Hang up and drive
February 18, 2006 1:43 PM   Subscribe

This post was deleted for the following reason: newsfilter one joke mehfilter.



 
nice.
posted by puke & cry at 1:45 PM on February 18, 2006 [1 favorite]


[sigh]
GoreFilter.
posted by CynicalKnight at 1:48 PM on February 18, 2006


Sounds like a terrible accident, but somehow I can't help but smile.
posted by Plutor at 1:50 PM on February 18, 2006


i don't think "let your fingers do the walking" was meant to be taken literally
posted by pyramid termite at 1:51 PM on February 18, 2006


Hmm, her injuries probably had a lot more to do with the fact that she was driving a truck then the fact that was talking on a cellphone. Sure, she might still have rolled a Civic, but it wouldn't have collapsed in on her like that.

I wonder what the road conditions were like? was the road covered with snow?
posted by delmoi at 1:56 PM on February 18, 2006


"Sir, you can take my cell phone when you pry it out of my cold, dying fingers."
I know I shouldn't do that. I promise I will amend my ways in the future
posted by nkyad at 2:06 PM on February 18, 2006


Hmm, her injuries probably had a lot more to do with the fact that she was driving a truck then the fact that was talking on a cellphone.

Well, it's obvious that she didn't have both hands on the steering wheel it's very hard to make emergency manuevers with one hand. According to the story, she veered into the median (not paying attention) and then over corrected (one hand driving).
posted by 445supermag at 2:08 PM on February 18, 2006


Hmm, her injuries probably had a lot more to do with the fact that she was driving a truck then the fact that was talking on a cellphone. Sure, she might still have rolled a Civic, but it wouldn't have collapsed in on her like that.

But the fact that she had an accident at all probably had a lot more to do with the fact that she was driving a truck and talking on a cellphone.
posted by Kwantsar at 2:08 PM on February 18, 2006


Oh god, she isn't going to kill Dr. Kimble's wife now, is she??
posted by orthogonality at 2:13 PM on February 18, 2006


I note that they're explicit about specifying that its a 'truck' but that they don't specify what type of vehicle it is. 'Truck' can mean any of a hundred different vehicles. If you're going to say what kind of car it is, you include make, model and year or you leave it out.
posted by Skorgu at 2:14 PM on February 18, 2006


Fucking cellphones. I hate the stupid thing
posted by growabrain at 2:15 PM on February 18, 2006


Fucking cellphones. I hate the stupid thing

Surely the woman had more to do with this accident than the phone.
posted by xmutex at 2:20 PM on February 18, 2006


Should probably add a "dumbass" tag or something else suitably fark-like.
posted by psmealey at 2:23 PM on February 18, 2006


rubberneckfilter
posted by Busithoth at 2:26 PM on February 18, 2006


i missed the part in the article where it said she was in fact talking on the cellphone, kwantsar (and the rest of ya).

it's easy to assume that, sure. but she could just as easily have been merely holding her phone in her hand when the accident happened.
posted by Hat Maui at 2:27 PM on February 18, 2006


they don't specify what type of vehicle it is.

Another article says pickup truck.

Surely the woman had more to do with this accident than the phone.

Lots of things may have contributed to the accident, but I bet the phone (like her horrible severed arm) was the clincher.

When she recovers, she'll have to buy a hand[s]-free set. At least she won't have to worry about trucker's tan anymore.
posted by pracowity at 2:28 PM on February 18, 2006


but she could just as easily have been merely holding her phone in her hand when the accident happened.

I can't tell whether you're joking. Why would she be holding her phone rather than the steering wheel? And isn't it easier to move an empty hand to the wheel than a laden one?
posted by Kwantsar at 2:31 PM on February 18, 2006


rubberneckfilter

I concur.
posted by rollbiz at 2:34 PM on February 18, 2006


Ouch, too bad. Guess she won't be talking while driving for a while.
posted by Dean Keaton at 2:37 PM on February 18, 2006


But the fact that she had an accident at all probably had a lot more to do with the fact that she was driving a truck and talking on a cellphone.

Did you divine that through astral projection or were you there? The articles certainly don't say enough to suppose that.
posted by eyeballkid at 2:39 PM on February 18, 2006


pics?
posted by thirteenkiller at 2:40 PM on February 18, 2006


Reach out and touch someone... an old Ma Bell slogan wasn't meant to be taken literally.
posted by Gungho at 2:43 PM on February 18, 2006


I say, that's no way to get ahead!
posted by five fresh fish at 2:45 PM on February 18, 2006


Why would she be holding her phone rather than the steering wheel?

do you always drive with both hands?

And isn't it easier to move an empty hand to the wheel than a laden one?

uh, yeah. still doesn't mean she was talking on the phone. what if she had been holding a baseball or a soda or a copy of barron's?
posted by Hat Maui at 2:47 PM on February 18, 2006


what if she had been holding a baseball or a soda or a copy of barron's?

