Dangers of Driving Distracted

[Matra et Alpine]

you can't compare the phone with DUI.
First, mobiles are a bit like "speed" (over here anyway) where they get cited as contributory factor even if no evidence they did !
Also, sensible mobile handsfree usage includes the driver having the responsibility to say "hold on a minute" if anything ahead requires more of their attention.
Drink and drugs IMPAIR our decision making.
Using sensible decision making on when to and when NOT to talk on the mobile aren't the same.

The "problem" is some drivers whilst using mobile phones are easily distracted.
We've NO idea of how many accidents that type of driver woudl ahve if they were doing other "normal" things ie singing along to the readio, talking to their partner in the passenger seat on what to have fro dinner etc etc

[henk4]

Originally Posted by Matra et Alpine

you can't compare the phone with DUI.

you can, both is done by addicts.

[Matra et Alpine]

^ don't agree

A phone call from a friend to ask you to stop as they've had a puncture ??

I realise, by taking extremese we can see similarities. But seldom mirrored in reality.

[henk4]

Originally Posted by Matra et Alpine

^ don't agree

A phone call from a friend to ask you to stop as they've had a puncture ??

I realise, by taking extremese we can see similarities. But seldom mirrored in reality.

The two links in the first post do give some informative results. (like using a mobile phone is about equivalent to 0.8 promille alcohol blood content). I can't imagine that you have never been behind a car where it ultimately turned out that the driver was on the phone when you were wondering why it could not keep a straight line....
(tell you friend to buy a hydro-Citroen, then you can simply drive on with a puncture)

[Matra et Alpine]

The point Pieter, is that under the influence of drink/drugs the driver has no capacity to contro.
Use of a mobiel phoen IS a conscious decision and if the phone is dropped, conversation ended or jsut paused then the driver is back 100% focussed.

Lies, damn lies and statistics !!

[henk4]

Originally Posted by Matra et Alpine

The point Pieter, is that under the influence of drink/drugs the driver has no capacity to contro.
Use of a mobiel phoen IS a conscious decision and if the phone is dropped, conversation ended or jsut paused then the driver is back 100% focussed.

Lies, damn lies and statistics !!

I know what the point is and what causes the incapability to drive safely. What I am pointing at is the same results that both activities can have. (and that not only comes from the US research that was routinely ignored by the politicians who are far too afraid of limiting "FREEDOM")
And many people seem to be addicted to phones, so the level of consciousness of using one has become minimal.

[Matra et Alpine]

I agree with the last point.
So which class of drivers need "control" ?

I no longer trust any "US research" after WMDs, Inconvenient Truth and Mochael Moore The UK has massaged the speed figures equally as badly ! So much so the evidence is clear that they shodul take the speed limit to 50mph on country roads .... even long straight ones Tax-earning laws with fines are the worst theft a government perpetrates on it's people.

[RacingManiac]

While I think Matra is right that DUI is probably much worse, it is also much better publicized to the general public, to the point that at least they know its wrong, and are less likely to do it. But distracted drivers are common and most aren't aware of the danger....I've seen people texting while driving, and they slowly drift out of their lane, or not seeing the slower traffic and slam on the brake last second....arguably, the danger you are not aware of is just as dangerous....

[digitalcraft]

Major corporations abusing their power and preventing government entities from doing their proper job? No way! Obviously they just need less regulation.

[LTSmash]

I see no problem with enforcing the hands free devices or Bluetooth headsets while in the car. Business travelers need to talk a lot on the phone and stopping the car to talk on the phone every time is very inefficient. I purchased a Bluetooth for my mother a while back because she drove a manual and it worked wonders for her as she traveled to see clients.

[Rockefella]

Originally Posted by henk4

strange, I have been taught by a distinct member of the Calgary police to always apply the so-called rolling stop. Very effective...

Well I usually bring the car's speed down to 0 mph, but for a margin of a second

[Kitdy]

Sorta on topic, Autoblog at this article that said that increasing the speed limits in certain US States has resulted in more deaths and injuries.

