NY Times Cell Phone Ban While Driving article

[fierte_poser]

Very interesting. Its time to turn off the cell phone for good while driving...hands free is not good enough.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/13/health/13well.html?_r=1

[Viper]

I support this ban and I'm against Big Government telling me what to do. However, most folks in society are mouth breathers who can barely drive their car and chew gum at the same time. Looking back, we all wanted to be in one of the Charlie's Angels cars, picking up the phone and making plans to meet the other Angels for happy hour in the jacuzzi, or drive Miami Vice's Ferrari, picking up the phone to make plans to meet Gina for a drink on the St. Vitus' Dance, but while it looks cool, it's dangerous. DWT, driving while talking is dangerous. I think McGarrett and Magnum had car phones too.

[BumbleBeeDave]

After several close calls with my own cell phone, I now may answer the phone while driving if it's an important call, but only to tell them "Hold on until I pull over" or "I'm driving, I'll call you back."

I feel like I dodged a bullet several times and I may not be as lucky next time.

BBD

[Peter P.]

BumbleBeeDave gets it, and fortunately before it was too late.

I can't read the article but it's all been said before: humans CAN'T multitask. The problem is what's called Cognitive Overload. Basically, it means a brain surgeon can't operate and do his taxes at the same time, and talking on the phone occupies part of the mind NEEDED for driving. The hands-free requirement in some states was merely the result of heavy lobbying by the cellular industry.

It needs to be outlawed.

For what it's worth, I'm an on the road service tech with a company issued cellphone. If it rings while driving, I let it go to voice mail. I pull off the road into a parking lot to retrieve voice mail and make/return calls. It drives my boss and dispatcher nuts, but that's too bad.

[melonyogloo]

Chicago has the hand-free only law for more than two years already. I still see lots of people driving and talking without hand-free device everyday, along with people texting while driving. Law without enforce does not worth a damn.

[fierte_poser]

Law without enforce does not worth a damn.

I disagree.

I think it is about changing the perception of what behavior is acceptable and what behavior is unacceptable.

Thirty years ago, it was ok to drive around without a seat belt on. Today, that same behavior is not ok. And driving without a seat belt, while unsafe for the driver, did not endanger the lives of others.

Today, it is acceptable behavior to talk on the phone while driving. We need to change that perception because it is wrong and because it makes you an unattentive, and therefore unsafe, driver. People need to be convinced that it is *not* okay to endanger the lives of other people just so that you can talk on the phone while driving.

Seat belt laws are not a primary offense in most locations, and yet almost everyone wears a seatbelt. We should strive for the same result in terms of getting people to not use cell phones while driving while, at the same time, not making a pointed effort of enforcement. I believe that is possible.

Kent

[DHallerman]

One would hope what Kent writes about "changing the perception of what behavior is acceptable and what behavior is unacceptable" is true.

However, here in New York State, there has been a no-hands cell phone law for several years now. And, whether I'm cycling, walking, or driving myself, I can't count how darn regularly I see drivers with cells in hand, stuck to their ears.

Lots and lots.

People ignore the law so readily, and if you say something to one of those cell-in-hand drivers, say something politely, they laugh or snap at you or ignore you, just like they ignore the law.

So, the social pressure against cell phone use while driving seems meager, even in places where it's been illegal for years.

Dave, who gets ticked off by these dangerous people

[david]

One would hope what Kent writes about "changing the perception of what behavior is acceptable and what behavior is unacceptable" is true.

However, here in New York State, there has been a no-hands cell phone law for several years now. And, whether I'm cycling, walking, or driving myself, I can't count how darn regularly I see drivers with cells in hand, stuck to their ears.

Lots and lots.

People ignore the law so readily, and if you say something to one of those cell-in-hand drivers, say something politely, they laugh or snap at you or ignore you, just like they ignore the law.

So, the social pressure against cell phone use while driving seems meager, even in places where it's been illegal for years.

Dave, who gets ticked off by these dangerous people

agree.
it amazes me to see how many people blatantly talk on phones while driving. and it's not as if they're trying to hide it.

[jsfoster]

passed your exit or turn while listening to an interesting radio program? It is the brain which does the focusing, and it is difficult to drive (safely) while being focused on something else..
-Jon