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No Cell Phone Use in Cars - Not Even Hands Free?

I don't know if this would be considered off topic but I've often wondered why we are striking out at cell phone users while we still allow things to be installed or used like GPS, radio, video data/entertainment screen, CD player, DVD player, laptop (LEO's are notorious for using their laptops while driving), mirrors on sun visors, drive up windows at food service establishments that encourage eating while driving, ashtray, etc.

All of the above contribute to inattentive driving and statistically about 25% of all traffic accidents although I personally believe the reverse would be more accurate. If all drivers paid attention to their driving, accidents would be reduced considerably. But instead we do word puzzles, read maps, read newspapers, fix our hair, put on make-up, dig through boxes of CD's to make a selection then operate the stereo system, read GPS screens and watch DVD's, argue with the kids in the back seat, gawk at other happenings, etc. Sometimes multiples of these simultaneously.

Many of our newer vehicles don't have the traditional buttons for controlling climate or the sound system but have replaced them with video monitors that require the operator to read and navigate through a series of screens. These systems include built-in GPS technology, radio, CD player operations, climate control, data monitoring and reports, and even DVD players. If that isn't going to be a distraction by design I don't know what is.

I encountered a vehicle on the interstate in the Mnpls-St. Paul area one time I thought was a drunk driver. He was all over the road weaving across all driving lanes and the shoulder. If I had a cell phone I would have called 911 to report it. I finally managed to attempt passing and when I got along side I discovered he was holding a cell phone against his ear with one hand, had a pencil in the other, and was working on a word search puzzle laying across his steering wheel! You won't regulate this kind of careless stupidity.

I think I'm with Mike on the hands free. I have Ford Sync in my truck and I don't even have to carry CD's anymore. All my favorite music can be put on a flash drive or an MP3 player that is plugged into a USB port on my console. I can press one button on my steering wheel and use voice command to select artist, album, song, or genre and it will respond. I can press the same button and use voice command to call anyone in my cell phone's contact list. I personally don't feel any more inattentive talking on the phone than I would while talking to a person sitting next to me but that's just my opinion I guess.

I can say one thing. I am far more attentive than I would be digging in a box to select a CD, opening the case, removing the CD, ejecting the one from the player, digging for its case to put it away, inserting the new CD into the player and then operating the buttons on the console to play a desired song or configure the player options. I am far more attentive than I was trying to manage unruly kids in the back seat while driving. I am way more attentive than I am (admittedly) when I am trying to hold a sandwich or other food item without spilling on myself. I am far more attentive than I would be trying to light up a smoke.
 
:love2 Awww...you guys are sweet!


I personally don't feel any more inattentive talking on the phone than I would while talking to a person sitting next to me but that's just my opinion I guess.
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Most people do believe this. Most people are absolutely convinced that they are just as attentive talking to some remotely than they are talking to a person sitting next to them. However, a number of studies have shown this just isn't the case.

I really do think it has to do when people are sitting with you in the car, they are paying attention to driving conditions as well. Think about it...when you're traveling with family and friends and the driving conditions suddenly change, doesn't that change the conversation as well? When I'm driving with my husband and we approach different things, we'll talk about it. This is especially true when driving at night in Idaho. My husband is constantly saying things like, "Do you see that deer?" or "Watch out, that's a cow up there." (Black cows wandering on dark highways make driving in Idaho at night especially fun.)

Now that my kids are older, they are the same way...they are just more attuned to driving conditions and are naturally more quiet and more attentive if the roads are bad or if something happens.

Especially when two or more drivers are having conversation in the car, we all tend to focus on the road conditions and try to help the driver stay attentive.

This isn't the case when talking with someone remotely. They don't have the visual cues to either help the driver, or simply stop talking if something comes up. I realize that more studies need to be done, but I won't be at all surprised to find that this is why talking on cell phones tend to increase risks even when hands free devices are used.
 
