Would you support a law that forbade the use of cell phones while driving?

[JDrake]

Originally posted by: Insane3D

Originally posted by: joedrake

Originally posted by: Insane3D

Originally posted by: joedrake
Hell yea, it is a distraction, but I mean sometimes you NEED to talk on the phone

Why can't you pull over in that case?

You can't always pull over. Most times that would be more dangerous.

Sure, there may be some places where it's not good to pull over, but how is being pulled over on the side of the road, not moving, in your car more dangerous than actually driving it?

• Someone calls

• You pick it up and realize it is important

• You are in the left lane on a 3-lane highway

• You are still talking on the phone

• You start to pull over 3 lanes

= changing lanes + talking on fun + distracted = worse than talking on phone

 

[Amused]

No.

Because it singles out one distraction while ignoring all the others. People focus on cell phone use in cars because they can SEE it so readily while they can't see the radio station changer, the conversation with the passenger and so on.

This is a case of negligence. A general law forbidding any distraction that can impede driving would be better.

 

[DAWeinG]

I think it should be only allowed in cases of emergencies such as you having to call 911 or law enforcement. But other than that, you do not need to talk on a cell phone while driving. So ban talking on cell phones for purposes other than REAL emergencies.

 

[daniel1113]

Originally posted by: Amused
No.

Because it singles out one distraction while ignoring all the others. People focus on cell phone use in cars because they can SEE it so readily while they can't see the radio station changer, the conversation with the passenger and so on.

This is a case of negligence. A general law forbidding any distraction that can impede driving would be better.

Rather, there should be a single law that forbids driving while distracted to the point that it impedes one's driving. This way, those of us that can handle talking on the phone, shifting a manual transmission, changing the radio station, and eating at the same time can continue as usual, and those that can't will pay the consequence.

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Originally posted by: DAWeinG
Of course not but you have to factor the things that go with it. Look at the big picture, they're not only holding a little piece of plastic, they're also fiddling with it, trying to dial numbers, trying to get it opened, accidentally dropping it, having trouble trying to pick it up, trying to talk into it, trying to target their ear to the point of highest sound, and so on and so forth... It's the moment when they take their eyes off the road while holding or to hold the little piece of plastic that becomes the problem. Your argument of holding a little piece of plastic device is analogous to that of holding the shifting knob of a manual transmission car.

You don't have to look at a phone to dial numbers and opening a phone takes half of a second. Dropping a phone isn't exactly a common occurance, and don't you have to adjust a headset for the point of highest sound as well? If you told one driver to hold a piece of plastic and hold it to his ear while driving and told another to talk on a handless phone while driving, which would cause more of a disturbance?

 

[StrangerGuy]

"Only for women!" - 22 votes
"Only for men!" - 0 votes

I need to say anymore?

 

[DAWeinG]

Originally posted by: HamburgerBoy

Originally posted by: DAWeinG
Of course not but you have to factor the things that go with it. Look at the big picture, they're not only holding a little piece of plastic, they're also fiddling with it, trying to dial numbers, trying to get it opened, accidentally dropping it, having trouble trying to pick it up, trying to talk into it, trying to target their ear to the point of highest sound, and so on and so forth... It's the moment when they take their eyes off the road while holding or to hold the little piece of plastic that becomes the problem. Your argument of holding a little piece of plastic device is analogous to that of holding the shifting knob of a manual transmission car.

You don't have to look at a phone to dial numbers and opening a phone takes half of a second. Dropping a phone isn't exactly a common occurance, and don't you have to adjust a headset for the point of highest sound as well? If you told one driver to hold a piece of plastic and hold it to his ear while driving and told another to talk on a handless phone while driving, which would cause more of a disturbance?

