[Macworld]

Post your comments for Cell phones distract drivers more than passengers do here

[natmusak]

I don't know that anyone was claiming that hands-free devices were less distracting than talking with the phone to your ear. What's important is that hands-free devices ARE inherently more safe, regardless of this study's findings, because Bluetooth headsets allow both hands to be on the wheel.

[DonSmith]

I'm a television news cameraman who was once assigned to set up my camera at an exit and get shots of what people were doing while driving. I had a good vantage point; I was just beyond the wall of a curving exit that rose into the air. Cars would come toward me and then, one by one, that would turn to follow the road. I had clear and close shots of every driver in turn. It was rush hour so the traffic moved slowly through this turn and my camera had a chance to settle on each driver. I was amazed. Drivers, both men and woman, were largely distracting themselves at doing SOMETHING. Reading a paper, writing a note, applying makeup while looking into a mirror, SOMETHING. My point is this: I can't argue that talking on the phone is a distraction, but if it's not talking on the phone then it'll be something else. And, isn't driving while distracted already against the law?

[RhymingDesigner]

"No, I’m not thrilled with that solution either"
You might be more thrilled if someone you knew had been maimed by a driver who thought it was more important to be on the phone than pay attention to the, uh, fairly serious business of driving.

[jdb8167]

We won't be safe until we ban all distractions while driving. I think it is obvious. Let's start a list of other things that must be banned because they could cause a distraction:
1. Eating
2. Applying Makeup
3. Children (well let's just ban all passengers to be safe)
4. Radios
5. iPods
6. Reading
7. Reading Billboards (probably should just ban billboards)
8. Drinking (obviously not just alcohol)
9. GPS devices
10. Smoking
Please add to the list. Also, lets discuss what kind of penalties we have to apply to make sure people abide by the rules. I think small fines is probably not enough. Perhaps a year in jail for each violation. I mean, distractions could be responsible for someone getting maimed. Such a possibility is completely unacceptable. The government must protect all citizens from any risk. Isn't that the government's job?

[heimdall]

Your argument, natmusak, is specious at best. The act of talking on the phone is far less safe than listening to the radio or eating. The finding that it's as unsafe as DWI is years old, but the latter was the "distraction" that most compared in accident rates to jabbering away on the cell phone. That the person has two hands on the wheel rather than one makes an absolutely minimal difference in avoiding the accident that results.

[timrowledge]

"Please add to the list"? Sure - I was once passed (on 101 near SFO) by a porsche. There was a young lady bouncing up and down on the lap of the driver. I'll let you imagine reasons why she might be doing that and why the driver didn't seem to be paying much attention.
I'll just let the rest of your comment slide by since it must clearly be tongue in cheek. No one could seriously be that dim.

[Lisamacnewton]

And lets not forget texting......
WHO in their right mind would even CONTEMPLATE this?

[People_Eater]

natmusak said:

I don't know that anyone was claiming that hands-free devices were less distracting than talking with the phone to your ear.

What? Then you need to get out more. Numerous states and countries ban mobile phone use without a hands-free device, thus implying that a hands-free device is safer than holding the phone to your ear. If they didn't believe that, then why would the law exempt hands-free users?

Quote

What's important is that hands-free devices ARE inherently more safe, regardless of this study's findings, because Bluetooth headsets allow both hands to be on the wheel.

How can you simply disgregard the study's findings like that? Did you do your own study? Do you have a link to any research that that shows hands-free devices are "inherently more safe"?

I don't think so. You're just stating your opinion as fact. The facts gathered so far don't appear to support your conclusion.

[People_Eater]

jdb8167 said:

We won't be safe until we ban all distractions while driving. I think it is obvious. Let's start a list of other things that must be banned because they could cause a distraction:

All of those things (except listening to the radio) absolutely should not be done while driving. It's an amazing state of affairs that drivers actually do those things in the first place. Why don't people learn to be attentive and aware of what's going on? I think people get their license too easily. We don't ask drivers to have a high standard of awareness and emergency response capability, like we do of aircraft pilots. People treat their car like it's a lounge room, not a potentially lethal weapon.

I exclude listening to the radio, because it's the only one on your list that's passive and not interactive. But listening to the radio can also become a distraction under certain circumstances - such as if the volume is so loud, you can't hear sounds outside. Or if you fiddle with the radio, changing stations while driving and whatnot. Set the radio to the station you want, set a moderate volume, and then don't touch it. If you must change the channel, pull over and do it.

It shouldn't be necessary to ban these things specifically, because most places have general laws that state that you have to be alert and aware, and not create distractions for yourself. In general terms, most road laws have a clause that means that you must drive responsibly. Almost all of the things on your list fall into the category of "irresponsible" or "negligent" driving.

Clearly, our driver education and licensing is broken if it has come to this situation. I'm beginning to think the only solution might be to force people to ride a motorcycle or fly an aircraft for a number of years before they are allowed a car license. Then they might begin to take things seriously.

[timrowledge]

I'm beginning to think the only solution might be to force people to ride a motorcycle or fly an aircraft for a number of years before they are allowed a car license. Then they might begin to take things seriously.

I'd certainly support something along those lines; I would suggest that the training prior to being able to obtain a car driving license (or any other vehicle) ought to include at least some experience in many other vehicle types. Bicycle, motorcycle, car, truck, 18 wheeler, bus, whatever. One ought to have at least a few hours instruction in each so as to understand the limitations and capabilities of each. How many people have a clue how difficult it is to brake a laden truck? Or to cope on a motorcycle in snow? Or how poorly a main battle tank handles when steel tracks are mounted instead of road-tracks and an unanticipated down slope appears?

Most people seem to treat a car as a mobile livingroom. The fact that most of them are high-speed two+ ton killing rams that need constant attention to prevent a disaster just seems to escape them.

[mournac]

What makes a cell phone, either hands free or not, far more distracting than almost anything else is the fact that since the person who?s talking to you is not with you in the car, he/she is not aware of traffic conditions.

A person sitting next to you will automatically adjust the flow of the conversation to let the driver handle a difficult situation.

But a person on the phone, especially if the conversation is heated or involved, will not be aware that you suddenly need to do a quick maneuver to avoid a fender bender (or worse) and will keep talking as if nothing was happening.

That is far more distracting and dangerous than anything else.

[hayesk]

natmusak, you don't get it. It doesn't matter if your hands are on the wheel if your brain is too busy with a phone conversation to tell your hands to steer away from the oncoming vehicle.

No, that's the point of this study. Hands-free is NOT safer. Laws banning cell phone use that do not also ban hands free use is just a pointless law to appease an ignorant public.

[ObiWandreas]

Exactly, Mournac. The problem with cell phones is that you're diverting your attention to someone outside of your current situation. If you suddenly need to concentrate harder on something, a person sitting next to you can tell just by the look on your face that you are not ignoring them, but concentrating. A person on a cell phone will simply hear silence, and commence haranguing you until you answer them, thus distracting you even further.