Personally, I think a lot of the anger vented at people who talk on their cell phones while driving is misplaced. The people that infuriate others with their clueless driving aren't clueless because they're yakking on their cell phones, they're clueless because, well, they're clueless. If there were no cell phones, these people would be yakking to their passengers and not paying attention. Or fiddling with the radio. Or putting on makeup.
People do a lot of stupid stuff while driving that distracts them from the actual task at hand. I think that cell phone usage is probably the most visible, and therefore gets the lion's share of the anger, but I suspect it's a lot more the personality of the person talking on the phone than any distraction caused by the phone. Some people need to focus on one thing at a time, and whether the distraction is a phone, a passenger, a radio, or the shiny nickel in the ashtray, they're going to change their focus from driving to something other than driving.
Or, they could just be inconsiderate assholes living their lives in condition white...
That is all.
9 comments:
The concept of a "driver on a cell phone" being bad might be a bit loaded, since the people drive like idiots tend to stick out a bit more...
I try to avoid using my cell while driving mostly because it's a pain in the rear to operate a stickshift, steer, and use a phone at the same time. Not enough hands.
Must have one of them !!!!
Stolen, shamelessly...
Yeah, the one accident (so far, knock on wood) I've been in while driving an ambulance involved someone fiddling with her radio. She entered the intersection and crossed three lanes before she t-boned the ambulance right behind the driver's door. She never even touched her brakes, and never saw the big white truck with flashing lights or heard the siren before she hit.
I could see her leaning forward fiddling with and looking at something in the dash. I assume it was the radio.
My previous vehicle got totalled, while parked, at like 3am, by some kid that was texting while driving. Never slowed down. His 91 corsica threw my 95 S10 about 10 feet, he was stopped where my truck was parked, my truck was a ways up the road. He certainly wasn't doing the 25mph that was the posted limit...
Probably didn't help that he was drunk.
N.C. has a new safety campaign. The title of it is "You Drive, You Text, You Die". They have the portable electronic highway signs displaying that, there are PSAs on television, and they are giving out these bumper stickers:
http://www.digtriad.com/images/300/225/2/assetpool/images/110103050531_400x300_AAA%20Text%20Bumper%20Sticker%20Cli.jpg
Keystone:
If you can multitask well enough to use a cell while driving, but can't spare the hands, get a bluetooth headset. I found one at Staples for $10; it works fine with my Blackberry, and does everything I need it to do.
Studies have shown that talking on a phone while driving inhibits your reflexes as much or more than drinking(that is, more than when you've just broken the legal limit), and texting is of course far worse.
Mikael,
I've heard that before, but nobody ever tells you which study it was exactly.
I, for one, am skeptical. Do you have any links?
Roy
"Studies have shown that talking on a phone while driving inhibits your reflexes as much or more than drinking(that is, more than when you've just broken the legal limit)"
I've heard that, too. I'm not entirely certain that I buy it, but I'm willing to accept the possibility.
What I'd like to see, though, is a similar study involving talking with a passenger. I'd bet that it's even worse than a cell phone, if for no other reason than our natural inclination to look at the person we're talking to - and thus a constant temptation to take our eyes off the road.
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