True, you don't have to, maybe you don't have to. But for the average person, which is the majority, they have a need (note I said need) to look at the numberpad to dial the numbers regardless whether they've memorized the whole keypad or not. People have a need to look at the things. Opening a phone CAN take half a second but for the average person, the phone is not readily available in plain sight which brings back to my main point that people have to go "look" for it. They might "know" where the phone is but they will still be trying to look for it, or they will look in the spot that they think the phone will be. People just have a tendency to look at things, especially when things make a sound such as a phone going off. Dropping a phone is not a common occurance no, but not having your phone in plain sight is. Women usually have them in their purses, men usually have them in their pockets in which they have to go through their pockets and drive with one hand (note that not everyone is adept at driving with one hand nor are ambidextrous). And for your last argument, you are only assuming that everyone will be using headsets which is certainly not the case.

And as again, it's not simply a matter of holding a little piece of plastic and holding it to their ear. It's what most people have to do in order to get to hold the little piece of plastic in their hands. I'm not suggesting that we ban cell phones in the car, I'm suggesting that we ban cell phone use in the car.

People just suck at multitasking.

 

[Bassyhead]

yes

 

[SSP]

Yes, and its already illegal here. But people still use it.

 

[mickeyray]

It's really a no brainer. Anything that takes away a driver's focus from the job of driving defensively just shouldn't be done. When I'm a passenger, I'm nervous as hell with the driver who feels compelled to look at me when they're talking instead of paying attention to the road! Especially if I'm in the back seat! Believe me, I hear you and I won't feel insulted if you don't speak directly to me.

I don't know if your comment was meant to be satirical, but as much as I love to see all these things made illegal, the problem lies with figuring out the 'legalese' to adapt all these distracting processes into one law. Coming up with a different law for each offense would be a horrendous burden on this already overworked system.

Mickey

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: JLGatsby
Yes, but I would still use them. I have tinted my windows for same purpose (so cops cannot see you) when the seatbelt laws were passed about 2 years ago in my state.

The thought that you don't wear a seatbelt while you drive, coupled with your own admitted lack of common sense while driving, gives me a warm feeling all over

Originally posted by: Feldenak
I don't see talking on a cell any different than talking to a passenger, fiddling with the radio, adjusting the AC/heater, etc...

Yeah? Well, studies show that it IS different; talking on a cellphone affects your driving much more than talking with a passenger/adjusting the radio/etc, and handsfree sets are just as bad as the regular kind.

 

[pontifex]

i thought there was already a law about this in some states?

 

[JulesMaximus]

I used to oppose this but after I started cycling again seriously I see people all the time who are distracted by cell phones. I was riding up a hill today and looked up to see some woman in an SUV coming down the hill and her eyes were affixed to her cell phone for a good 5-6 seconds. She didn't even look up.

Yes, I would support a law that forbade the use of cell phones while driving. They are a huge distraction.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Feldenak

Originally posted by: Insane3D

Originally posted by: Feldenak
Just one more nanny-stating.

Nope...not nanny-stating at all. I'm from NH and we don't take kindly to nanny state laws up here...we have no seatbelt laws if you are over 18.

The fact is, someone on the phone is paying attention to their call more than their driving, which can indirectly cause an accident that affects other people. The law would not be to protect the person on the phone, which would be "nanny-stating", it's to protect others on the road...

I don't see talking on a cell any different than talking to a passenger, fiddling with the radio, adjusting the AC/heater, etc...

Do you have to take your eyes off the road to dial your passenger sitting in the seat next to you? Do you have to punch in the temperature to 5 decimal places in order to fiddle with the AC/heater or to chose your favorite radio station?

Your point is moot.

 

[Phlargo]

I see a cell phone user, I switch lanes away from them.

 

[SampSon]

Sure, it's a decent law, seeing as how people can't drive for sh!t even while NOT on the phone.
I've had at least a dozen incidents were a person talking on their phone just cruised right into my lane and either cut me off or almost hit my car. One of the times a state trooper saw what happened and pulled us both other to see what happened. He ended up with two tickets, one for talking on a cell phone while driving and another for "negligent driving" or reckless driving. The trooper asked me what happened and if I wanted to press charges because the guy actually touched my front bumper with his car.

