What are your reading habits?

[Apache]

Florida also has problems with salt from the sea air causing problems with older vehicles. But, it is illegal, in Florida, to drive your vehicle on most beaches. You can also get into a lot of trouble for damaging protected sea oats. I also am a fanatic about maintaining my vehicles. The most important thing for maintaining your engine is regular oil changes based on your driving habits.
Apache

[Kai Winters]

Funny how this has drifted far afield from the topic posted...

[AnotherCat]

Originally Posted by Witty Username

She had her day in court, was found guilty and it cost her a total of £90. As expected, she wasn't ticketed for drinking while stationary at a red traffic light.

telegraph newspaper report.

The presiding magistrate said:

Thanks for finding that. So it seems now that ("seems" as relying still on the rags), despite the claims to the contrary, neither the apple driver nor the water driver were stopped nor even in benign driving situations. But rather both negotiated intersections with only one hand available to control their vehicles and the other controlling their food or drink.

If that is so it seems a fair cop to me, especially if other traffic about (and there was, one assumes, being at least a police vehicle ) and even more so if the road was multilane and lane keeping was contravened: it would likely draw the attention of the law in my own country too.

[Froide]

Originally Posted by Pitusky

Comment what your reading habits are such as how much you read per session, where do you like to read, how long do you take to finish a book, etc.

I'm curious about why you're asking. Do tell!

[cromag]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Here's an example of a woman being prosecuted for drinking from a bottle of water while her car was stopped at traffic lights:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/774655.stm

I'm unable to discover what the outcome of the court case was, but this goes to show that you can indeed be fined for drinking water in a stationary vehicle.

Originally Posted by Witty Username

She had her day in court, was found guilty and it cost her a total of £90. As expected, she wasn't ticketed for drinking while stationary at a red traffic light.

telegraph newspaper report.

The presiding magistrate said:

I've been reading this side-discussion with some interest. I usually make two to six (sometimes more) trips per month to New England -- amounting to eight hours on the road. All but ten minutes is on the Interstate highway. I always have two (or three) coffees on the road.

True, sipping from a travel mug of coffee could be considered a distraction, but it's a very minor distraction, and easily controlled. On the other hand, someone driving for eight hours on a high speed, limited access highway without any source of distraction is just begging for a dangerous case of highway hypnosis, IMHO.

For what it's worth, I haven't gotten a ticket for a driving violation of any kind since 1976. I was in collisions in 1997 (other driver failed to stop at a stop sign) and 2003 (passed by a driver on my right side -- the wrong side here in the States -- and the driver apparently missed the sign warning him he was in an exit lane).

I'm sticking with the coffee.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by cromag

True, sipping from a travel mug of coffee could be considered a distraction

It's not the fact that it's a "distraction"; the issue is that if you're holding a cup in one hand you're not, and cannot be, in proper control of your vehicle, and you're a danger both to yourself and to other road users. Cars are not designed to be driven one-handed.

[murg]

Originally Posted by HarryT

It's not the fact that it's a "distraction"; the issue is that if you're holding a cup in one hand you're not, and cannot be, in proper control of your vehicle, and you're a danger both to yourself and to other road users. Cars are not designed to be driven one-handed.

Some modern cars are designed to be driven no-handed.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by murg

Some modern cars are designed to be driven no-handed.

But the majority of current vehicles are not. That's the legal issue: if you're holding a cup of coffee, you're not in a position to react quickly in the event of an emergency arising.

[Cinisajoy]

HarryT,
It may be a legal issue in England but it is not a law in the United States and as others have pointed out both the cases you cited were turning at the time.
Now let's see in a manual, one hand on the wheel, one on the gear shift to change gears.
In town I might halfway buy your coffee argument. But out on the interstate, doubtful since one is not going to be making any sudden left turns.
Oh and most guys I know that learned on manual transmissions all drive with only one hand on the steering wheel.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

In town I might halfway buy your coffee argument. But out on the interstate, doubtful since one is not going to be making any sudden left turns.

A truck suddenly jack-knifes in front of me and I need to make a sudden turn to avoid it. Oops - I can't, because I'm holding a coffee cup. I'm dead.

You do as you wish, of course, but personally I prefer to be in control of my car, not drinking coffee. Stop to drink. Concentrate on driving when you're doing that.