Those would all be dangerous things to be holding while driving. Yes, even the soda.
posted by I Love Tacos at 2:50 PM on February 18, 2006


(though I admit, the story is a lot funnier with a cell phone)
posted by I Love Tacos at 2:51 PM on February 18, 2006


Why is this on the front page
?
Go post crap like this on Fark.
posted by caddis at 2:56 PM on February 18, 2006


How many people do you see with phone in hand while driving? Have you ever driven with phone in hand while driving? What if I told you that woman was my aunt and I don't find it funny. She wasn't my aunt but I don't think it funny. In my state, the phone companies dumped lots of money to keep state from passing anti-cell phone use while driving. Finally, after a few tries, they passed law saying hand-free ok. But studies show that hands-free calls just as dangerous. Now go forth and sin no more
posted by Postroad at 2:56 PM on February 18, 2006


Vital piece of information. Glad it was in the news article so we can all make broad generalizations about the accident, guilt, etc.
posted by iamck at 2:58 PM on February 18, 2006


(and for the detail oriented, it was a Chevy S10 Pickup, the road was clear, the temperature was about 50F, winds were light, and it was overcast.)
posted by I Love Tacos at 2:59 PM on February 18, 2006


Did you divine that through astral projection or were you there? The articles certainly don't say enough to suppose that.

The word "probably" is a get-out-of-jail-free card. Anyway, the article reads that "Dotson veered into the median and over-corrected, rolling her truck over the guardrail and landing upside down after flipping several times."

First off, rolling a car over a guardrail is tough to do. Second, correcting (rather than overcorrecting) is done more easily with both hands on the wheel.

Do you find either of my assertions to be hard to swallow?
posted by Kwantsar at 3:01 PM on February 18, 2006


Those would all be dangerous things to be holding while driving. Yes, even the soda.

okay, then time for an informal survey. how many of you have never once driven while holding an object in your left hand?

(results will perhaps be skewed by those whom i can't tally because i can't tell if they're raising their hands or not.)

see, 'cuz their hands are missing. from holding things while driving. get it?
posted by Hat Maui at 3:01 PM on February 18, 2006


Both were flown to hospitals, and Dotson is listed in serious condition at UK Hospital.

Given the cost of American health care, I'd fly to the UK, too.
posted by hodyoaten at 3:03 PM on February 18, 2006


Hat Maui: Most of us do stupid things in our cars all the time. If you look at industrial accidents, you'll see similar behaviour patterns, where people become complacent about proper safety behaviours and get away with it for a long time before the inevitable accident.

If I got into a car accident because of reckless behaviour, I'd be glad that people were laughing at my retardation. That might help some other motorist think twice before they drink coffee while talking on a cell phone.
posted by I Love Tacos at 3:09 PM on February 18, 2006


The press has been known to report things that are sensational but untrue. The phone still in her hand is a bit hollywood for me. When I nearly hit a pedestrian, and had to swerve, the lipstick in my hand went flying!
I can't imagine hanging on to a cell in a rollover.
posted by onegreeneye at 3:10 PM on February 18, 2006


(the coffee + cell phone example is being used because I've committed that crime hundreds of times.)
posted by I Love Tacos at 3:10 PM on February 18, 2006


Imagine the person on the other end of that phone call.
posted by billysumday at 3:18 PM on February 18, 2006


If I got into a car accident because of reckless behaviour

see, what i'm getting at is that you're assuming facts that aren't in evidence. nowhere in any of this does it say she was doing anything besides holding the phone (which we know because it was still in her hand, improbable though that might be).

if your claim is it's stupid or reckless to hold an object in your hand while driving, i must point out that such a claim is definitely obtuse and probably hypocritical.
posted by Hat Maui at 3:23 PM on February 18, 2006


Hat Maui: For your survey - I'm left handed. When I'm not (putting on lipstick) drinking coffee, my right hand is in my lap. Others will have their hand on the stick shift I'd imagine.
posted by onegreeneye at 3:30 PM on February 18, 2006


Lock her up and put the girl into foster care.
posted by HTuttle at 3:31 PM on February 18, 2006


The main reason she got into the accident was that she was in her truck. She could have avoided an auto accident if she had simply not left her house. I hope we can all learn from this.
posted by Kloryne at 3:35 PM on February 18, 2006


see, what i'm getting at is that you're assuming facts that aren't in evidence. nowhere in any of this does it say she was doing anything besides holding the phone


And nowhere in DWI accidents does it ALWAYS mean the drinking actually caused the accident. After all accidents happen ALL the time to innocent sober people, what's to stop those same innocent accidents happening to a DWI? But because it's to hard to know for sure, it's routinely assumed that the impairment was a contributing factor. So should it be here.
posted by HTuttle at 3:35 PM on February 18, 2006


i wonder if they could re-attach her arm.
posted by obeygiant at 3:38 PM on February 18, 2006


Or give her a robotic arm. With a built-in cell phone.
posted by LarryC at 3:48 PM on February 18, 2006


HTuttle, yes, but it's illegal to drive under the influence whether you cause an accident or not. it's not illegal to have a cellphone in your hand. nor is it illegal to talk on one when driving in most places. but we don't even know if that's what she was doing.
posted by Hat Maui at 3:48 PM on February 18, 2006


The main reason she got into the accident was that she was because she's a fucking bad driver, that's why!:

" ... the accident in which Dotson veered into the median and over-corrected, ... "

Veered into a median.

Overcorrected.

Christ, they hand licenses out to anybody in this country.
posted by Relay at 3:48 PM on February 18, 2006


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