I got a ticket once for talking on my cell phone while driving, best part was that I was using my hands-free device the entire time and pulled over on the side of the road talking while the trooper pulled me over. When it went to court the ticket was dismissed because even the trooper admitted he wasn't sure if I had a hands-free or not, he just wrote the ticket to be sure. :roll:

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Originally posted by: DAWeinG
True, you don't have to, maybe you don't have to. But for the average person, which is the majority, they have a need (note I said need) to look at the numberpad to dial the numbers regardless whether they've memorized the whole keypad or not. People have a need to look at the things. Opening a phone CAN take half a second but for the average person, the phone is not readily available in plain sight which brings back to my main point that people have to go "look" for it. They might "know" where the phone is but they will still be trying to look for it, or they will look in the spot that they think the phone will be. People just have a tendency to look at things, especially when things make a sound such as a phone going off. Dropping a phone is not a common occurance no, but not having your phone in plain sight is. Women usually have them in their purses, men usually have them in their pockets in which they have to go through their pockets and drive with one hand (note that not everyone is adept at driving with one hand nor are ambidextrous). And for your last argument, you are only assuming that everyone will be using headsets which is certainly not the case.

And as again, it's not simply a matter of holding a little piece of plastic and holding it to their ear. It's what most people have to do in order to get to hold the little piece of plastic in their hands. I'm not suggesting that we ban cell phones in the car, I'm suggesting that we ban cell phone use in the car.

People just suck at multitasking.

I dunno. There are many people who can simply reach down a foot (with their eyes still on the road), grab their cell phone, and use it. Others will just ask a passenger to get it for them. On top of that, even the average blonde in an SUV will know her cell phone pretty well. She talks to twenty people a day every day, and you think that she won't know where the number keys are? For many it's almost a reflex.

 

[TallBill]

No, because people will just use handsfree or speakerphone, and be just as distracted.

Its against the law where I work (as a police officer), and it doesn't fix anything.

 

[SunnyD]

I support it yes. In fact, I would endorse legalizing directed EMP weaponry and RF jammers to disable any said sort of communications while on the road. As a side effect, I would able to totally destroy those stupid ricers and all of the sh1tmobiles with the megabass subs that you could hear from 2-miles out rattling their license plates.

Here's a quick little tidbit too. Over this past Christmas shopping season, I was roaming around the Toys'r'Us parking lot looking for an empty spot, listening to the local radio station's night jock. He was taking call-ins from people to get their opinion on a similar topic, whether people who drive while talking on the cell are bad drivers...

The jock's first caller called in to agree. When questioned why she thought so, first off, she admitted that she was on her cell while driving. Second off, she admitted that she had just finished getting pulled over for speeding on the highway. Third off, she admitted that she was on the phone when she was pulled over for said speeding.

I think that's just about game, set and match right there.

 

[Brutuskend]

Several posts up I stated that I suspected that the brain used different areas when simply talking and others when talking on a phone and said I would guess a study would prove me right. Well the study HAS been done and it confirms my suspicion.

Why Cell Phones and Driving Don't Mix
Research Shows Brain Has Limits for Multiple, 'Intensive' Tasks

June 29, 2005 ? Years ago a cruel joke suggested that President Ford couldn't chew gum and walk at the same time.

Silly, of course, but it turns out that there was a bit of truth in it. Not just for Mr. Ford, but for all of us.

Any time we try to perform two things at once, one performance suffers, albeit only slightly when it comes to nearly brainless tasks like walking and chewing at the same time. The going gets tough, though, when either task becomes more demanding.

Take talking on a cell phone while driving a car, for example, and this is not part of an anti-cell phone crusade. New research shows, however, that the price we pay for trying to listen intensely comes at the expense of our ability to see clearly.

When we turn the "listening knobs" up, says psychologist Steve Yantis of Johns Hopkins University, we turn the "visual knobs" down.

It doesn't make any difference if the phone is hands-free. It's the listening that makes the difference, not the nature of the instrument.



Made for Multitasking ? to a Point

That may be a tad surprising because we humans pride ourselves on being able to carry out more than one task at once, or multitasking, as they say in the computer biz. In fact, some research suggests we are the only animals that have developed high skills at multitasking.