[cvkemp]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

HarryT,
It may be a legal issue in England but it is not a law in the United States and as others have pointed out both the cases you cited were turning at the time.
Now let's see in a manual, one hand on the wheel, one on the gear shift to change gears.
In town I might halfway buy your coffee argument. But out on the interstate, doubtful since one is not going to be making any sudden left turns.
Oh and most guys I know that learned on manual transmissions all drive with only one hand on the steering wheel.

Well for me, and yes I live in Texas. I will only drink when stopped. Maybe that has to do with the fact that I have been driving over 50 years and experience as shown me that it is not safe. Now I have to admit I not always keep both hands on the wheel, but I have both close enough that I can fully control the wheel at any time. Most of the accidents I have seen could have been prevented if the driver or one or both vehicles was paying attention and had both hands ready to control the car.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by HarryT

A truck suddenly jack-knifes in front of me and I need to make a sudden turn to avoid it. Oops - I can't, because I'm holding a coffee cup. I'm dead.

You do as you wish, of course, but personally I prefer to be in control of my car, not drinking coffee. Stop to drink. Concentrate on driving when you're doing that.

HarryT, what are you going to turn into? Are you going to turn into the concrete or wire barrier?
If you make a sudden left turn on the interstate you will either plow into a concrete or wire barrier or worse either run over a car going the opposite direction or get run over by a car going the opposite direction. Depending on if there are barriers.
Or in some spots, run off the road into a river. If the interstate sides are separated. And in one spot, if you lose control or make a sudden left turn, you will either land on a very used railroad track or on a train car.
You would need to slow down and move to the side of the road not make a turn.

Now just out of curiosity, are you a one or two foot driver?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

HarryT, what are you going to turn into? Are you going to turn into the concrete or wire barrier?
If you make a sudden left turn on the interstate you will either plow into a concrete or wire barrier or worse either run over a car going the opposite direction or get run over by a car going the opposite direction. Depending on if there are barriers.
Or in some spots, run off the road into a river. If the interstate sides are separated. And in one spot, if you lose control or make a sudden left turn, you will either land on a very used railroad track or on a train car.
You would need to slow down and move to the side of the road not make a turn.

Whatever action you take, you're going to be in a much better position to take it if you're concentrating on your driving. Particularly so compared to just having dumped a cup of boiling coffee in your lap because you've dropped it in an emergency situation.

Don't get me wrong - of course I appreciate that 99.99% of the time there'll be no harm done. It's that 0.01% of emergencies that you really don't (or at least I really don't!) want to find myself with hands full of coffee cups when I need to make an emergency manoeuvre.

Now just out of curiosity, are you a one or two foot driver?

I'm not sure it's even possible to drive with one foot, is it? One foot for the clutch, the other for the brake/accelerator. How are you going to change gear and accelerate or brake with one foot?

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by cvkemp

Well for me, and yes I live in Texas. I will only drink when stopped. Maybe that has to do with the fact that I have been driving over 50 years and experience as shown me that it is not safe. Now I have to admit I not always keep both hands on the wheel, but I have both close enough that I can fully control the wheel at any time. Most of the accidents I have seen could have been prevented if the driver or one or both vehicles was paying attention and had both hands ready to control the car.

Is Texas even safe to drive in anymore?
Out here even if people have both hands on the wheel, they will still pull out in front of you.
Now the last accident I was in, the driver did have both hands on the wheel. A wind gust caught the travel trailer we were pulling. Luckily he managed to get it off the road before the travel left the trailer. No one was hurt.

[cvkemp]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

HarryT, what are you going to turn into? Are you going to turn into the concrete or wire barrier?
If you make a sudden left turn on the interstate you will either plow into a concrete or wire barrier or worse either run over a car going the opposite direction or get run over by a car going the opposite direction. Depending on if there are barriers.
Or in some spots, run off the road into a river. If the interstate sides are separated. And in one spot, if you lose control or make a sudden left turn, you will either land on a very used railroad track or on a train car.
You would need to slow down and move to the side of the road not make a turn.

Now just out of curiosity, are you a one or two foot driver?

Have you ever taken a defencive driving course, I mean the type that are used to protect the really important people, lets say the President? Well I have and I know what it takes to really control a vehicle. There are always ways to get out of accidents and worse if you stay on top of your driving and in full control of your vehicle. And as for me I drive whatever is placed in front of me to drive. Car, truck, military vehicle, so on so forth. I see women driving while looking in the mirror putting on makeup, also drivers with laptops in their laps. If it was up to me they would all have to find other ways to get around I would remove their rights to drive.