Most of the responders here recognize the dangers of cell phone usage (even hands free). Yet there seem to be ever-increasing numbers of people on the road who have no idea of the dangers they are creating to others and to themselves. The only legitimate need for a cell phone that I saw was the doctor’s response, but that does not sway the argument. He may save a life somewhere but lose his own because of careless driving of his own or someone else on the road with him.
Somehow people have come to believe that they must be on their cell phones in all areas of life: driving, restaurants, theatres, church, etc. They somehow believe that it is their absolute right. That is a false absolute. Life worked just fine before cell phones arrived.
Therefore I believe that a law banning cell phones for drivers of automobiles - while a good idea - will not work. Law enforcement will be spotty at best because they probably do not have the resources to catch all the abusers of the law. I must agree with those who propose MUCH stronger driver education and testing, and then clear dissemination of severe penalties for anyone causing an accident because of distraction behind the wheel. These things are the only way that I can see that we will change the behavior of the increasingly dangerous drivers that we see on the roadways.
Life also worked just fine before the wheel was invented but isnt nice to have a wheel! We a a whole just need better AXLES! (This would be the part that guides the wheel!)
My own experience confirms for me that driving while talking on a cell phone is unsafe. Period. When I talk and drive, my brain does not register what I see as I cruise down the road. There is nothing but a black blank when I talk and drive unless I consciously concentrate on driving and let the conversation take second place status. This is mental work, and not the usual pattern of driving while talking.
Absolutely yes! And I would add texting, eating, raading, using a laptop computer, and fooling with your touch-screen GPS to the ban. Driving safely takes a tremendous amount of concentration, particularly in urban and suburban areas where traffic is congested and everyone is in an incredible hurry to get where they are going, speed limits be damned. I’ve been driving for 50 years and am almost afraid to get on the freeways around Dallas anymore. I feel much safer on the open road where traffic is thinner and people are not would so tight.
I believe nearly all states exempt on-duty emergency responders from these types of regulations. Physicians responding to emergent situations could reasonably be added to that population.
It is not just women who are on their cell phones driving recklessly! I have had near-wreck encounters with guys in their big macho trucks talking a mile a minute on their cells as well! Young, old, male, female, they are all doing it! And I agree that it is not an issue about whether the hands are engaged or not. The BRAIN is engaged in the conversation, whether using hands free devices or hand-held. People talking on their cell phones may think that they can drive at the same time, but they are simply not paying attention. I am weary of feeling like my life is at stake because few people are paying attention to driving anymore! And it is even more frightening that people honestly believe that they can TEXT while driving! I’m stating the obvious to say that I totally support banning cell phone use while driving - nationally!
Laws are not made to ensure our freedoms to do things - that’s what the constitution does. Laws are made when what we do with our freedoms restricts the freedoms of others.
If actions and behaviors (prevailing or new) of society impinge on individuals’ rights to life and liberty, then the right thing to do is to ask whether that behavior should be moderated, e.g., by law.
Without laws, this would be a lawless country. We’ve been there in our past. No thanks. And, just by the way, without laws there would be no lawsuits.
I believe that there is a huge difference between holding a cell phone up to your ear while driving and using an earpiece or speaker phone. Something does happen to your brain while holding the phone that does not occur when you have an earpiece or speaker phone. I agree that divided attention is very dangerous when driving, but if a driver is able to converse with a passenger without wrecking because he or she has both hands on the wheel, then why doesn’t the same apply to conversing with someone with a hands free device?
The core reason for drinking & driving laws are because it is assumed that the drinker is driving without his full attention & skill. These laws are incredibly harsh in many cases, even though there may not be a victim.
You might look away from the road to change a CD or to pick up something your child has dropped, or for a million other reasons…and when you do this, I suggest that you should be punished to the full extent of the DUI laws even if you don’t cause an accident. DUI laws are a crock.
This is the way traffic laws should be: if you cause an accident because you were impaired by drugs or booze, not paying attention to the road, using a cell-phone, GPS, stereo controls, or any for any other reason not operating your vehicle with your FULL & complete faculties operating at 100%, then you need to go think about what you are doing while spending 10 - 30 days in jail, and while paying $3,000 - $10,000 in fines.
On the other hand… if you’re able to operate your vehicle without incident… we should leave that guy alone.
Of course talking on cell phones while driving should be against the law. Hands-free or not. The issue is inconsiderate and/or ignorant people putting thier convieniance over others safety. It’s as simple as that!
Furthermore, I think that we in America should have cell free zones as exist in the
rest of the civilized world. Areas such as theaters and lecture halls should have cell jammers installed to block cell phone signals.
Many people today have a problem telling the difference between rights and privlages. The same people are also ignorant of civil responsibilities.
I suspect that there are very few who really believe that the use of a cell phone while driving serves to enhance their ability to handle the vehicle. I have fatigue from reading all the other things that one ought not to do while driving as though that is a rationale for adding another. I remember a phrase that I learned in childhood - two wrongs do not make a right. I begin to wonder how we survived without the cell phone coming before the car. Maybe Henry Ford should be castigated for not inventing the cell phone, before developing mass production of the Model T. How dare he? There is a book with the title “What Ever Happened to Common Sense?” I don’t know the answer, but would not employing a little common sense to this issue suffice to provide a reasonable conclusion. There is a record of every telephone call made on a cell phone with the time the call was placed. The assumption can be made that if it is your cell phone, you made the call. How about a fine of $500 for each offense that cannot verify a need - like making a 911 call while driving, for example - typically that is for a legitimate reason. It does seem that Americans cannot agree on even one issue, no matter how small and insignificant - and we think that Congress is going to agree on how to address the nation’s financial crisis. Good luck, Charlie.
