to sue the city over it. Lucky she wasn't injured...

[dehro]

see, this is why I like italian houses and buildings in general. 99.9% of them are built of solid stone, mortar, cement and bricks. they'd have stopped that car right in it's tracks.
my mum lives on a village square in Tuscany, and there's a nasty corner that kinda narrows the passage for cars and trucks on the main road leading to it. now and then a bus or a car will hit the corner. one time a truck took quite a nasty hit and was totalled in the process. the house itself needed a bit of replastering.

[truemane]

Actually, this is wrong. There aren't very many conversations this important but there are a few.

At the risk of being all back in my day... I was all grown up before cell phones became an everyday thing (lawyers and fatuous bank employees had them, drug dealers and doctors had pagers, but that was about it) and I'm telling you that we all waited until we were home before we got our messages and we all got along just fine.

Instantaneous communication creates emergencies, it doesn't solve them. Once you can talk to someone OMG RIGHT NOW RIGHT NOW OMGWTFBBQ then your perception of the importance of that conversation changes.

Imagine every text message or phone call costs $300 and suddenly, the number of conversations important enough to endanger other people's lives goes way down.

[Teddy]

Instantaneous communication creates emergencies, it doesn't solve them. Once you can talk to someone OMG RIGHT NOW RIGHT NOW OMGWTFBBQ then your perception of the importance of that conversation changes.

Well, there are real emergencies too, but there is no good reason to endanger yourself and others by driving while doing really important calls. I don't think I can think up any situation where driving and talking in a cell phone at the same time is the best idea.

[KuReshtin]

I got done for talking on the phone while driving a few years back.
I was running late, and the guys I was picking up called me and wanted to ask where I was. The call probably took no longer than 20-30 seconds, but during that time, I drove past an intersection where a police car just pulled up and they saw me on the phone.
Needless to say, I was even more late after that, in addition to being stuck with a £60 ticket.
Stupid thing.

[IonDragon]

The hands free bit about the laws is dumb. How much of your distraction is caused by talking and how much of it is caused by holding the phone? If you think the distraction is caused by holding the phone, perhaps we should also ban having a soda while driving? I don't know about you, but I can drive one handed just fine. I personally find the bluetooth headset more of a headache than just holding the phone because mine is cheap, has poor sound quality and low volume.

[SensFan]

The hands free bit about the laws is dumb. How much of your distraction is caused by talking and how much of it is caused by holding the phone? If you think the distraction is caused by holding the phone, perhaps we should also ban having a soda while driving? I don't know about you, but I can drive one handed just fine. I personally find the bluetooth headset more of a headache than just holding the phone because mine is cheap, has poor sound quality and low volume.
If there's a problem with hands-free phones, then we should ban any sort of music or radio in cards, too. It would probably be a good idea to start ticketing people who talk in cars, too, just to be sure.

[IonDragon]

If there's a problem with hands-free phones, then we should ban any sort of music or radio in cards, too. It would probably be a good idea to start ticketing people who talk in cars, too, just to be sure.

Don't forget adjusting the air conditioner. Perhaps we should simply change standards so they stop installing those.

[Supagoof]

Imagine every text message or phone call costs $300 and suddenly, the number of conversations important enough to endanger other people's lives goes way down.This reminds of the Chris Rock comedy routine about guns.

You don't need no gun control.

You know what you need? We need some bullet control.

Man, we need to control the bullets, that's right.

l think all bullets should cost $1,000,000

$1,000,000 for a bullet. You know why?

'Cause if a bullet costs $1,000,000 there'd be no more innocent bystanders.

That'd be it.

Every time someone gets shot, people will be like, ''Damn, he must have did something."

''Wow, they put $1,000,000 worth of bullets in his corpse.''

People would think before they killed somebody, if a bullet cost $1,000,000

''Man, l would blow your head off...if l could afford it."

''l'm gonna get me another job, l'm gonna start saving some money...and then you're a dead man."

''You better hope l can't get no bullets on layaway.''

So even if you get shot by a stray bullet...you won't have to go to no doctor
to get it taken out.

Whoever shot you would take their bullet back.

''l believe you got my property.''

That's right, man.


In reality - it'll never happen. But same line of thinking.

