Driving with Whistles Warning

A-Musing · Post by **A-Musing** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 7:02 pm

At a stop light, today, I defiantly played a tune TO my airbag. Right TO it! Egging it on. DARING it to deploy. Whuddaya GOT, Mr High Tech??!!

Nothin'.....

Then, in the rear-view mirror, I saw a car approaching my sensitive rear bumper, and quickly, er, put the whistle down. My mother did not raise a fool...

azw · Post by **azw** » Tue Sep 18, 2007 7:05 pm

Is it true that in Britain it's illegal to hold a drink while you're driving and there are no cupholders in cars? (Or maybe that's only true of the front seat?)

chrisoff · Post by **chrisoff** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 4:08 am

azw wrote:Is it true that in Britain it's illegal to hold a drink while you're driving and there are no cupholders in cars? (Or maybe that's only true of the front seat?)

There are some cupholders but they're not that common. I dunno about illegal but if you were driving with one hand on the wheel and holding a drink in the other I imagine the police would pull you over and have a word. If you're using a cupholder and it's a closed container (a bottle of water with a sports top for example) and you're only holding it occasionally to sip then I don't think that's a problem.

It's illegal to use a mobile phone while driving. But I'm not sure about anything else.

fearfaoin · Post by **fearfaoin** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 6:59 am

a translation of what Gutifr wrote:This fellow had a notebook containing sheet music in the left corner of the front windshield.

Wow, that's the best part!
Thanks for the language help, folks.

pancelticpiper · Post by **pancelticpiper** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 7:18 am

Here in "greater Los Angeles" people often commute two or more hours each way to work every day. I've seen some amazing things- like the guy who had a newspaper propped up on the steering wheel, coffee in one hand, and an electric razor in the other, calmly giving himself a shave and reading the paper while hurtling at 70 mph down the freeway. Or the women doing their makeup (that's what the rearview mirror is REALLY for) while chatting on their mobile phone/cell phone.
The mobile phone use is really really getting annoying. Every day I have people who swerve into my lane or suddenly dart in front of me without signalling and in every case they're chatting on the phone.
But I am guilty of playing whistle (low D whistle no less!) not only at traffic stops but also on the LA freeways.

PallasAthena · Post by **PallasAthena** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 2:11 pm

I really hope the guy in that video is driving an automatic...

...or, if not, he's not planning on altering his speed sugnificantly any time soon...

Key_of_D · Post by **Key_of_D** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 2:50 pm

chrisoff wrote:It just seems unsafe to me.

Hmm, since when did most Americans care about doing anything safe... As many car accidents, shootings, murders, people dieing from cigarettes, alcohol, drugs, boating accidents, pretty much you name it happens, doesn't seem like the majority of at least America is safe.

But I too, would play my tin whistle in the car while at a stop light, and would get some funky looks from curious on lookers wondering what the hell I was doing? However, reading this, I too, again... Did not think about "what if"... What if the airbag went off while holding my whistle. Not a Good idea.

-Eric

azw · Post by **azw** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 9:32 pm

When *does* an air bag go off? Is it only for front-end collisions? If so, it doesn't seem too risky to play the whistle at stop lights.

awildman · Post by **awildman** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 11:44 pm

azw wrote:When *does* an air bag go off? Is it only for front-end collisions? If so, it doesn't seem too risky to play the whistle at stop lights.

Unless you get rearended and pushed into the car in front of you. there are also side-impact airbags in newer models. You never know when an accident will happen, or where it will come from. Unless you're in your parking space, you've always got a decent chance of being involved in a collision.

azw · Post by **azw** » Wed Sep 19, 2007 11:51 pm

That's a good point!

wvwhistler · Post by **wvwhistler** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 12:06 am

Many models have had rear impact relays since the introduction of the airbag. A significant impact from either end could set you to swallowing your whistle. Perhaps if they made the airbag like a doughnut with a large hole in the center....

azw · Post by **azw** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 12:25 am

.... Or if what if we had collapsible whistles, that telescope like the steering column does?

azw · Post by **azw** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 12:52 am

I've also heard of homemade whistles made out of flexible plastic tubing.

Hmm. There may be a market for "safety whistles." I wonder if any of our whistle makers will serve this niche?!

tegea · Post by **tegea** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 7:12 am

Never thought than playing the whistle could be such a dangerous hobby !

Here I often drive 1hour or 1hour and a half when moving around to go to meetings. I'm used to play at the stop lights and also in really big traffic jams, when the car is stopped for a couple of minutes. This is a playtime for me and I can't imagine stopping that.
So between being for sure bored to death, or being possibly impaled to death, I will choose the second option.

Innocent Bystander · Post by **Innocent Bystander** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 7:25 am

Given the choice, I'll take "bored to death".

Chris, no eating apples in cars either! Remember that one?