As a motorcylce rider, who is interested in preserving my own skin, I stay alert to the vehicles around me so I can avoid and evade if necessary. When I see a vehicle do something dumb then I watch it and the driver more closely.
A few years ago I began to notice something: after a dangerous or stupid move of some kind, I would often see the driver yacking on a cell phone. It’s been getting worse and now I’d say that 90% of the time that a driver makes a bonehead move, I look and they’re gesturing and talking away on a cell phone.
Sometimes I get an image of my death and it’s me imbedded in the grill of some vehicle with the driver saying to the person on the other end of the line “I wonder what that was.”
Because of my awareness of other drivers on cell phones, and also a few of my own blockhead mistakes, I rarely use a cell phone while driving, even with a hands-free device - it’s simply too dangerous. I think cell phone use while driving should be outlawed.
Yes it is time to ban driver cellphone use in moving vehicles, and like so many things in life it is just a matter of common sense. Any in car distractions should avoided. I drive for a living, so I am on the roads all day, everyday. I could fill books with all the incidents of bad driving I witness by people on cell phones. About 80% of all bad driving that I can visually verify involves cell phone use. I have seen accidents happen where left turners either ran a red light or were just oblivious to oncoming traffic. The lady in the black Mercedes who ran 2 red lights going 15 mph over the 45 mph limit only to miss my front bumper by inches (at least I was paying attention and was able to stop, and yes I do feel like I saved at least one life that day), and to this day she is not aware of it. You want rear end accidents, U turns into oncoming traffic, pulling into traffic without looking, changing lanes without looking, driving on the wrong side of the road, failure to comprehend right-of way issues and my all time favorite: stopping in the middle of the road for no apparent reason. I have had dozens of near misses and seen even more. I have been rear ended at a stoplight by a guy on the phone. I would say it is worse than drunk driving because I am on the roads at all hours and only occasionally see drunk drivers, cell phone drivers are everywhere. This is one of those issues where you either recognize the problem or you probably are the problem. To all you people who think you can talk and drive properly ; you can’t. It is just not biologically possible (not even hands-free) (not even for the multitasking gender). Hey, I am a professional driver but must admit I cannot do it either and do not even have my phone on if I am driving any vehicle.
As a student pilot I learned that there are three priorities in this order: aviate, navigate and communicate. This is no different in a car, but unfortunately I do see many people who prioritize communications over controling the vehicle. Couple this with the epidemic of sleep deprivation and stress and you have a formula for disaster.
Our local airport established a small temporary parking area for people picking up passengers. This is where you can use your cell phone. Perhaps we need to establish small turn-offs on our highways to accommodate those who simply can’t get from point A to point B without talking to someone.
Once again its the driver being careless of the surroundings they are operating in.
THE PHONE IS NOT OPERATING THE VECHILE!! I would bet that these same very people breaking all these traffic laws are pretty poor drivers while not on the phone! Lets revive the training process to become a driver. I wonder if there are any stats on how many airplane pilots (which have thousands of hours of training) crash while talking on the radoio?
I’d wager once you start throwing cell-phone users in prison (similar to DUI penalties), people will voluntarily shut-up & drive.
As for airline pilots having thousands of hours of training, it could be argued that I have 16 years of driving experience (including earning a CDL) and I’m literally surrounded on 4 sides by potential hazards and I can absolutely swear that I’m impaired when I use my cell-phone. The airline pilot has much less to be concerned about (with the possible exception of take-off & landing)… any pilots feel free to flame if I’m off-base.
Remember the Comic Gallagher’s routine about having a supply of suction cup darts that you could throw at cars driven in an A__hole manner; the cops would then stop cars w/ an a–hole sticker stuck on it. I agree that emergency people need cells, but didn’t beepers do the same thing? I’ve seen a lot of close calls-most recently was a triple! Girl working as cart retriever at grocery talking on cell w pal on other side of lot nearly got creamed by cell phone- busy shopper–PRICELESS!
I think cell phones and drivers don’t mix well but I in pinch I am guilty too. A law would help all of us drive safer. Drivers on cells are frightening and are clearly will not discipline themselves.
I am both a CDL holder and a pilot and i can assure you that you are very much off base! First off I meant many hours of training before being set free on the public. Secondly a pilot has much more to be aware of than a driver of any type of land based vechile. Planes are surrounded on 6 sides by potential hazzards! Cars dont have the ability to go up or down, be hit from the top or bottom, to operate in weater that is equivlent to driving with your eyes shut All while going ATLEAST TWICE (and up to 10 times)the normal highway speed. If you find you become impaired while talking I suggest that you dont focus so much on the conversation at hand. And by the way dont forget about Air Traffic Control…In any urban area through out our country A pilot has to regularly call in to make reports about location and traffic. Based on the popular consensis of this forum Air travel should become much safer if we outlaw using radios! I wouldn’t want to be on that plane!