[thubby]

not to tip the anti-cell bandwagon, but mistakenly hitting the accelerator isn't uncommon during accidents.
regardless of the attentiveness of drivers, it's been happening since before any of us were born (assuming no one here is 103 or older)

[dehro]

The hands free bit about the laws is dumb. How much of your distraction is caused by talking and how much of it is caused by holding the phone? If you think the distraction is caused by holding the phone, perhaps we should also ban having a soda while driving? I don't know about you, but I can drive one handed just fine. I personally find the bluetooth headset more of a headache than just holding the phone because mine is cheap, has poor sound quality and low volume.

the problem is not in where your attention goes, well..not only that..but also in the reaction times in case of emergency. when you have only one hand on the wheel, your reaction simply might not be of the same "quality" as when you have 2 and are focussed on steering...also, although I seem to remember this not to be the case in USA, in a lot of countries in europe, cars are mostly manual transmission, which requires a little more allertness than automatic ones.
dropping your phone in your lap is one element of panic you can do without when a kid jumps in front of your car.

[Fifty-Eyed Fred]

You can't change gear with a phone in your hand. Are manual cars really so uncommon in America that it needs to be pointed out?

[PhoeKun]

You can't change gear with a phone in your hand. Are manual cars really so uncommon in America that it needs to be pointed out?

In a word, yes. Everybody drives automatic. I can count the number of people I know that even know how to drive manual on one hand.

[SensFan]

In a word, yes. Everybody drives automatic. I can count the number of people I know that even know how to drive manual on one hand.
Wierd. I can count on one hand the number of people I know who own an Automatic.

Edit: I'm in Canada.

[Jack Squat]

You can't change gear with a phone in your hand. Are manual cars really so uncommon in America that it needs to be pointed out?

I've done it. Don't recommend it, but I've done it.

[Isolder74]

I know about 20 but they all own classic cars.

[IonDragon]

You can't change gear with a phone in your hand. Are manual cars really so uncommon in America that it needs to be pointed out?

You can't change gear with a coffee in your hand either, but they didn't make that illegal.

[dehro]

You can't change gear with a coffee in your hand either, but they didn't make that illegal.
you'd think common sense would prevail..anyway, car safety laws follow industrial development...once big companies started to produce the appropriate technology (bluetooth, handfree sets, ear thinghies) and they started to be easily accessible, there was good cause to pas the law to regulate mobile phone.

once car companies start selling their cars with this hat as a freebie, I suppose people will start to moan about coffee drinking being dangerous
http://www.scatmania.org/wp-content/uploads/sex-toys/beer-hat.jpg

[Tirian]

In a word, yes. Everybody drives automatic. I can count the number of people I know that even know how to drive manual on one hand.

Ptui. Automatic transmission cars are more expensive, have lower mileage, higher maintenance costs, and are boring and unsexy and dreadful. And my personal theory is that a standard is less likely to be stolen because thieves can't drive sticks. I can't understand the appeal at all.

Still, what's the big? You shift with your right hand, hold the coffee in your left hand during the shift, and keep the steering wheel in place with your legs. It's power steering and cruise control that have led to the illusion that we can do something else (http://www.amazon.com/AutoExec-WM-01-Wheelmate-Steering-Wheel/dp/B000IZGIA8) while driving.

[Thajocoth]

The hands free bit about the laws is dumb. How much of your distraction is caused by talking and how much of it is caused by holding the phone? If you think the distraction is caused by holding the phone, perhaps we should also ban having a soda while driving? I don't know about you, but I can drive one handed just fine. I personally find the bluetooth headset more of a headache than just holding the phone because mine is cheap, has poor sound quality and low volume.

It's the fact that your hands are not free to drive. The big argument against this law is "Well, then why is eating a cheeseburger while driving still legal?"


Don't forget adjusting the air conditioner. Perhaps we should simply change standards so they stop installing those.

A lack of air conditioning is dangerous. It can get difficult to think straight or concentrate when one is too hot.


You can't change gear with a phone in your hand. Are manual cars really so uncommon in America that it needs to be pointed out?

We didn't get our reputation for being lazy from nowhere!

I honestly thought manual cars were only still available in a select few models of a select few brands and are more of a "Well, like 5 people like them 'cause it feels vintage to them, so we still sell a few."

EDIT: Found an image I was looking for. A failure of a device I saw I while back: http://www.joeydevilla.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/suitable_for_drunk_driving.jpgFor all those times you shouldn't be driving.

