Should Hand Held Cell Phones be Outlawed While Driving?? (page 2)

DanTheMan

I've noticed that talking on a cell phone while driving, for me, is a huge distraction, and I think it is different from having a conversation with somebody who is in the car with you. The reason why is because when you're driving you have stretches where very little effort or concentration is involved, and this is when the conversation with you and your passenger usually is taking place, and when you approach an intersection or other other situations that demand more concentration and decision making, the passenger is of course aware of this and the conversation naturally lulls until you're back to a less demanding situation, where the conversation resumes.

But when you're on a cell phone, the person at the other end doesn't know when you're in a situation that demands extra attention and concentration, and if they're talking away about something or another, you the driver can't help but feel somewhat compelled to pay attention to them, and it is distracting.

And the radio isn't a distraction because you don't feel compelled to give it your undivided attention or any attention at all for that matter, the way you do a phone conversation, so I don't think that comparison is apt.

BLISSISIGNORANCE

I'm with Roybatty on this one. Get rid of kids, radios, cds, and passengers that talk too.

You can still use a hands free set!

It's about being responsible and safe. Driving is a risky thing at the best of times. Combine all of the above plus a phone conversation, ingredients for a disaster. I have seen some people swerving on the road and when I get along side of them guess what??????? They have a mobile phone to their ear. Not to say they wouldn't be bad drivers and swerve anyway, but the phone is an added distraction.

Stay safe on those roads!

Cheers.

Princess

They should ban women putting on makeup too, WHILE DRIVING!

I was following a red mustang that was driving erratically one day. I was POSITIVE the person was on drugs as they took forever to get going from stoplights, etc. I had taken down the plate to call from my home phone...I was almost home. As I was turning onto my street the car veered off the road and hit a utility pole head on. The officer who called me later told me it was a woman putting on makeup.

jwbot

minimus: you probably had a couple near-misses with out even noticing! ;)

no, but in all seriousness, the people that almost hit me were completely oblivious and I did well to avoid them.

Xena

Stupid people drive stupid, whether they do so with a cell phone in their hand, a coffe cup, a kid in the back seat or while changing the radio station or CD. You can't outlaw stupidity, shame, but you can't.

We don't need more laws.

Lady Lee

Hubby drives for a living. He has a hands-free cell that he uses in tha car. And he curses drivers who are talking on the phone, smoking a cigarette AND drinking cokkee while they are trying to drive the car. Drivers here in Winnipeg are the worst I have ever seen. They NEED to keep both hands on the wheel.

Other pet peeves - pets in the car - sitting on the lap of the driver, roaming the car, dogs with their heads hanging out the window, or in the back of a pickup. Don't these people realize what will happen to their beloved pet if the driver has to slam on the brakes?

Haven't any of these people heard of seat belts for their pets? When I traveled across country with my 2 cats they were IN THE CARRIER while I was driving. A friend of mine has giant poodle showdogs. And they use pet seat belts to keep them safe.

Thank gawd seat belts are mandatory here. I hated seeing a child sitting on someone's lap behind the steering wheel

Ok enough of my driving peeves cuz I could be here a long time

Fleur

YES!

we drove in NY state recently where it's against the law, and what a huge difference than here where we live. We have been nearly hit by people on cell phones more times than i can count. today is just one example.

we're in a parking lot. this woman has the HUGEST honkin extended cab pick up truck. she almost hit us FOUR seperate times just trying to park in the space behind us, because she wouldn't put down the freaking phone! she kept pulling in, backing out, pulling in, backing out, each time inching closer to our car. i just wanted to scream.

out here, everyone is on their phone constantly. people have been killed in accidents with phones involved (yes, they should have laws against reading, putting on makeup, smoking, looking for change on the floor, etc etc with driving too then but the phones are a more everyday threat IMO.)

if it's that important, pull over. if you think your conversation is more important than the lives of other drivers, and their families, well i think you think too much of yourself. Just pull over.

fleur

Lady Lee

On a beautiful sunny morning, clear skies, clear road, my sister in law lit her cigarette while she was driving. I the split second when she dropped the cigarette she lost control of the car and it landed unside down, hitting the hardest over the driver seat - where she was sitting. She was killed immediately leaving my brother and their two children alone.

Several years ago I was driving with a friend. She was behind the wheel. I was looking at the map for where our next turn was. She decided she could read the map better than me and grabbed it to look at while she was driving. When I looked up the car in front of us had stopped in the middle of the highway to make a turn onto the road to the left but had to wait for the oncoming car to pass. We didn't have time to stop before ramming into the back of the car that had stopped. A car was coming in the opposite lane and there was a car stopped at the intersection to the left. We had a choice - a big ditch or the oncoming lane. The driver stepped on the gas and chose the oncoming lane. I screamed and saw the oncoming car and ..... I have no idea what happened. Next thing I knew we were driving down the road to the sound of a lot of angry horns. Seems the my friend had swerved into the oncoming lane and around the stopped car and back into our lane - barely missing both the stopped car and the oncoming car. She saw quite smug about avoiding the collision and could not understand why I was so upset. We had to stop for an hour while I paced to use up the extra adrenaline in my system.

This was about 12 years ago. I still am nervous when driving with a careless driver who weaves through traffic and tailgates. Yea she did a good job of avoiding the collision. But if the had kept her damn eyes on the road it never would have happened at all.

In my opinion the same goes for cell phones and coffee and makeup etc.

In a poll done here in Winnipeg they asked what were the ten most common things people ate or drank while driving. Coffee of course topped the list. You'll never guess what was #2 ---- soup!!! Soup!!!! now where the heck are their hands? One holding the soup and the other holding the spoon. Do these people think cars drive themselves?

minimus

I'm all for NOT making up more laws. Use common sense and I like the idea that if a person got into an accident, they could be fined for it.

AlanF

The problem with "using commmon sense" is that probably more than half the people on the road don't have any common sense. The people who drive while jabbering on a cell phone is a case in point. Most people are physically unable to concentrate on driving and yakking at the same time. My stepson borrowed my new car one day and was hit by such a moron. It cost me about $3000 in lost value on the car, which was totalled. This was on the border of New Jersey and New York. I don't like the idea of more laws any more than anyone else, but laws that restrict people from doing stupid things that hurt others are necessary. Laws against drunk driving (along with good enforcement) demonstrably cut down on drunks killing people. New York's law has apparently cut down on mentally deranged cell phone users causing accidents and killing people. If everyone had a good measure of common sense, we wouldn't need 90% of the laws on the books. AlanF

Should Hand Held Cell Phones be Outlawed While Driving??

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