I thought you might like to discuss this article. It seems to have links to substantive proof that using the phone while driving is dangerous, and has some ideas for getting people to hang up and drive.
The article is at http://www…um/all/#p1
Yep, it doesn’t take much, and I know better.
Damn near missed my exit and could have caused accident by zipping into that lane, if not being attentive to the traffic and hanging up instantly.
While driving ‘the big-I’ interchange ( I25-I40 ) in Albuquerque,( A route I drive monthly, know where I’m going, don’t need to read signs ) my daughter calls to speak to me. Normaly I’d give the phone to her mom while driving, but you don’t logic this immediately and begin speaking anyway. In hindsight I should have said " I’m driving , I’ll call you back".
Man, it only takes that slight distraction to remove your thought process from the task at hand - DRIVING - and the POTENTIAL situation(s) resulting from this one little incident are a major eye opener to this experienced driver ( ME ) who is one of the loudest opponents to distracted driving. ( I even turn down the radio when arriving in an unfamiliar area, to be able to think strait while navigating. )
But how to get the point accross to other drivers BEFORE it’s too late is the biggest puzzle. We don’t need more laws. Laws already exist, ie; careless driving , which come into play after the fact.
Texting is even worse than talking because your eyes AND mind are removed from the road for many seconds at a time.
Try this sometime; While driving 50mph, four lanes wide, CLOSE YOUR EYES FOR 5 SECONDS.
Oh, you don’t want to do that ? Gee, I wonder why .
Texting while driving is equivilant to closing your eyes while driving !!!
I agree that cell phones are a problem. But I have a question. Police, Fire, Ambulance, Taxis and amateur radio operators have been driving and talking on the radio for many decades without much problem. What is it that allows them to drive safely with a microphone in their hand, but causes us civilians to be an accident waiting to happen when we get a cell phone into our hands? I honestly don’t know.
There is one difference. When the CB’er or cop are on the radio, both parties understand that one is driving a car. There seems to be a difference with cell phones where the person on the phone seems to give more attention to the person on the phone than the one sitting next to them. This makes sense if you don’t consider the possibilities of accidents.
The person in the car or the CB person would understand you are driving first so less than 100% attention to them is acceptable. When you are sitting on the sofa at home or in a parked car, then the person on the phone generally gets full attention. The person sitting next to them on the sofa knows they are out of the loop.In a word…Practice.
Learning the habit, from the very begining of training with the device, so that it becomes second nature.
Cel phone users ( myself included ) have not practiced the act of driving AND speaking, therefore how to do both, when to pause, when to say “wait a sec” or “hang on” at the appropriate times while driving.
One’s sub-conscious prevails and the ability to say “hang on” seems to escape one’s logic at the time it’s needed. We SHOULD begin the conversation with “I’m driving” Then either “I may need to break away periodically” or “I’ll call you back”.
( Customers at my parts counter will just chat on and on when I’m needing to quiz them for more info. I’ll turn away completely or say “next” until they’re ready to speak to ME. )
Then again, this TEXTING thing is different than speaking because one needs to look at the screen while texting, taking eyes off the road, thus making texting horribly dangerous in comparison.
I can think of a few differences.
-
Radio operators share frequencies, so they have to keep conversations brief and can’t use them for lengthy conversations about private matters.
-
Ambulances and fire engines have more than one person in the vehicle, and most of the time, the passenger operates the radio, not the driver.
-
When drivers of emergency vehicles use the radio, it is usually to communicate either their location or a description of the vehicle they are chasing, which keeps them engaged with their environment.
The truth is that radio use is extremely limited while driving in most cases. They are often used when the vehicle is stopped. Even CB radio etiquette mandates you keep your conversation short and to the point. Cell phones, on the other hand, are regularly used for lengthy conversations not related to the environment of the driver.
Still, I recognize that two way radios can also be abused and can be distractions. However, they are not used in the same way.
Forget who told me about it, but they said they seen some woman yakin on her cell phone, using her other hand to apply eye liner and using her foot to steer the car.
One of 2 things is gonna happen with vehicles, maybe not in our time, but someday.
1: cars drive themselves. You hop in, tell it where you wanna go, and it drives itself. minding all traffic laws.
2: cell phones will have a limiter on how fast you’re going that prevents it from ringing if you’re on the highway
One big difference is texting capability.
Another is that cop cars have an extra safety margin…everyone is extra careful around them, and if the lights are going everyone’s awareness is heightened.
They make these wonderful gadgets called cell phone jammers. I know a few teachers and school bus drivers who carry the smallest type (legal to buy illegal to use). Still they do the job Sure makes a lunch on the mall more peaceful.
I will have to check those out.
That’d be kinda funny to watch as you’re going down the road. People suddenly losing calls and they’re like “What the…?”
I am not sure if I would want it more for the classroom or for when I am riding my motorcycle.
buy 2, problem solved. 