[Isolder74]

What does that thingamabob do to keep you awake exactly anyway? How is it suppose to work?

[Thursday]

Heh, first (and only) time I ever drove an automatic I was completely flummoxed and had to get them to explain how to get it going. I never felt properly in control of the thing without the ability to change gear when I wanted to, and my left foot was pressing a nonexistant pedal all the time. This was probably all in my head, but I didn't like it...

It actually felt almost as bad as the first time I had to drove on the Wrong (i.e.not left hand) side of the road.

Back to the point of the thread.. Changing tracks on my mp3 player (plugged into car radio) is probably just as dangerous while driving, and I probably do it too often. I always stop now if I need to root around in menus for the right song. This has to be as bad.

[IonDragon]

It's the fact that your hands are not free to drive. The big argument against this law is "Well, then why is eating a cheeseburger while driving still legal?"

Then the law is poorly phrased. You can still be holding your phone in your hand while you drive so long as you are talking into the hands free device, no? And there are so many other things you are allowed to do in the car (not limited to eating and drinking) that are legal. Adjusting the air conditioning, changing songs on your iPod, switching CDs, the list goes on. It also includes a Push to Talk exception, so you can use a cell phone that has that functionality. Source. (http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc23123.htm)

Everything else falls under Driving While Distracted, which includes screaming children, laptop computers, portable DVD players, Reading a book (yes, I have seen someone do this while driving). So the question becomes, if a cell phone is as distracting to the level indicated, why does it not constitute driving while distracted and therefore need it's own law?

[KilltheToy]

In a word, yes. Everybody drives automatic. I can count the number of people I know that even know how to drive manual on one hand.

Almost everybody. I drive one, as does my dad.

Still, pretty much American car company makes their cars with automatic transmission standard. Foreign companies, being from places where people aren't quite as lazy, make them with manual transmission standard. This is the impression I got from looking at cars on the company websites, at any rate.

[dehro]

Then the law is poorly phrased. You can still be holding your phone in your hand while you drive so long as you are talking into the hands free device, no? And there are so many other things you are allowed to do in the car (not limited to eating and drinking) that are legal. Adjusting the air conditioning, changing songs on your iPod, switching CDs, the list goes on. It also includes a Push to Talk exception, so you can use a cell phone that has that functionality. Source. (http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d11/vc23123.htm)

Everything else falls under Driving While Distracted, which includes screaming children, laptop computers, portable DVD players, Reading a book (yes, I have seen someone do this while driving). So the question becomes, if a cell phone is as distracting to the level indicated, why does it not constitute driving while distracted and therefore need it's own law?
I think the divide is whether you pull it off or get in a crash..
if you manage to eat a cheeseburger whilst driving, good for you..if you end up driving your car in a tree or causing an accident involving someone else, the fact that you had indeed been eating a burger WILL be held against you.

[dehro]

Almost everybody. I drive one, as does my dad.

Still, pretty much American car company makes their cars with automatic transmission standard. Foreign companies, being from places where people aren't quite as lazy, make them with manual transmission standard. This is the impression I got from looking at cars on the company websites, at any rate.

we get plenty of american brand cars made with standard manual transmission over here (read "in europe").
what makes the difference is where they're assembled/made.. not the brand.
factories located in america will produce mainly automatic ..european based factories of the same brands will produce mostly manual transmission

[Moonshadow]

You're all insanely lucky. Over here in Australia, if you get caught even TOUCHING a phone while in a vehicle that you are currently sitting in the drivers seat of, you get a fine and loss of demerit points.

That said, you're behind the wheel of a 2000kg+ hunk of metal, going at speeds over over 100 km an hour. Get your attention on the bloody road, not on your phone :smallfurious: I've seen that many idiots talking or texting while they're driving, and I'm surprised they haven't been killed yet.

When you're driving a car, you're driving a car. Not drinking your coffee, not watching a dvd, not texting on your phone. You're. Driving. Your. CAR.

Sheesh, it's common bloody sense *grumbles*

[Innis Cabal]

Yep, drinking coffee while in your car sure is immature. Like road rage.

[Isolder74]

I never eat while I'm driving. I don't understand how that someone can be in such a hurry that they can't wait until they are where they are going to eat something. The only use i see for a cup holder is a place to hold a drink so i can spend my time driving like I'm suppose to be doing.