Don't Text and Drive

This is a pretty horrible story.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=33...C-RSSFeeds0312

It still amazes me that we haven't updated driving laws nationwide to handle technology.

* Hands free devices should be required while driving. Operation a cell phone (talking or texting) should be forbidden by any means other than hands free.

* Television screens should be completely forbidden in the front seat. (I can't believe people actually watch tv and drive at the same time).

Some people argue "but eating, smoking, or changing the radio area dangerous too!" I agree, they are dangerous. But they are nowhere near as dangerous as the above things, and they generally only affect someone for a very brief amount of time. Chatting on a cell phone (or boggle, texting) can take up hours of a driver's time.

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* Hands free devices should be required while driving. Operation a cell phone (talking or texting) should be forbidden by any means other than hands free.

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THANKFULLY we have these over here in Britain but unfortunately most people ignore the law and it's only a £30/$57 fine.

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* Television screens should be completely forbidden in the front seat. (I can't believe people actually watch tv and drive at the same time).

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I literally cannot even comprehend this. I've never seen it before and hopefully I never will. Genuinely aghast.

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Some people argue "but eating, smoking, or changing the radio area dangerous too!" I agree, they are dangerous. But they are nowhere near as dangerous as the above things, and they generally only affect someone for a very brief amount of time. Chatting on a cell phone (or boggle, texting) can take up hours of a driver's time.

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Seconded hard.

Seriously though, tv while driving? Sweet mercy.

How are hands free devices any safe with cell phones? I tried talking on a cell phone in my car once, and found it way too distracting and decided to pull over from now on. Does not having to hold it in your hand really make that big a difference?

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Originally posted by Aristotle

It still amazes me that we haven't updated driving laws nationwide to handle technology.

* Hands free devices should be required while driving. Operation a cell phone (talking or texting) should be forbidden by any means other than hands free.

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They are cracking down on this in Australia fairly hard, and been to more than one accident caused by exactly this.

There is even a push to ban talking on the phone, handsfree or otherwise, while in charge of a vehicle - with studies showing that you are substantially distracted just by the conversation.

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Originally posted by kravenar
There is even a push to ban talking on the phone, handsfree or otherwise, while in charge of a vehicle - with studies showing that you are substantially distracted just by the conversation.

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I agree with this personally, even if it is not a proven fact. When I call someone on their cell, the first question I ask is: are you driving? If the answer is yes, I ask them to call me back when they are out of the car.

Wont talk to them till they get out of the car. I have no desire to listen to someone die in a car wreck while talking to me on the phone.

We don't need to have laws to make change, we can start making change ourselves.

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Originally posted by Aristotle
* Hands free devices should be required while driving. Operation a cell phone (talking or texting) should be forbidden by any means other than hands free.

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Good luck texting hands-free :) Talking on the phone is a LOT better with a decent bluetooth headset though. It's still far from ideal, but people whose lives depend on both communication and travel (obvious example: courier drivers) can at least get one step better.

With the courier we use at work (Fastway), the driver has to respond to the call and take note of caller-id, but the content of the message is usually just "Got parcels for you", same as it has been for nine out of ten of the past days. It's not hard to field the call whenever it comes in, then remember who it was needed a pickup and record it at the next lights. There's nothing wrong with talking on the phone here, but pulling one out and answering it IS a problem. Hands-free is ideal.

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Originally posted by Fynn
I tried talking on a cell phone in my car once, and found it way too distracting and decided to pull over from now on.

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I've done it before as well and I find it very hard to do both at the same time. I don't know what the status of this problem in the U.S. is (moving towards making it illegal yet or what?).

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Originally posted by Fynn
How are hands free devices any safe with cell phones? I tried talking on a cell phone in my car once, and found it way too distracting and decided to pull over from now on. Does not having to hold it in your hand really make that big a difference?

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I think it makes a tremendous difference - particularly depending on the hands free device.

Our car has bluetooth built in, which means you don't even wear anything. When a call comes in, you press a large button right near the gear shift and the call picks up. It is then played over the car's speaker system and you just speak normally (and anyone in the car, front or back can be heard very well). So in effect, it is no different than talking to someone who is in the car with you.

I imagine there are some hands free devices that are cumbersome enough that they are not really much safer, and dialing can obviously be a danger as well.

But it is pretty hard to police whether or not someone is talking on a hands free device, whereas a police officer can easily see someone holding/cradling a cell phone. Furthermore, almost any hands free setup is significantly safer.

Some of these arguments are a bit picky. Conversation is too distracting? What's next? Requiring that no one ride with a driver so that conversation can't take place? The idea behind hands-free devices is so that you can keep your eyes on the road and hands on the wheel. I have a Bluetooth device that hangs lightly on the ear and you answer the phone by pushing the earpiece. Nothing cumbersome about that. Of course, I forget it most of the time, so I simply don't use the phone. If I must use the phone, I either pull over or set it to speakerphone in extremely important cases. Other than that, they can wait.

But I seriously do not see the argument against hands-free. That's like saying ALL conversation is distracting. I agree that some can be, like a heated argument. With a hands-free, you can simply hang up. What if the person's in the car with you?

Oh, and Ari, I had a friend who had the same setup. It was pretty fuckin sweet.

The biggest difference between cell phones and another person in the car, as far as conversation goes, is that a large part of our ability to understand comes from body language. The use of hands to emote how that HUGE thing was huge or how that one thing moved is of far greater impact than most people understand.

When all you have is a voice you have to devote a lot more of your attention to actually hear and comprehend what is being said, rather than being able to use all of your senses.