Drive Now. Talk Later

[monorail_man]

Drivers on Phones:
Are twice as likely to miss a traffic signal
Thier reaction time is slower to the signals they do detect
Their risk of causing a crash increases by 400%
This amount of risk is the same as if the driver were driving legally intoxicated
Using hands free equipment does not improve driver performance. It is the phone conversation that distracts!

More Here

 

[Erika]

I have heard the same thing, but I don't get how hands-free is any more distracting than having a person sitting in the car next to you (or a crying baby in the back seat).

 

[SpongeScott]

What's the difference between talking on a cell phone or having a conversation with someone in the car with you or with a car full of people? Or like Erika said with a crying infant in the car. If it's the conversation, then talking should be banned in cars. Or listening to the radio.

 

[tigsmom]

Agreed. There is a big push here to go "hands free", though I haven't seen any tickets given out yet.
Saw an interesting accident, a State Trooper crashed his car into a telephone pole (he wasn't hurt), guess what? He was talking on his cell phone when it happened.

The only time I'm not distracted at all when driving is when I'm alone in the car.

 

[wannab@dis]

I don't think there's a difference talking on the phone or talking to someone in the car or trying to calm down an upset baby (who's turned around backwards and can't see you).

Now granted, I can see distractions from dialing a cell phone, but talking, nope, don't agree. But, dialing the cell phone is the same as changing the CD or trying to grab the map from the backseat floor or ANY other action that you may do while driving.

This push to stop cell phone usage in cars seems a little goofy to me. The phones are only one of a litany of distractions.

 

[pinkrose]

........
This push to stop cell phone usage in cars seems a little goofy to me. The phones are only one of a litany of distractions.

I agree. I'm more distracted by my kids fighting in the backseat than when I'm on my cell phone.

I once saw a show on tv that did a countdown of the most dangerous foods to eat while driving.

 

[Erika]

I think the bottom line is just to be careful whatever you are doing and try to keep distractions to a minimum. I do use hands-free, although I tend to drive with one hand anyway, since I drove stick up until 3 years ago and I've never quite become used to my automatic.

 

[Shaman]

Driving and phones not a good combo...it annoys me to get stuck with people in front of me driving real real slow...becuase they are talking on the phone and not realizing HOW SLOW they're driving...or how fast....

If you must talk on the phone and drive, I suppose hands free is the way to go....but I don't see why people need to talk on the phone and drive when the cell phone is a fairly "new" invention...what did people do when there were no cell phones?

Here I think police should pull people over and ticket if drivers are talking on a phone driving without using hands free...a car is a weapon...people should drive responsibly...

Just my opinion...

(I have a cell, and rarely use it while I drive....I just think its not right)

 

[Lil'mermaid]

When I drive, I take my phone out of my pocket and leave it in a cup holder and either turn it off or leave it on vibrate. I need to focus on whats going on in front of me and what Im being told to do. Even then when my dad is talking to me I have to still try to focus on the road since Im so easily distracted.

My friend had the best idea for his phone. He clips it to his sun visor and turns the speaker phone on and drives. He didnt dial until he stopped at a light and hung up at a stop sign.

And by the way, what is so amazingly important that you need to be reachable at all times?

 

[barnum42]

It's now against the law in the UK to use a cell phone in a car, unless it is mounted in a cradle. As with many laws, a huge number of people choose to ignore it on the basis that they feel the slim chance of getting caught makes it worth the risk. When I'm in the car, the phone is switched off. Same for the motorbike.

 

[ogryn]

I think the theory is: If you have a cell in one hand, then you don't have two hands on the wheel and therefore aren't in full control of your vehicle.

Although I agree that hands-free kits do little to alleviate the problem.

 

[PhotoDave219]

I use a hand free device when i talk while driving. I find it no more distracting then conversing with someone in the car or singing along with the radio.

I have been known to hang up on people while driving. I nearly had some lady merge into my car yesterday on the BeeLine cuz she was on a cell phone.

 

[Erika]

Can we add smoking and eating to the list while we're at it? I've nearly been hit by people doing those as well, or even a combination of the 3!!