Cue Matra claiming higher speed is not responsible.

[G35COUPE]

The importance of cell phones in our lives, has been extremely overrated. No one should use them in cars, whether hands-free or not. They are dangerous when used simultaneously during a driving session. I don't own one and probably never will. My car has blue-tooth technology and I have never used it before. I had no choice in the equipment option of the car. If you buy a premium later model G-35 Coupe, it came with sports tuned suspension, blue-tooth technology, navigation (GPS), and in my case, a technology called rear-active steer.

Driving is not a game. Its a serious endeavor. It is inherently fraught with dangers as a uniquely unnatural activity of homo sapiens.

I am always told that a cell phone is needed in an emergency, and yet, the very limited frequencies of emergencies in one's life, don't seem to justify the price, cost, and inherent dangers associated with cellphone use.

Tell me, is one potential or actual tire puncture a year, really worth the $800 - $1200 approximately, paid annually on a cell phone bill, while being a public transportation nuisance on the roads, on a train, on a bus, etc??? is that call so important at 6 am in the morning that you will deny yourself that small moment of solitude and peace at that time of the day???

How did our parents survive emergencies in the days when cellphones never existed??? Is a cellphone going to really speed up the rate at which emergency related personnel respond, if the conditions or situations don't allow for a quick response??

Who the heck are all these cell phone users actually talking to, and what the heck are they really talking about that is far more important than maintaining one's personal and internal peace and stability ???

What bothers me most about cellphones is that while it has potentially enhanced the speed of communication, it has simultaneously eroded the capacity of humans to maintain a healthy working relationship and communication process with other human beings. We could make the same argument with e-mails, but it would appear that the pervasive, mobile nature, and convenience associated with cellphone use, suggests its greater impact in our lives than e-mails. Many now lack the requisite social skills to function successfully in our modern world. And so, people either feel more lonelier in their lives or unsually and inexplicably more dependent on that one precious call that might come through that cellphone, at any moment.

For this, I am constantly being viewed in our society as an alien because I have no cell phone and have never had one before or have an appreciation for it. People actually get angry with me, when they ask to use my cell phone in dire moments, and I tell them I don't have one, and have never had one in my life.

There is usually this look of bewilderment and disdain on their face for me, and I have to hurriedly and repeatedly show a good faith effort that I don't have a cellphone. Its almost as if their looks turn me into a liar and a convict. Oh well, I have to learn to live with this unusual phenomenon.

Frankly, the more I observe the heightened stupidity associated with cellphone use, the more I detest and abhor cellphones. Nothing good, in my opinion, has come out of cell phone use. Seems to me that cellphones has made, proactiveness, planning, and forethought, almost immaterial in our daly lives. I guess because we feel we can just pick up a cellphone and dial "God", if something goes terribly wrong, and all will be solved.

Generally, I advice people not to let me catch them holding up traffic with their cellphone. If I ever get in front of you, and you don't have a ride that has at least 300 horsepower under the hood of your car, your a$$ is mine. I am gonna get in front of you, slow down, and keep you frustrated, until you move out of the speed lane with that sorry cellphone, and then i speed off. Hahahaha! Don't let me catch you on a sorry cellphone conversation, holding up traffic on the speed lane.

No conversation on this planet or reason, is worth being an a$$ on the highway, in your car, while using a cellphone. If you want to talk, move out of the way, or stop on a shoulder of the road and have your merry conversation, like a person with some common sense. Common sense should never be in short supply.

[aiasib]

Originally Posted by Rockefella

I make quick phone calls on my cell when driving but it's for my job and I only do it at red lights or stop signs. The call takes 15 seconds and I hang up, which admittedly could be a bit dangerous but it makes work much more efficient.

sounds like you're a drug dealer

[clutch-monkey]

Originally Posted by Kitdy

Sorta on topic, Autoblog at this article that said that increasing the speed limits in certain US States has resulted in more deaths and injuries.

Cue Matra claiming higher speed is not responsible.

well technically US driver's are responsible