Mike said:
This is going WAY too far. How is talking hands-free any more dangerous than talking with a person in the car with you? This is a bogus law. :grumpy
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I politely disagree. I agree that common sense might seem to be with you here. However, in my line of work, I have dealt with this issue. According to a colleague, who is an expert in matters of how humans deal with with distraction in relation to task performance, the hands-free cell phone actually is more distracting than talking to another person in the car. And I have heard news reports of similar findings by other scientists.

In a sense, this is understandable. I, for one, am much more likely to "ignore" a person who is right there and concentrate on driving than I would be to ignore a voice from a cell phone. The reason, I propose, is this - we unconsciously think of phone conversations as "privileged" or more important, than conversations with people who are with us.

But this "theory" aside, what matters is the scientific evidence. And sometimes the scientific evidence goes against common sense. I suspect this is one of those times.
 
handy said:
Most people do believe this. Most people are absolutely convinced that they are just as attentive talking to some remotely than they are talking to a person sitting next to them. However, a number of studies have shown this just isn't the case.
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Agree. We need to listen to what careful studies tell us, even if does go against common sense.
 
I don't know how studies can show talking on hands-free is any more dangerous than talking with a passenger. Three reasons:

  1. They can say who was talking on a cell phone when an accident happened, but they can't say who was talking with another person.
  2. I've heard that morning commutes are the most dangerous time to drive. People are much more careful about eating so they don't stain their clothes on the way to work, so they drive more distracted than they do any other time. Since most people drive to work alone, I think the numbers can be skewed to show less accidents happen with a passenger. And then #1 comes into play.
  3. I think people generally drive a little "less careless" when another person is in the car with them. They probably engage in many less distracting activities.
Regardless, I don't trust any of the data.

I will say IF (and that's a big "if") talking on a cell phone is more dangerous, it COULD be because your brain is more actively concentrating on what you are hearing. It might take more mental gymnastics to hold a conversation on a phone than in person.

But to WIP's point, they are using public hysteria about cell phones to address a bigger problem. There's WAY too much happening in cars these days. A hands-free cell phone is not the problem, IMO. All the other things people do while they should be keeping their eyes on the road make talking hands-free of much less concern to me.
 
We will all sufffer the discomfort when it happens. It might happen. We will get used to it - and we will not die.

Several years back Mr. Cell Phone was not popular. Didn't we live our normal lives?


Do not argue:
* I could miss important calls (the caller knows when to call)
* My son could be in danger and need....(911 is there)
* I forgot to switch of the electric boiler (call 911 and 911 calls home - [little delay... I know])
* My mom's driving. There was a cochroach in the car. (call 911. 911 calls mom - [little delay... I know])
etc

[SIZE="+4"]The goverment and people know how to take care of these problems. The delays would be taken care of.[/SIZE]
 
WIP said:
I don't know if this would be considered off topic but I've often wondered why we are striking out at cell phone users while we still allow things to be installed or used like GPS, radio, video data/entertainment screen, CD player, DVD player, laptop (LEO's are notorious for using their laptops while driving), mirrors on sun visors, drive up windows at food service establishments that encourage eating while driving, ashtray, etc.

All of the above contribute to inattentive driving and statistically about 25% of all traffic accidents although I personally believe the reverse would be more accurate. If all drivers paid attention to their driving, accidents would be reduced considerably. But instead we do word puzzles, read maps, read newspapers, fix our hair, put on make-up, dig through boxes of CD's to make a selection then operate the stereo system, read GPS screens and watch DVD's, argue with the kids in the back seat, gawk at other happenings, etc. Sometimes multiples of these simultaneously.

Many of our newer vehicles don't have the traditional buttons for controlling climate or the sound system but have replaced them with video monitors that require the operator to read and navigate through a series of screens. These systems include built-in GPS technology, radio, CD player operations, climate control, data monitoring and reports, and even DVD players. If that isn't going to be a distraction by design I don't know what is.