"People definitely are optimized for handling multiple tasks," says Yantis, who has spent years studying how we control the flow of information into our brains, and what we do with it when we've got it. "We've evolved to be effective multitaskers because it's useful to be able to do multiple things at once to be able to survive. But there are limitations."

Yantis and his team of researchers have been using one of the most effective tools in the field of cognitive science, functional magnetic resonance imaging, to look inside the brains of their subjects during various experiments. Different parts of the brain literally light up, showing such things as increased blood flow, when the subjects are given different tasks.

The evidence shows clearly that when the participants concentrated on listening, the part of the brain that controls vision became less active, and vice versa.

It's as though we have a certain amount of gray matter, and if we're going to put a lot of it in our listening basket, we're going to have to take it from somewhere else.

The full story

 

[destrekor]

there should be some sort of test to put on your license that can test your ability to juggle multiple tasks. i for one can talk on a cellphone and drive perfectly safely, guess its because I have always been able to multitask fairly well. Everyone claims they can, but I can guarantee that I can drive and talk on a cellphone at the same time. I actually still scan everywhere and have dodged dumbasses on the road while on the phone. I have always practiced safe driving and even when I speed I am not careless. I ain't cocky though, thats for sure. I won't multitask when I am tired, I just can't. If i am wide awake I can do things. I can guarantee any one of you can be next to me in another lane and see me on my phone, and not be able to tell I was on the phone unless you looked in. I am a good driver, just fast. accident-free except for some guy backing out into my lane and I had no where to go. the bastard lol
worst thing to do is be cocky on the road, though. first drop of rain or first snowflake, im slowin down. lol my sand wont come out of my truck till spring hits and no chance of snow really exists.

 

[ironcrotch]

Another god damn thing the government shouldn't tell me what to god damn do, sh!t.

 

[Tom]

hands free should not be exempt.

It isn't your hands that cause accidents, it's your brain not paying attention.

 

[Tom]

Originally posted by: destrekor
there should be some sort of test to put on your license that can test your ability to juggle multiple tasks. i for one can talk on a cellphone and drive perfectly safely, guess its because I have always been able to multitask fairly well. Everyone claims they can, but I can guarantee that I can drive and talk on a cellphone at the same time. I actually still scan everywhere and have dodged dumbasses on the road while on the phone. I have always practiced safe driving and even when I speed I am not careless. I ain't cocky though, thats for sure. I won't multitask when I am tired, I just can't. If i am wide awake I can do things. I can guarantee any one of you can be next to me in another lane and see me on my phone, and not be able to tell I was on the phone unless you looked in. I am a good driver, just fast. accident-free except for some guy backing out into my lane and I had no where to go. the bastard lol
worst thing to do is be cocky on the road, though. first drop of rain or first snowflake, im slowin down. lol my sand wont come out of my truck till spring hits and no chance of snow really exists.

I bet you're also sure you'll never die.

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: Tom

Originally posted by: destrekor
there should be some sort of test to put on your license that can test your ability to juggle multiple tasks. i for one can talk on a cellphone and drive perfectly safely, guess its because I have always been able to multitask fairly well. Everyone claims they can, but I can guarantee that I can drive and talk on a cellphone at the same time. I actually still scan everywhere and have dodged dumbasses on the road while on the phone. I have always practiced safe driving and even when I speed I am not careless. I ain't cocky though, thats for sure. I won't multitask when I am tired, I just can't. If i am wide awake I can do things. I can guarantee any one of you can be next to me in another lane and see me on my phone, and not be able to tell I was on the phone unless you looked in. I am a good driver, just fast. accident-free except for some guy backing out into my lane and I had no where to go. the bastard lol
worst thing to do is be cocky on the road, though. first drop of rain or first snowflake, im slowin down. lol my sand wont come out of my truck till spring hits and no chance of snow really exists.

I bet you're also sure you'll never die.

oh thats the one thing im sure of. i just hope its not when im in the military. ready for it if it happens but i sure as hell aint bankin on dieing before im 80. sh!t happens though, what can ya do?