 

[LiveItUp21]

Can we add smoking and eating to the list while we're at it? I've nearly been hit by people doing those as well, or even a combination of the 3!!

Agreed! One of my biggest pet peeves when I am driving is when the person in front of me is smoking and talking on the phone at the same time!:brick: Just the other day when I was merging onto the freeway the person in front of me was on their phone and trying to merge at the same time! Well, the person was doing fine until the person FORGOT TO SPEED UP! He was trying to merge onto a freeway while going no faster than 40 mph! So I had to choice than to cross over the solid white line and accelorate past him.... it was either that or get rear ended by this semi driving along in the right lane!

And heres the best part- this guy had the nerve to catch up to me and get right next to my car while I'm in the left lane and give me 'the finger'!:lol: When he did that I just could not stop laughing at him, I think I really pi**ed him off! And whose fault was this again?

Personally, I think that some drivers are able to drive and talk at the same time. It just requires a lot of skill!

 

[xfkirsten]

I agree that in theory talking on a cell phone shouldn't be any more distracting than talking to someone else in a car. However, it's been my personal experience that that is not the way that it works out. I can't tell you how many people I see every day that are driving very poorly while talking on cell phones. Especially here in SoCal, where you really need to be on your toes when you're driving anyways since people are so aggressive. People need to put both hands on the wheel and drive.

 

[xfkirsten]

Agreed! One of my biggest pet peeves when I am driving is when the person in front of me is smoking and talking on the phone at the same time!:brick: Just the other day when I was merging onto the freeway the person in front of me was on their phone and trying to merge at the same time! Well, the person was doing fine until the person FORGOT TO SPEED UP! He was trying to merge onto a freeway while going no faster than 40 mph! So I had to choice than to cross over the solid white line and accelorate past him.... it was either that or get rear ended by this semi driving along in the right lane!

I totally hear you on that one! I live about a block away from a freeway on-ramp, which I take to class every morning. Just about every other morning, I'm stuck behind someone who's trying to merge at less than 50 mph, in a 65 mph stretch of freeway. If traffic on the freeway were moving slowly, I'd understand. But when traffic is at full speed, people need to get up to speed on the on-ramp. That's what it's there for!

 

[Erika]

And by the way, what is so amazingly important that you need to be reachable at all times?

Well, this obviously does not apply to me but there are many parents around here with 1 to 1 1/2 hour commutes to and from work each day. They definitely need to be reachable.

In this state they've re-worked the driving laws so that teen drivers are on a graduated system- for the first 6 months they can have only one other teen passenger, excluding family members. I wonder how long before they write cell phones into there.

 

[Master Yoda]

According to AAA cell phones rank only #6 on the list for accidents caused by distractions. Here is the list they published a few years ago.

1. Outside distractions (rubber necking)
2. Radio
3. Talking to passenger
4. Adjusting controls
5. Eating/Drinking
6. Cell phones
7. Smoking

 

[Erika]

I agree that in theory talking on a cell phone shouldn't be any more distracting than talking to someone else in a car. However, it's been my personal experience that that is not the way that it works out...

Well, here's a story for you.

John and I were driving downstate to visit my aunt and uncle one time and copletely missed a turnoff, we were so into the song we were singing. We ended up driving a half-hour in the wrong direction before we realized what we'd done. D'OH!

I have to say nothing like that has ever happened to me while talking (hands-free, of course) on my phone :lol:

Maybe it just proves that some of us shouldn't be driving, period :lookaroun

 

[xfkirsten]

Well, here's a story for you.

John and I were driving downstate to visit my aunt and uncle one time and copletely missed a turnoff, we were so into the song we were singing. We ended up driving a half-hour in the wrong direction before we realized what we'd done. D'OH!

I have to say nothing like that has ever happened to me while talking (hands-free, of course) on my phone :lol:

Maybe it just proves that some of us shouldn't be driving, period :lookaroun

:lol: :lol:

I'm not saying there's no exceptions, I'm just talking in general.