*promote

Promoting this video and sending it back into the queue for one more try; last queued Monday, May 30th, 2011 9:43am PDT - promote requested by Hybrid.

from the person who posted this vid, per YT:

I was following a teen that was texting.

I called the police then followed him and video taped him.

He hit two cars... TEXTING and DRIVING is not worth it!!!!

The original video was given to police.

omg omg i ran off road rolfcopter

I'm really glad this person's reaction was that of concern. Looks like he turned the camera off to run over to help the (bad) driver.

I made my son watch this, profanity and all.

What I really like is how the driver video taping doesn't really give him that much room between himself and the car, nor does he even slow down that much when he goes by the wreck...

>> ^Gunter:

What I really like is how the driver video taping doesn't really give him that much room between himself and the car, nor does he even slow down that much when he goes by the wreck...


Right, if that were going on in front of me I'd have backed way off figuring a wreck was inevitable and not wanting any chance of being part of it.

Followup video: This is why you don't record and drive!

Followup video: This is why you don't record a guy recording a guy texting and drive!

But really, how stupid do you have to be? I've texted while behind the wheel before, sure, but I was stuck in traffic for an hour.

*nsfw

Was that driver really texting? Maybe drunk? Or both?

This video has been flagged as being Not Suitable For Work - declared nsfw by ant.

I agree, there is no substantial proof that this person was texting. I have seen some distracted driving in my time, and that does not appear to be someone texting. Seems more like they were on drugs or drunk.

>> ^ant:

nsfw
Was that driver really texting? Maybe drunk? Or both?

uh, yeah, that's drunk. that's really drunk.

So the moral here is that texting while driving is bad, but videotaping while driving is ...?

Hey, how about FUCKING DRIVING.

Yeah, no way that was texting and driving. The first time the driver swerved off the road but recovered, they'd have either dropped the phone and stopped being a dipshit, or started paying closer attention. Instead, this driver swerved off into the other lane and then continued swerving all over the place... Something else was going on, imo.

Recording and Driving doesn't seem that much safer. Oh the Irony hehehehe lol

I tried looking through the comments on the YT vid to see if he said anywhere how he knows he was texting and not drunk, but saw nothing.

So until there's some proof that it really was someone texting and not drunk, I will call drunk.

Sweet 180!!!

Guy filming? Is it just me or is he over reacting like a whining bitch over a minor scrap and skidding across a field.

Close call? Hell yeah... but nothing 'Final Destination' like happened.

Calm the fuck down. You're no help to anyone panicking like a sissy.

Video of a drugged out, elderly, or comatose driver, labeled as 'texting & driving' in order to go viral

Tags for this video have been changed from 'moron, texting, txtng, DRIVING' to 'moron, texting, txtng, DRIVING, omg' - edited by calvados

They can tell whether or not the driver was texting by bringing up the phone records for that date/time. I assume from the YT poster's message that this was confirmed by police?

from the person who posted this vid, per YT description -- emphasis added to the word "teen":

"I was following a teen that was texting.

I called the police then followed him and video taped him.

He hit two cars... TEXTING and DRIVING is not worth it!!!!

The original video was given to police."

Not drunk, not on drugs. Just doped up on being a teenager who thinks they are immortal.

@bareboards2

Good point, but a youtube user uploading a video can say anything, and in this case he has incentive to say something that will make the video go viral.

A number of commenters above note this isn't how someone generally drives when they're texting; it's how someone drives when they're not sober or having a medical emergency.

I think skepticism is the safest position until we can verify it with a news source or something.

He also posted a comment later on that says:

I posted this video so parents can show their kids how dangerous texting/ drinking/ distractions can be while driving.

I won't post names and locations because I'm trying to protect all people involved.

Everyone was ok. I stayed and helped until police and emergency arrived.

Everyone there was glad I caught it on film. The entire video was sent to the police and people involved.

Please, don't text/ drink / become distracted and drive.

Unfortunately the lack of information provided is what makes everyone question what really happened. We are not doubting that the video shown is a powerful reminder that the roads are dangerous, but unfortunately there is no clear evidence that this accident occurred due to a specific mental impairment (I'm including texting while driving as a mental impairment).

It would be more helpful if there was a link to an associated news story that said texting was the clear reason.

In my opinion on this video, once the car came bouncing off the retaining wall into oncoming traffic, you would expect the brakes to be applied immediately (in fact, I don't see any brake lights at all) and some immediate correction in direction to the right to avoid the oncoming traffic if texting was the only distraction involved.

Additionally, throughout the video we see the vehicle swerving all over a straight road. Generally this is not typical behavior if someone is texting and driving, since they wouldn't even be using the steering wheel since both hands (or at least one) is on the phone texting.

And anyway, since when do we take what everyone posts on YouTube at face value?

>> ^bareboards2:

from the person who posted this vid, per YT description -- emphasis added to the word "teen":
"I was following a teen that was texting.
I called the police then followed him and video taped him.
He hit two cars... TEXTING and DRIVING is not worth it!!!!
The original video was given to police."
Not drunk, not on drugs. Just doped up on being a teenager who thinks they are immortal.

