Cell phones don't kill children, idiot parents do

[Rufus T. Firefly]

This is so freaking awful, and pisses me off so much:

Driver distracted by phone, children drown, police say

(CNN) -- Five children drowned in a Houston, Texas, bayou Saturday after the car they were riding in veered off the road, police said.

An adult passenger told police the driver -- the father of four of the victims -- was distracted by a cell phone call that he answered, Houston police Officer John Cannon told CNN. The Lincoln Towncar went down an embankment and into the Green Bayou, he said.

The driver, who was not immediately identified, got out of the car. The adult passenger, who police said was the driver's brother, also escaped and rescued a 10-year-old girl from the vehicle, Cannon said.

The five children killed in the accident were identified as two girls, ages 1 and 3, and three boys, ages 4, 6 and 7.

The car was found in 9½ feet of water after a two-hour search. Police say the current in the waterway was so swift that divers could only touch the car but could not open the doors.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/04/19/texas.car.drowning/

My father-in-law was once actually on the other end of the phone when the caller/driver -- one of his best friends -- crashed and died. He still can't really talk about it.

PUT THE FREAKING PHONE DOWN, DRIVERS!

[SlowwHand]

Absolutely correct. I hate seeing drivers with a cell phone.

[SlowwHand]

More to the story.

Police plan to charge driver in fatal accident

AP – Rescue workers make their way to a submerged vehicle containing five children Saturday, April 18, 2009 …

13 mins ago

HOUSTON – Police in Texas say they plan to charge the driver of a vehicle that plunged into a rain-swollen ditch, killing five children.

Houston police spokesman Kese Smith said Sunday that police planned to formally charge 32-year-old Chanton Jenkins with three counts of intoxication manslaughter.

Smith said Jenkins failed a field sobriety test following the accident Saturday that followed torrential rain storms.

The bodies of three boys — ages 4, 7 and 11 — were found inside the vehicle. A search was planned Sunday morning for two girls ages 1 and 3.

The driver and another adult escaped from the vehicle, along with a 10-year-old girl.

Smith did not know if Jenkins had an attorney to speak for him.

[Straybow]

Cell phones don't kill people, cell phone calls kill people! We should make cell phone calls illegal.

[Ming]

Hmmm... I wonder if his drinking had more to do with it than the cell phone

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Hmmm... I wonder if his drinking had more to do with it than the cell phone

Guy was drunk the whole time, but only crashed once he got on the phone. Methinks the phone's still to blame.

[SlowwHand]

I doubt that either helped the other.

[chequita guevara]

When tested, cell phones have been shown to cause worse driving than drinking. My wife keeps arguing with me on this, just like all the people I used to know back in the 80s who claimed they could drive drink no problem.

[Darius871]

Lincoln Towncar

Again the cops ignore the real problem.

[Darius871]

Cell phones don't kill people, cell phone calls kill people! We should make cell phone calls illegal.

Don't forget texting. I ****ing HATE people who text.

[chequita guevara]

If only there was a way to keep cell phones from operating when you're driving a car. I thought about the cell phone companies refusing to take or send calls to a cell phone moving over a certain speed, but that would screw passengers on buses and trains (although that would keep their yacking from annoying the rest of us). Actually, now that I think of that, it's more of a plus than a minus.

[Darius871]

If only there was a way to keep cell phones from operating when you're driving a car. I thought about the cell phone companies refusing to take or send calls to a cell phone moving over a certain speed, but that would screw passengers on buses and trains (although that would keep their yacking from annoying the rest of us). Actually, now that I think of that, it's more of a plus than a minus.

It'd be much simpler to have corresponding RFID tags uniformly installed in cars and phones, though it'd take government action to get all manufacturers on board. Maybe when they put GPS trackers on cars in the next decade (for carbon tax purposes) they could add on things like this while they're at it, plus a breathalyzer ignition.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Don't forget texting. I ****ing HATE people who text.

The other day, while walking to the Metro, I saw a guy driving down Connecticut Ave (a major, pedestrian-heavy thoroughfare), working his Crackberry with both hands and staring at its screen while steering with his wrists. Idiot.

[BlackCat]

The other day, while walking to the Metro, I saw a guy driving down Connecticut Ave (a major, pedestrian-heavy thoroughfare), working his Crackberry with both hands and staring at its screen while steering with his wrists. Idiot.

When I read that, I went - vrist in danish is a part of the foot

[Rufus T. Firefly]