> Why is this a problem? I don't mess with my phone while I'm driving, but if I'm sitting at a light for a minute or two, I'll take a peek if, say, a text message came in while I was moving, just to make sure it isn't something important from my wife or daughter.
Because you have things to concentrate on while stopped at the lights. Has that pedestrian crossing the road made it across or are they about to step out in front of you? Did you notice the cyclist overtaking on the inside that is now in your blind spot? Is the intersection in front of you clear or are you about to cause gridlock?
Not killing people is far more important than whatever message your wife or daughter sent, if that was truly important I'm sure you've got time to pull over.
If these folks aren't directly in front of your vehicle or running deep reds, you aren't going to collide with them when you have a green light and travel forwards. If you lane change, you need to do it outside of intersections and check your mirror / blind spot, like always.
If the car in front is 50cm further from the gutter then a cyclist can easily be in a blind spot that's directly in front of your vehicle, especially a higher and less transparent vehicle like a delivery van. If that van is 50cm in front of you then you can easily miss someone still crossing the road, like an elderly person that can't walk fast enough, if you were paying attention you have a much higher chance of being aware of them.
If you aren't willing to be attentive then you shouldn't be trusted to operate heavy machinery.
If you have a tall vehicle with a front blind spot, then of course. I didn't think that was the general topic of the conversation so I didn't cover that. Passenger cars typically don't have front blindspots large enough to hide a person standing.
I'd love to see car drivers that talk about Cell phone use being fine try to do that while operating a motorcycle.
I truly believe anybody driving should at least once drive both a smaller vehicle (such as a motorcycle) and a large one (such as a truck) - to get different perspectives on what the road is like. It's the same road, so it's important to understand.
I ride a motorcycle, and I don't really have any issue with people using their phones at a red light. There's effectively nothing I would be doing on my bike either. I would look at my mirrors to check if a car might not see my and rear-end me, but in California I filter up to the front which eliminates this risk.
I've ridden a motorcycle and bicycle in traffic many times, for what it's worth, and driven a U-haul truck once or twice. I don't think cell phone use while moving is generally acceptable -- just stopped.
I bike to work through gridlock and if you bike smart it's really not the hellscape people make it out to be. Filter on reds to the front so people on the opposite lane about to gun the left see you, and take your lefts by pulling over in front of the perpendicular lane and just go straight on the light change, then all you really have to worry about is potholes damaging your rim and your eyes can stay fixed forward. I was so happy to learn that left turn 'hack,' I haven't had to change a lane since, or check my mirror for that matter.
I have seen close calls by other bikers but they are either 1) riding their bike like they are in the suburbs (in other words, they might as well be deaf and blind), 2) clearly highly followed on Strava with vibrant tight neoprene and riding like its a closed course in the countryside, or 3) fixed gear prick skid stopping and aggressively weaving all over traffic with a Bluetooth speaker and calf tattoos. If you see any of these bikers, keep your distance.
Occasional gridlock for my commute (London) and it often is the hellscape I make it out to be because, uh, that's the hellscape I'm experiencing - pedestrians will step out without looking, even if you're ringing a bell; taxis will change lanes without warning; there's a large number of construction lorries with blind spots; and many drivers don't understand the concept of "leave room".
> but they are either [stereotypes]
Alas, I am none of those stereotypes (although I do ride a single gear, it's not fixed.)
And all of that only matters in the moments just before you hit the gas. All but the last two seconds before the light change you are just sitting on your hands day dreaming. No need to be so obtuse.
Because you have things to concentrate on while stopped at the lights. Has that pedestrian crossing the road made it across or are they about to step out in front of you? Did you notice the cyclist overtaking on the inside that is now in your blind spot? Is the intersection in front of you clear or are you about to cause gridlock?
Not killing people is far more important than whatever message your wife or daughter sent, if that was truly important I'm sure you've got time to pull over.