What a fucking moron. He's lucky he didn't kill anyone.

Let's hope that cameraman really did call the cops First, before trying to become a YouTube star.

Pointing a camera requires you to watch the road, texting requires you to take your eyes off the road. They are worlds different in terms of safety, though, still awesomely ironic indeed!

I text while driving cause I'm pro. Teens suck at everything.

What I can't understand is why he films instead of excessively using his car horn to make the swerving driver awake/alert or even stopping.

>> ^raverman:

Guy filming? Is it just me or is he over reacting like a whining bitch over a minor scrap and skidding across a field.
Close call? Hell yeah... but nothing 'Final Destination' like happened.
Calm the fuck down. You're no help to anyone panicking like a sissy.


Lol.. you must think you're immortal or something - i'm not sure you even realise how dangerous the events in the video were? He's really lucky the car didn't flip at 4 or 5 different times, some serious reactions just about saved the other car from a head on collision at a combined speed of what, 120+ miles per hour(?) and they could have been flipped too, aside from colliding with any cars that were behind the guy filming if they lost control and left their lane (considering how they collided, it seems fairly likely).

I think his reaction was fine. That was some ssseeerrrriously close shit.

Am I the only one who finds this pretty disturbing not for the idiot driver but for the guy filming? How indicative this is of the 'youtube era', so what if he called the police first? After that phone call his train of thought just logically led him to 'ok, it's time to start recording this'?

I can't help but think that if that wasn't on his mind maybe he would've tried to some how prevent a disaster? Maybe drive up behind him and start honking like crazy? Maybe not even managing to stop the moron but at least giving a heads up to incoming traffic.

Hell, I would've found this more comforting if he would've at least given some indication that he's enjoying it in some twisted way, that he's not intervening because the concept of an upcoming disaster fascinates him, it's the fact that this is how a (as it appears to me) responsible, well-intentioned citizen reacts to an emergency.

Well look at it the other way. What if he filmed it and the accident never occurred? The guy never hit the guard and never crossed back over to strike a vehicle or whatever else. He went on about his day and all there was to prove it ever happened was a phone call to police about a erratic driver and a few drivers who could have said that they did see a car over the line temporarily as they passed it.

Police don't give tickets based on other people's observations alone, if they did...all those people who call in about a car going too fast in their neighborhood with a license plate number attached would have tickets mailed to them.

So......this video would be the only thing that is "proof" that this guy was doing some very dangerous shit. And to top it off, what if someone else wrecked trying to avoid him? How do you prove the guy was trying to play chicken with you and that's why you swerved and wrecked?

I think the guy filming was too close to the guy driving erratically, but otherwise I find no fault in what he did. He wasn't all over the road filming the guy. Honking and flashing his lights ain't going to make a guy stop what he's doing...especially when he had a couple near head-on collisions and didn't stop.

Frustrates me when Im on the road and a semi truck is driving erratic and I am not sure if Im wasting my time calling 911 because he might be long gone by the time they arrive or might have hit a patch of slow traffic and got himself under control. Or "dangerous" campers dragging another long ass vehicle behind them....it's not against the law, but when they can't seem to keep it within the lines during high winds...video proof is about the only thing you could use to prove the guys are unsafe as hell.

Yeah I, definitely wish I could mount cameras on my car for this very reason, to upload it to police in the case of an accident or just to report some asshole being a shitty driver. Everyone drives slow and safe when the cops are around, then proceed to drive like an idiot when they arent. Cameras on everyones car would help with that IMO.

But I agree, this video reeks of someone using an accident to leech internet fame off of it

I'm guessing it was a late night last night. That's how you drive when you can't help but pass out.

Wow. Obviously that person was drunk. How dangerous is videotaping while driving though?

Are we sure he was texting? It's an easy bogeyman, but where's the proof?

Yeah, texting seems like a bizarre assumption here.

I don't see why people think that recording something while driving requires any sort of focused attention. All you have to do is hold the fucking camera.



Also, never mind honking at a drunk/drugged out driver. That would be far less effective than the driver in front of the idiot noticing in their rear-view and slowing to a stop.

>> ^MarineGunrock:

I don't see why people think that recording something while driving requires any sort of focused attention. All you have to do is hold the fucking camera.


Holding a cellphone isn't too difficult either, but it's illegal here. Makes you wonder about this whole "law" thing, huh?

Good news everyone. Soon you wont even need to use you mobile phone/camera to record these sorts of things...

http://www.news.com.au/technology/gallery-e6frflwi-1226067023498?page=13

Yeah, not much happens - this guy just almost hit two cars head on full of who knows how many people going pretty fast. Not Final Destination but it could have been really bad.

I think this guy has just got a thing about teens and texting generally.

OMG OMG OMG OMG!

Dude. God had nothing to do with it. The spaghetti monster was brandishing righteous vengeance upon driving heathen texters.

The guy recording this pisses me off just as much as the driver in front of him. Maybe he was texting him to STFU DUDE!