I encountered a vehicle on the interstate in the Mnpls-St. Paul area one time I thought was a drunk driver. He was all over the road weaving across all driving lanes and the shoulder. If I had a cell phone I would have called 911 to report it. I finally managed to attempt passing and when I got along side I discovered he was holding a cell phone against his ear with one hand, had a pencil in the other, and was working on a word search puzzle laying across his steering wheel! You won't regulate this kind of careless stupidity.

I think I'm with Mike on the hands free. I have Ford Sync in my truck and I don't even have to carry CD's anymore. All my favorite music can be put on a flash drive or an MP3 player that is plugged into a USB port on my console. I can press one button on my steering wheel and use voice command to select artist, album, song, or genre and it will respond. I can press the same button and use voice command to call anyone in my cell phone's contact list. I personally don't feel any more inattentive talking on the phone than I would while talking to a person sitting next to me but that's just my opinion I guess.

I can say one thing. I am far more attentive than I would be digging in a box to select a CD, opening the case, removing the CD, ejecting the one from the player, digging for its case to put it away, inserting the new CD into the player and then operating the buttons on the console to play a desired song or configure the player options. I am far more attentive than I was trying to manage unruly kids in the back seat while driving. I am way more attentive than I am (admittedly) when I am trying to hold a sandwich or other food item without spilling on myself. I am far more attentive than I would be trying to light up a smoke.
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Exactly! I don't know why cell phone usage is singled out. I think the commonsense approach is to reduce (at the personal level) ALL distractions as opposed to legislating certain ones. Drinking a milkshake while driving is another one.

Don't get me wrong. I am for personal safety but against the legislation of it. Oftentimes I get a cell call while driving and am angry because I know I can't answer the phone and drive. So the caller waits until I can pull over. It's too bad that some people "think they can handle it" and cause serious accidents thus spurring legislation against it. But maybe this legislation is because some people don't act responsibly.

Still, as I mentioned in my earlier post I would not want a jamming device as such a device could interfere while say, in a traffic jam where your engine is running (and powering the jamming device) but it's perfectly safe to make a call. But the thick-headed bureaucrats don't think of ALL the possibilities but just "mandate" stuff off the cuff and WITHOUT the general population voting (like old Russia used to be).

I could have a little more faith in lawmakers if they showed intelligence, but I have no objective evidence that it's anywhere near mine, but they are arrogant nonetheless as if they do.
 
That law is a stupid thing to try and do, I use my blue tooth I have a $ 107.00 one that reads my text to me and it can also write text by you speaking to it. So talk about hands free. Now how about when you have other people in the car and you are all running your mouths or just you and your wife running your mouths. What are they going to do make you shut up ? Yeah I saw that on TV about 3 or 4 days ago. Also my blue tooth tells me who is calling by name and it will ask me if I want to answer it. and if I do, all I got to say is answer, or the word no. It is sort of like the Dragon speaking software. It also reads GPS to me.
 
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Next week driving at night will be prohibited, most accidents are after dark and the police cant see whether you're armed ...
 
Driving at night will be prohibited January 3, 2012 and will be a federal law.
 
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Mike said:
I started a similar thread a long time ago, but this ugly possibility has emerged again.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/14/technology/federal-panel-urges-cellphone-ban-for-drivers.html

Not only do they want to ban using a cell phone in the car, but if they have their way we wouldn't be able to use Blue Tooth hand's Free devices in our cars. Some want laws that force new cars to come with disabling technology. The key turns, the cell phone gets blocked. :bigfrown


This is going WAY too far. How is talking hands-free any more dangerous than talking with a person in the car with you? This is a bogus law. :grumpy
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Sorry, but I have to go with the law this one! It is a proven fact that the brain cannot fully concentrate on more than one thing at a time. Self proclaimed multi- taskers are only fooling themselves. It is IMPOSSIBLE to concentrate on 2 things at a time. If you're going to drive...then drive. If you are going to talk on the phone...then talk on the phone. I didn't use to believe it myself, because I always fancied myself as a multi-tasker, so I tested this theory of theirs. When on the phone, and driving, there were large stretches of road that I didn't remember traveling. That scared the heck out of me, so I never picked up the cell phone again while driving...and no, it didn't change when I had a hands free unit. You either concentrate on the conversation, or the driving, but never both at once!
 
Paul McDonald said:
Sorry, but I have to go with the law this one! It is a proven fact that the brain cannot fully concentrate on more than one thing at a time. Self proclaimed multi- taskers are only fooling themselves. It is IMPOSSIBLE to concentrate on 2 things at a time. If you're going to drive...then drive. If you are going to talk on the phone...then talk on the phone. I didn't use to believe it myself, because I always fancied myself as a multi-tasker, so I tested this theory of theirs. When on the phone, and driving, there were large stretches of road that I didn't remember traveling. That scared the heck out of me, so I never picked up the cell phone again while driving...and no, it didn't change when I had a hands free unit. You either concentrate on the conversation, or the driving, but never both at once!
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Thanks, Paul. This is a good one.
We will all survive the law.

This whole thing is similar to 'a pianist playing a song from the book and at the same time watching soccer/football.

Gold Medal!
:wave
:salute
Feel Barçaful!
 
We were three in the cab and were heading to the hospital to visit my sick sister. I remember exactly what the driver did. He answered two different calls.

The instant he picked the call I saw him lose control. He was battling to control two events at the same time. I must be honest with you, it was hard to do that. I wanted to pounce upon him...but that would be to do the wrong thing too.


It can't work. Take one thing at a time. Let's agree with the government:wave

Mike, I make you the president:chin
You can do it, Mike - we all can:lol
 
Classik said:
Thanks, Paul. This is a good one.
We will all survive the law.

This whole thing is similar to 'a pianist playing a song from the book and at the same time watching soccer/football.

Gold Medal!
:wave
:salute
Feel Barçaful!
Click to expand...

You should come to one of our men's chorus practices and watch our pianist carry on a conversation with multiple people simultaneously while playing the piano and she's looking at them and not her score. Technically it is correct that we can't do two different things at exactly the same time any more than two solid objects can occupy the same space at the same time but our brains are capable of multitasking at an extremely high rate of speed. Good thing otherwise we wouldn’t be able breath and have a heartbeat at the same time. Our brains manage all our bodily functions and process input data from our eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and skin and still allow us to walk, talk, and chew gum all the time. Likewise, we are capable of seeing on-coming traffic, maintaining control of our vehicle, carrying on a conversation, reading road signs, and watching for obstructions all during the same period of time. Our brains are multiplexing from one event to the next in such rapid succession we don't even notice it. Just moving our eyes to scan the horizon requires millions of snapshots taken, developed, and processed into a smooth image for us to see and the rest of our body doesn’t have to be shut down while this is happening.<O:p</O:p
<O:p</O:p
To me the biggest concern is that we need to physically look at a phone keypad, radio button, temperature dial, digital monitor, CD selection, ash tray, visor mirror, and other passengers in order to engage these things. It is most impossible to monitor the road at the same time and so we put ourselves and others in greater danger. Hands-free eliminates this aspect from the equation. <O:p</O:p
 
It makes sense that conversing with someone even hands-free will add a certain level of distraction as research suggests. I also think there is merit with the point about how conversing with a live person has the advantage of both persons being able to notice road conditions. But, on the flipside when we carry on conversation with another person our impulse is to look at the person we are talking to. This is evident when you follow someone and see the driver constantly turning his/her head to look at the other person(s) in the car including those in the back seat. When I am using hands-free I don’t have an impulse to look at the other person in my conversation because they are not there. In this way I am able to keep my eyes on the road while we talk. I don’t know how accurate or reliable the research is but I’d be surprised to learn that either method is any safer than the other. Both add distraction and both have their advantages over the other.<O:p</O:p
 
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